While search engine optimization strategies are very important to help a site rank high in search engine results, social media participation is becoming a more and more important part of website SEO.
We all know that search engines want to return the best results for each search. And the social proof provided, for example, by people “liking” blog posts and tweeting blog post links gives search engines outside validation that the content on a specific site is worthwhile.
Now to achieve this SEO boost from social media participation requires understanding how social media works best. It does not work well if you are only “selling” on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Unless someone is your JV (joint venture) partner or affiliate, it is unlikely that people will be enthusiastic about sharing content that only sells.
What people will want to share with others is good information that you share on social media sites. This does not mean that you have to create all the content yourself. It does mean that you have to share links to good content.
Of course, for SEO purposes, you want links back to the content on your own website, and here is where having a blog is very important for social media purposes besides direct SEO purposes. If you offer good blog posts about your area of interest (you can have guest bloggers – BloggerLinkUp.com is one such place for guest post requests), you can tweet the links to the blog posts. (This is not considered selling but is considered sharing.)
When your followers on Twitter click through to your blog posts, this provides social proof of the worth of your content.
And although the algorithms of the search engines are closely guarded, it stands to reason that the more people who click through on a link to your blog the more “credit” the search engines give you.
This is why Twitter is not a quantity game but a quality endeavor. For example, if you purchase software to get thousands of Twitter followers in a very short amount of time, it is unlikely that many of these people will truly be interested in the subjects of your blog posts. Therefore you can expect a small number of click throughs.
On the other hand, if you are committed to personally growing your Twitter following consistently over time, you can expect to have followers who are interested in what your blog has to say. And therefore you can expect more click throughs – more social proof for the search engines.
Yes, effective social media participation takes time and it also takes thought. For example, how you integrate your Twitter activities with your Facebook Page (the pages people “like” and NOT your personal profile) and your LinkedIn account are important decisions that depend primarily on the frequency and subject of your tweets.
If you tweet several times a day you do not want all these tweets going automatically to your Facebook and your LinkedIn accounts, where people do not want to see that many updates from you. In this case you should use a selective tweet application.
If you only tweet a couple of times each day and the tweets are business-oriented, you can consider using software that automatically sends every tweet through to your Facebook and LinkedIn accounts.
Of course, on all these social media sites you can include on your profile or Facebook Page the link to the home page of your website or blog. People checking you out on social media sites may click on the link to visit your website, therefore providing more juice for the search engines’ algorithms.
One important tip: To encourage recognition throughout your social media profiles and your website, use the same headshot for everything. And for your photo do not wear sunglasses or a hat that shades your eyes. People on social media sites want to see with whom they are interacting.
If you’re not yet on social media, get the free report “Twitter, Facebook and Your Website: A Beginner’s Blueprint for Harnessing the Power of 3 for Your Business” to help you set up an effective Twitter account. Download the free report at www.MillerMosaicPowerof3.com.
And start participating now. Effective social media participation must be conducted consistently over time. The sooner you start the better.
Been trying to sell my car for weeks but then came across some great websites
March 16, 2011 at 10:03 pm Julius Deross