By now most are aware that social media marketing is a popular part of any e-commerce marketing plan. You probably know that there are a lot of options out there, such as a Facebook page, a Twitter account, a LinkedIn profile, a Google+ page and perhaps even a Pinterest account. But do you know why it’s so important to make social media updates part of your optimization plan? Here’s how social media goes hand in hand with search engine optimization and online success.
Make a Place for Your Business
Especially important for companies that sell both offline and online, social media puts your business on the map, literally. It’s always important to ensure you have a physical address listed on your website and your social media accounts to verify your location on Google Places. But in addition, make sure that customers can “check in” to your business via Facebook and Foursquare because that appears on their personal timelines – a free form of advertising.
There’s another reason you want your social media updates to be associated with your physical address – mobile users will be directed to your business when they are searching for nearby vendors.
And if they take a picture of your business with their smart phone, it automatically includes geo tags. When those photos are uploaded, they contain your location information – another free advertisement and another way for Google to confirm your address.
Google Loves Google+
One of the newer entrants to the social media market, Google+ is, of course, Google’s favorite sharing site. As a business owner, your goal is to get your content “plused” – have friends and followers click on the +1 button. That tells Google how popular the content is and makes it more likely to show up in search results associated with your business name and keywords.
Optimize Google’s propensity to rank plused content higher by adding like and share buttons to your website pages and blog posts. The more pluses and shares you get on each page and the quicker it happens, the better it is for your page’s rank.
How Does Your Content Influence Others?
Google also takes into account how influential your updates are in regards to ranking your site, especially for search terms that include geo tags. So, the more Twitter followers you have and @ mentions you get, and the more Facebook shares and likes you garner, the higher Google ranks your pages and your authority. This is especially true if your followers and friends themselves enjoy high authority ranks.
SEO and social media are not independent pieces of your internet marketing plan. They work together to provide your website with higher ranking and higher online visibility. Make sure that you participate in social media optimization and you can start to see great results.
Social media optimization isn’t always easy for businesses. It takes time, effort, and tracking to interpret results in a way that helps you continually move forward. If you need help with social media optimization contact us at MDesign Media.