Social Media is no more a messaging platform. Social platforms have evolved over time and now are a part of our day-to-day life. Five years back, people used to spend a lot of time wasting on Instagram and Twitter. Now, those people are earning $$$$ every month with their Social Media handles.
My whole point here is if you have an online presence and you are overlooking Social Media than you are making a BIG mistake. Having a robust social media strategy is now the core foundation of any business.
That being said, if you are active on various social media platforms there are tons of benefits of Social Media which you can take advantage of. One such benefit is acquiring Social Signals to your website. Now, if you are wondering what a social signal is and how it can impact your overall website than stick around with me and I’ll guide by step-by-step.
So without further ado, let’s dive right in!
What Exactly are Social Signals?
Social Signals is a total count of likes, shares, comments, and the overall engagement of the webpage on various platforms. These signals are taken into consideration by Google to get an idea of whether or not the webpage is valuable. If the webpage has higher social signals meaning it is liked and shared by more people. This contributes to organic rankings in the search and seen as another form of backlinks by Google.
Now that you know, what social signals are. Let’s now understand the importance of having social signals.
Importance of Social Signals in 2018
Increase High-Quality Traffic
Everyone loves free traffic and to get the high-quality traffic you need to get higher rankings on Google. Now for dominating that sweet spot in Google, you need to fulfill the ranking factors. Out of the 200+ ranking factors, social signals are the easiest way to get higher rankings in Google and increase high-quality Traffic.
Google only ranks article with strong content, good authority, and an amazing social media presence.
Building Valuable Social Links
Many of you must be thinking that it’s useless to share stuff on social media as they will give a no-follow link. However, Matt Cutts officially announced that they count social links as a ranking factor in SERPs.
If we have two websites with almost similar content one with no social media presence and the other with a decent brand presence on social media. In that case, Google will rank the one with high social media presence. If you’re a social media influencer, it would be easy for you to build links.
Increase in Overall Domain Authority
Social Signals are a direct indicator of popularity. The pages with high social signals tend to attract more links and this results in the overall increase in the Domain Authority. This is a tried and tested method by many SEO gurus.
Let’s now see how we can increase organic social signals and rank better in 2018.
How to Increase Social Signals?
Here are some of the best tips to get quick traction and attract high-quality social signals:
Post Daily on Social Media
People will only notice your brand if you catch their eyes daily. For that attention, you need to post daily on all the major social platforms.
Use Images
Images say a thousand words. No one likes to read a chunk of boring text. Be different from the crowd and post engaging and informative photos.
Cover All Social Media Handles
Remember, a brand is built only when they are active on all social handles. Furthermore, Google will notice this while ranking your website organically. Make sure you are covering all the big social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google+, and Linkedin on your list.
Make Contests
Giveaways and Contests are the new trends in Social Media. For creating virality across your profile, all you need to do is announce a contest publicly and see the magic.
Should we use social signals in 2018?
I know this is what you were waiting for. The most awaited question whether or not you should be using Social Signals in 2018.
The answer to this question is A BIG YES. In fact, you cannot ignore it as developers from Google have now officially declared it as the ranking factor in SERPs.
Make sure you have genuine Social Signals on your web pages and not the one which everyone buys for $10. Google can understand the quality of social signals and can easily judge whether it’s genuine or not.
One more thing, never forget to get social signals from Google+ as it is a Google property they tend to give more weight to Google+ signals.
What to expect in future about the role of social signals in SEO?
As social platforms are getting more user-friendly day-by-day having a strong social media planning is necessary. If for any reason, you are ignoring social media than you are already out of the competition. Social signals are one of the 200 ranking factors and are the easiest way to rank in SERPs. In fact, social signals are now considered similar to backlinks.
New Mode of Information
Nowadays, people consume most of their information on Social Media as they get a personal touch with brands on these platforms. That being said, almost every one of us including you and me uses social media, and I think it’s the best way to interact with your customers and convert them easily.
Trust Building
With a personalized flavour, brands gain trust in front of their customers. A user coming from Google is difficult to convert, but at the same time, it’s easy to convert them to Social Media as your brand has built the trust with them over time.
Better Conversions
Once you gain the trust in front of your customer, it’s easy to sell them again. As you have created a brand value on all your social media handles now you can enjoy better conversions as your old customers will referrer to the new customers, and you’ll have a very high customer Lifetime Value (LTV).
Best Moves to Enhance the Social Signals for your Site
There are two ways with which you can enhance your brand presence:
On-Site
- Easy share buttons so that they can share your content and give exposure.
- Easy connect buttons.
- Keep your blog updated with fresh and engaging content.
Off-Site
- Facebook Page
- Youtube Channel
- Instagram and Pinterest Handles
- Twitter Account
Final Words
I hope you now get a clear idea of how important social signals are in 2018. Moreover, if you haven’t build a strong social media strategy yet go ahead and do it now. If you have any questions related to social signals in 2018, do leave a comment below. I’d be more than happy to answer your queries.
