Where do you hide something if you don’t want it to be found? On the second page of Google search results.
That’s not where savvy social media managers want their digital communications to end up, but there’s only so much room on the first search engine results page (SERP). Search engine algorithms remain something of a mystery, with Google only revealing so much, but it’s still possible to optimize a website for search.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) best practices include weaving keywords into content, building internal links, using alt tags and ensuring sites render on mobile devices. It also helps to have site maps, hierarchies and navigation menus. Those tactics are necessary but not sufficient to improve a website’s SERP rank.
Those interested in social media marketing will want to consider a Master of Science in Strategic Communications with an emphasis in Social Media Management. Coursework in such a degree program equips graduates with the knowledge and skills to effectively deliver key information to diverse audiences.
Make Social Media Part of Your SEO Strategy
Businesses that want to remain profitable tend to prioritize social media marketing and the tactics for optimizing it. Half the world’s population uses social platforms. More than half of users who responded to a GlobalWeb Index survey said they use it to research products. Marketing agency Single Grain reports that people aged 16 to 24 have an average of eight social media accounts.
Single Grain ticks off eight ways that social media helps businesses build and grow their brands — from staying in front of their potential customers to strengthening loyalty and gauging market conditions.
However, it overlooks social’s role in SEO, but savvy digital marketers are beginning to see how each complements the other.
Google’s Rules for SEO: Content, Content, Content
While Google closely guards its search algorithms and changes them regularly, the search engine that owns 70% of the market recommends updating content regularly as a key SEO tactic. On that point, Google advises using content updates “to account for seasons, trends, or new offerings” in its guide for optimizing websites.
Creating content relevant to market demands and pushing it into the market via social media invites your target demographic to click back into your brand.
Forbes goes so far as to assert that social media platforms act as search engines that amplify website content by putting it in front a universe of prospects and customers:
“If you’re churning out killer content that people are engaging with on social media — content that is being shared, liked, commented on and clicked on — then you’re getting more eyes on your content and brand, more people to your site and potentially more backlinks as a result,” the article noted.
Backlinks are a significant factor in SEO. The more there are for web crawlers to follow, the higher the algorithms rate the site’s authority, an essential element in SERP ranking.
Social Media and Website SEO As Complementary Forces
To make your brand stand out, save time and enhance your customer experience, rethink the relationship between social media and the web. The technical-resources aggregator Hebergenmentwebs notes that search and social are not competitive forces; the two can build on each other to benefit the businesses they serve.
Learn more about Arkansas State University’s Master of Science in Strategic Communications with an Emphasis in Social Media Management online program.
Sources:
Forbes: How Social Media can Impact Your SEO in 2020
Gotch SEO: Are Backlinks Still Important for 2021?
Google Search Central: Optimize Your Site for Search Engines
Hebergenmentwebs: The Complicated Relationship Between Social Media and SEO
HubSpot: The Top 7 Search Engines, Ranked by Popularity
Orbit Media: Social Media vs. Search
Single Grain: The Impact of Social Media on Business in 2021