The Intersection of Social Media and SEO

Social media marketing (SMM) and search engine optimization (SEO) have something big in common — the rules are always changing. Algorithms are constantly being updated on search engines as well as social media platforms. After all, social media is used as a modern-day search engine by many people. When used correctly, you can leverage SMM and SEO to improve your rankings on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Social Media as a Search Engine

According to a study by Frontier, Instagram is the top-preferred social media platform for search. However, users search differently on social media than they do on traditional search engines such as Google. Social media search is primarily comprised of searches for restaurants, personal care and beauty products, educational content, gifts, and tutorials. 

This is the way that marketers should be thinking about social media content. While it doesn’t directly impact your ranking, social media can boost SEO efforts in search-engine-adjacent ways. Determine what content your brand has that satisfies those search intent. Then, promote this content on social media to increase viewership. 

Organic Traffic and Link Building

Social media content, although technically on the internet, is often ignored by search engines. Social links are typically no-follow, meaning they aren’t crawled and added to search engine rankings. 

That being said, Google tends to prioritize YouTube links in search rankings over other video results where possible. This is where keyword research intersects with social media content. It’s worth it to look up relevant keywords on your respective platforms in order to come up first in that platform’s search. 

The more eyes you have on your content, the more likely you are to garner organic traffic to your main site content that is indexed by Google and other search engines. Direct traffic is a large influencer of ranking on SERPs.  Put links in your bio or in social posts whenever possible to boost signals to your pages. 

While this isn’t as valuable as placing backlinks on credible external sites, it can be a key tool for boosting your site’s value and credibility. The more people that click through, the more search engines view your content as high-value and authoritative. That’s certainly a factor in search engine ranking.

Local and Global Connections

SEO and social media have another commonality — they both operate locally and globally. Whether you’re a business that targets a local, global, or hybrid audience, local and global searches impact your ranking. 

Local authority translates into global authority on search engines. Connecting with other local businesses, creators, and communities on social media can let search engines know that you are involved in your local industry. When planning your search engine marketing (SEM), make sure to weave in some social connections.

Pay Attention to the Details

Even if part of your SEM strategy isn’t explicitly what search engines like Google say they look for when indexing sites, there is still value in honing your content down to the little details. SMM is a great off-page SEO technique that promotes the value of your brand to people that otherwise may not be aware of it. 

Some SMM tips you can try to boost your SEO, even if indirectly, include: 

• Adding widgets to your site for easy social media sharing;

• Posting content that links to your main site; 

• Putting links in your bio;

• Interacting with other relevant creators. 

Anything that increases the popularity of your content is a win in SEO land.