The Social Media and SEO Connection

social-media-423857_640I’ve talked in previous posts about companies that like to lump social media marketing with general office duties, rather than finding someone with specific training and experience in social media marketing. Did you know that social media is much more than a platform to connect your business with the public? While social media has great impact on your ability to interact with a potential client or customer, it also has impacts on your company’s SEO.

There is much debate about how your social media impacts your SEO. Many experts believe that social media is directly related to SEO and the more likes/follows you have the better your website ranks. Other experts think this is bunk because, in theory, it’s assumed more popular companies would have a better social media presence.

But the fact is social media accounts for a significant amount of searches. In fact, social media may be taking away from traditional Google searches. Now sites like Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter have their own search components. So people can use their favorite social media site to find information about the companies, services or products they need.

Social media accounts have also started to rank right along with company websites. When you search for a specific company, odds are you will find their website as well as a list of the social media accounts under the same name. For this reason, in some cases, companies are scrapping expensive websites and going right to Facebook as their main source of information.

As search evolves it’s also important to look at what is being put on the first page of Google. Social media sites like Flickr, YouTube and the various alternatives are very important because Google ranks media on the first page for keywords. So setting up a few targeted videos and utilizing images shouldn’t just be for Pinterest and Facebook.

If you don’t have the right people in charge of your social media marketing they may not see the parallels between SEO and social. That means your business or service may seem out of touch compared to your competition. If you have questions about how these services work together and need a better marketing plan please contact me today!