How Important Is Social Media For SEO?
Sometimes, it feels like the world of social media is inescapable. On many platforms, you have the option to share to all of your accounts. Which, depending on the content, could have different outcomes. In SEO land, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about the role of social media in SEO. Is active participation in social media required? Is social media involvement required to boost SEO? Does posting on social media make your website more visible to your ideal clients? Stay tuned to find out!
Active Participation in Social Media
You might be wondering why I specified “active” participation. Social media works in your favor when you interact with fellow users through your account. This means liking and responding to comments, direct messages, and tags. Essentially, anytime your practice is acknowledged by another user. Why is this important? Because this is how most social media algorithms operate. This is true for Instagram, for example. The more your private practice’s account interacts with its users, the more your account will be visible. Potentially, giving you the opportunity to increase your following. And, *hopefully* increase client conversion.
So, all of this to say that the “post and pray” approach will not work in your favor. If you’re going to use this as a form of digital marketing to grow your business, it has to be done with intention. Otherwise, it will likely be a waste of your time and energy.
Social Media “Boosting” Your SEO
This is a little tricky. Active participation in social media *if done well* can get you in front of more users. This can, in theory, help your SEO. There are some assumptions that go along with this. 1. People able to access your website from the social media platform (for instance, through a link on your page). 2. After seeing your website on Social Media, people visit your website, stay on and explore your website. Google interprets this as the user being interested in the content on your website, and shows Google that your site has truly useful information. Google likes to send people to websites they find engaging, trustworthy and useful. So, when more people are going to your site from social media and exploring it, it may help your rankings. In this way, Social Media may be helpful.
Do just having a Facebook, Instagram or Tik Tok Improve my SEO?
Now, you may be wondering if just having a presence on various platforms in and of itself will boost your SEO. The truth is that we’ve read conflicting evidence about this in recent years. There does seem to be a correlation where businesses with a well ranking website often have an active social media presence. However most of us remember from school that correlation does not always equal causation. And, Google isn’t yet admitting that social media is an official ranking factor.
Our general recommendations for SEO + Social Media
Our general recommendation is that social mentions (your name or practice name) seem to be helpful and social shares (where someone shares a link to your page) particularly seem to be helpful. Is this only because it directs people to your site? Perhaps. But it does seem to make sense that Google crawls all webpages and therefore knows when your page is showing up frequently on a platform like Facebook.
So, our general recommendation is that you frequently share links to your website on your social media. You already know we highly recommend blogging for helping professionals building their SEO. We also recommend you take the extra step of sharing each blog post you publish on your facebook, twitter or other account. If it makes sense, consider asking friends and family to share your blog posts as well!
Website Visibility for Ideal Clients
Again, also tricky. This kind of depends on your ideal client. For example, let’s say working with college students is your jam. Posting relevant content on your social media that will speak to them and/or grab their attention could definitely be helpful. A good tip is to use geographic location to your benefit. We’ll stick with the college student example. You could post a picture and tag a local coffee shop that’s a popular study hub. If your practice happens to be near the coffee shop, mention that! Post relevant content about what’s happening on campus. Do your best to get creative with it. I can speak from my experience as a current graduate student. It’s obvious when a business tries to market to college students and is disconnected from the culture. If your ideal client doesn’t feel like you “get them”, they may not reach out.
And this extends beyond college students and to all populations. Marketing through social media should be done tactfully. And, it should be clear that there was consideration and intention in the process. If the world of social media is foreign to you, or you’re lacking inspiration, do some research. See what works and what doesn’t with other similar businesses. Truly, there is nothing you can’t find on Google.
To Wrap Up Our Social Media Adventure. . .
For my friends that prefer lists, or just scrolled to the bottom for a summary, here are the important takeaways:
1. Active participation in social media is essentially required IF that is the avenue you are taking to get in front of users on social media. Simply posting is not enough. There has to be a high level of interaction between your account and the other users.
2. Social media alone will not boost your SEO. However, providing ample opportunities for the user to visit your website through your account CAN help.
3. If you’re using social media to get in front of your ideal clients, do so tactfully. Make it clear that you are connected to them and are familiar with their needs. Consider your “brand” when developing content.
Want To Start SEO Services?
At Simplified SEO Consulting, our goal is for your practice to be on the first page of Google. And, we can help you reach that in many different ways. We offer Done For You Services and take care of the optimization. If you would like to learn how to do it yourself, we have training available through a 12-week program or individual courses. In addition, we offer al a carte services to fill in the gaps. If you aren’t sure which service will get the best return on investment for your business, one of our SEO specialists will help during your consultation. So what’s holding you back? You do your best work when you’re not worried about where the next call will come from. So, let’s start the process to get your site in front of more of the right clients so they can start calling! Take the next step and schedule a free consultation to learn more!
About The Author
Alyssa Kohne is in the process of obtaining her Masters in Social Work with a clinical concentration from the University of Missouri- Columbia. She has been doing SEO with Simplified for the last few months. She has a passion for helping people who want to learn to dot heir own SEO and has led SEO trainings as part of her work with Simplified SEO Consulting.
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