The impact of social media on the internet landscape is undeniable and the affect that it has had on the ways that we communicate cannot be overstated. Thoughts can be shared, videos can go “viral” and in some cases, social sharing has even affected regional politics and uprisings; the famed “Arab Spring” being a perfect example of this growing trend. While the impact on communications is certainly appreciable, may wonder whether the power of social media is as potent in affecting a site’s rankings it it appears. So let us take a quick look at some of the main factors that allow social media to influence a site’s search engine position.
The Power of the Organic Search
After the new Penguin security update from Google, the importance of organic search rankings is much more relevant. For those who may not be aware, organic rankings are those that are generated by human interaction and linking as opposed to pay-per-click or their such automated sources. Social sharing is nearly purely organic in terms of search results, so Google will weigh a site with more social media outlets and sources higher than a standalone site with a few banner ads.
Search Engines Trust Sites That Employ Social Media
A site with links to social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Google+ will be more valued by a search engine. This is due to the fact that these social links help prove the validity, trustworthiness and value of the site’s content. This will additionally allow this site to be ranked higher than a competitor’s page that may contain nothing than static information that is rarely updated.
The Importance of Social Mentions in Relation to Rankings
It is important to also recognise that rankings are both organically based while being influenced spontaneously by visitors themselves. Let us imagine that an individual “likes” a certain page (or in the case of Google+, he or she adds a “+1” to the page). simply stated, the more “likes” or “+1s” that a page has, the higher it will rank. Notwithstanding this fact, word-of-mouth still plays an important and undeniable role in rankings. The more visitors a page gets, it is only natural for the overall rank of the page to be higher. The great aspect of this social sharing is the fact that it will be accomplished with little effort from the webmaster or page owner. Thus, valuable time can be freed up that could be devoted to other SEO and marketing techniques.
Social Media is not a Standalone Tool
While the previously mentioned factors are certainly important, there have been those that have questioned as to whether social media truly deserve the attention that it has gotten recently from SEO specialists. Some even believe that social media has been over-hyped and instead plays but a small role in a site’s success. This perception may have arisen from the fact that many individuals have looked at the effects of social media alone on a page’s rankings. This can be a critical flaw, for the success or failure of a social media campaign has much to do with the media’s integration with existing SEO techniques that have been proven to work. The synergy between social media and other SEO tools needs to be recognised to fully appreciate the powerful impact that social sharing can have on a site’s rankings.
So, it has become clear that social sharing is indeed a powerful tool to improve a site’s standing. However, this tool needs to be used in conjunction with existing SEO techniques for its value to be fully realised.