Those looking to maximize their reach online often turn to social media to drum up engagement for their brand, products, or services—and some invest in SEO to help boost organic search and site traffic. But the question soon becomes this: Does my company or brand’s presence on social media affect my SEO? The short answer? Directly, no. Indirectly, yes. Let us explain.
What We Know for Sure
Online and digital marketing can be a space riddled with “ifs,” “buts,” and “maybes.” For business owners and others, this can lead to quite the frustration. However, there are things we are pretty certain of or, at the very least, can make an educated guess about.
For instance, we know that there’s no causal relationship between your social media pages and your site’s rankings, i.e., the social pages themselves have no direct effect on your SERP results. Google has at least somewhat confirmed this: On a couple different occasions, higher-ups at the company have designated social media profiles as part of organic search results, but as their own distinctive ones. So-called ‘social signals’ do have a relationship with rankings, but are not directly responsible for those rankings.
So where does this leave us? On the whole, it’s shown that companies or brands that rank high on SERPs also boast robust social media profiles, which is very often the case. However, those social profiles do not directly impact their SERP results. It still takes a well-rounded, content-rich site to do that.
What Social Media Can Do for Your SEO
All this said, to say social media has zero effect on SEO would be disingenuous. Social media’s many benefits can help your SEO thrive. How so? For starters, social media offers ready avenues to share your content and drive even more traffic directly to your site. Essentially, social media helps give your content the legs it needs: It’s not just sitting idle on your site, but actively being read, consumed, shared, and acted on. Social media helps cast a wider net for your content to get in front of your intended audience.
Another benefit to social media that’s often overlooked is through branded searches. Your social profiles offer the potential for taking up even more SERP real estate when people type in your business name in their search bar. That’s more brand recognition and more opportunities for consumer perspective about your company. Plus, the voice you create on your profiles can reassure potential customers—even giving them the impetus they need to decide to buy or further act.
Furthermore, increased site traffic is the tip of the iceberg in regards to social media’s influence on SEO. Social media offers the potential for more clicks, yes, but also the opportunity for more links. Backlinks are a BIG SEO factor. If people are noticing your content through social media, it will increase the likelihood they’ll link back to you, share it with others, and further influence new or returning consumers to come your way.
Finally, business is almost always about trust. If people trust you, they’re more likely to buy from you. Modern consumers are always looking for the best option available to them—one that they can trust to do business with. Strong social media profiles do double duty for them. It reassures them that you are a reputable company (as most businesses now have at least some social media) and it clues them into your offerings, consumer philosophy, and business practices.
Need More Help?
No matter what, your digital marketing efforts need to work in conjunction with one another. The components that make up your marketing strategy work too closely together not to: They support and build upon each other. If you need help creating and/or finalizing a robust, comprehensive social media and SEO strategy, Uptick Marketing is here to make that job all the more easier. Connect with us to schedule a no-obligation chat about how we can move forward with your SEO, social media, and ongoing digital marketing efforts.
