How Twitter and SEO can be BBFS
Let me get to the point. The answer (you've probably guessed) is, "Yes." But not for the reason you might think.
And if you know anything about the art and science of optimizing your posts to be found in search, you might think that the reason people are tweeting like that has to do with creating lots of inbound links to their website.
Unfortunately for them, this is NOT how to use Twitter for SEO!
Don't get me wrong – there are a lot of not very informed people using Twitter for SEO that way. But it's just not how Twitter works, and here is why.
Say you own AWellManicuredLawn.com, and it advertises your landscaping service. You've gotten great backlinks in from other websites, including several from 365DaysofGreenerGrass.com, the top ranked site having information and products related to fertilizing and whatever else it takes to have a gorgeous lush green lawn all year round.
Now the Google SpiderBot crawls the Greener Grass site, and sees a link in from that site, and follows it to your site and notices it’s a related site with updated content and decent traffic. That backlink or inbound link from a high authority site in your field boosts your position in Google search results.
Now let's go back to Twitter. If you start Tweeting links to all of your posts thinking that, well, Twitter is a high authority site, so it must give great benefit to get as many links as possible to your site via Tweeting, here's the catch. Twitter does something a little different with its coding, and makes all of those Tweeted links into "nofollow" links. This means that in the coding for the site, it tells the Google spiderbot not to crawl those links. So while they're there, they don't actually do anything in terms of creating backlinks.
However- Twitter still has immense value for you in terms of SEO, and there's a possibility that Tweeted links could benefit you from a backlink perspective.
No, I didn't just contradict myself. Here's what I mean.
There are more and more websites that are choosing to include a plugin to aggregate and display Twitter feeds. The websites with said aggregated feeds can choose to make the links in those feeds "nofollow" or "follow" links. So – there's a chance that your links could count for you in terms of inbound links.
However – you don't even have to rely on a "maybe" scenario to gain powerful SEO from your Twitter account!
Honestly – the ways to use Twitter to boost your SEO are just about endless!
For starters, while inbound links from Twitter don't necessarily count as backlinks for Google when they're on Twitter, Google does actually index Tweets! And this is one of many huge reasons to make sure you know as many ways as possible for using Twitter to boost your SEO.
How to Use Twitter to Boost Your SEO
1.Choose a good handle that reflects your business.
Preferably make this the same as your business name, your website name, the names of your other profiles, etc.
2.Optimize your bio
Include your website in your Twitter bio. Make sure to include 2 or 3 relevant keywords as well.
3.Use keywords when you include links in your Tweets
Google includes Tweets in search results, so make sure you're including links as appropriate in ways that add value, not spam. Include a few relevant keywords as well, so you'll be more likely to be found in searches for your niche.
4.Include one or two relevant hashtags (words preceded with the # symbol)
These help organize Tweets that are connected, in addition to helping signify when topics are trending on Twitter.
5.Tweet throughout the day
Make sure that you are spreading out your Tweets throughout the day rather than bulk posting at once.
6.Include a Twitter button
One of the best ways to get your content out there is to include a Twitter button to tweet your content! Sounds simple, but it's amazing how many people don't do this! And for a bonus, make sure it has settings where you can include your own Twitter handle in with the Tweet when it goes out.
7.Create great content
You know we're big on quality content here, right? It definitely contributes to your search optimization on Twitter, and here's how.
If you have average content, chances are, unless you're part of a network of people who are helping you get more shares and views for your content, it won't get shared. Sorry, but ho hum content that reads like a high school report really doesn't get shared an overwhelming amount.
So it gets Tweeted – maybe even to a big list – and then it goes nowhere.
But if you're creating great business blog content that is valuable to your customers, chances are, they'll want to share it. And when that happens, your message develops legs – it gets seen by a wider audience than if you blasted it to a huge list that did nothing with it.
It's the power of math and exponents. Not that I like exponents or anything. However, I love them when they work for me!
Quality content tweeted on a regular basis, from your well optimized profile is the key to having a Twitter account that seriously boosts your SEO.
What one thing could you do this week to use Twitter to boost your SEO? Leave us a comment – we love hearing from you!