SEO and social media are kind of like the Real Housewives of the ‘Net. They pretend they are friends for the show, but publicly talk behind each other’s backs the first chance they get.
Since Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are now an important part of the digital world for consumers, and search engines have taken aggressive steps to weave the social experience into the results pages, it’s time for SEO and social to play nice, and not just in front of the cameras.
The new digital reality is that social and search fuel each other, making these initiatives complementary, neither more important than the other. Essentially, users will see more of a business’s content in Google’s organic listings if the company increases its Google+ follows. Likewise, enterprises that increase Facebook engagement will likely notice an increase in search impressions on Bing.
“The term ‘SEO’ didn't catch on as quickly or become as sexy as ‘social media,’ but more and more these two areas are coming together, increasingly under the umbrella of content marketing, to answer the major issue of ‘how are brands being found and what's the best way to be where the audience is?’” said Erin Robbins O'Brien, chief operating officer of GinzaMetrics.
Since Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are now an important part of the digital world for consumers, and search engines have taken aggressive steps to weave the social experience into the results pages, it’s time for SEO and social to play nice, and not just in front of the cameras.
The new digital reality is that social and search fuel each other, making these initiatives complementary, neither more important than the other. Essentially, users will see more of a business’s content in Google’s organic listings if the company increases its Google+ follows. Likewise, enterprises that increase Facebook engagement will likely notice an increase in search impressions on Bing.
“The term ‘SEO’ didn't catch on as quickly or become as sexy as ‘social media,’ but more and more these two areas are coming together, increasingly under the umbrella of content marketing, to answer the major issue of ‘how are brands being found and what's the best way to be where the audience is?’” said Erin Robbins O'Brien, chief operating officer of GinzaMetrics.
The Plot
In many companies, however, social and SEO professionals and/or departments are working in silos and fighting for camera time (a.k.a. a chance to prove to stakeholders why their efforts are improving balance sheets). And while those departments fight to establish dominance in their own companies, search engines will boost enterprises with harmonious social-SEO strategies that move toward establishing authority, listening to (and acting on) social signals and increasing “findability” by producing engaging content.
Brands responding to this new social- SEO era, where social engagement produces search impressions, are leading the virtual way.
Brands responding to this new social- SEO era, where social engagement produces search impressions, are leading the virtual way.
The Cast Members
Vocus, which offers integrated marketing software, is a practical example of marrying social and search to increase the “share-ability” of social content to improve SEO efforts. Items like clear and concise URLs, tracking parameters and social meta mark-up are all part of the discussion/collaboration at Vocus, according to Scott C. Benson, the senior SEO manager at the marketing software company. With this teamwork, Benson feels they’re doing a much better job of measuring the value of social traffic and each network.
“As visitors from Twitter or Facebook arrive at our site, especially our blog, we measure how often they choose to follow us on a social network or share our content,” said Benson. “Any social engagement is measured in Google Analytics, and we can create baseline conversion rates to analyze the value of a network. [For example,] if our social media team is dedicating too much time to Pinterest, and our audience isn’t responding, we know to reassess our strategy. The analysis can then shift to what content types attract the most social sharing, which we know is becoming a bigger indicator for Google’s algorithm. While we don’t know the specifics of how social signals impact rankings, we do try to publish content that will attract those shares.”
“As visitors from Twitter or Facebook arrive at our site, especially our blog, we measure how often they choose to follow us on a social network or share our content,” said Benson. “Any social engagement is measured in Google Analytics, and we can create baseline conversion rates to analyze the value of a network. [For example,] if our social media team is dedicating too much time to Pinterest, and our audience isn’t responding, we know to reassess our strategy. The analysis can then shift to what content types attract the most social sharing, which we know is becoming a bigger indicator for Google’s algorithm. While we don’t know the specifics of how social signals impact rankings, we do try to publish content that will attract those shares.”
The Twist
With the help of Vocus’s social and PR team, Benson’s SEO squad has also been testing promoted tweets and has data that suggests, contrary to the opinion of most social gurus that you can pay for socially engaged traffic — a new twist in the social-SEO relationship (the plot thickens).
“The Twitter advertising we’re testing currently has shown that paid traffic is converting (social engagement) at the same, or a slightly higher rate than our natural Twitter traffic,” said Benson. “The idea of paying for truly engaged social traffic conflicts with many social marketing experts’ best practices. Yet as our data continues to build, I’m still seeing new visitor traffic percentages remaining higher for the ad traffic than natural Twitter visitors.
“So not only are we reaching engaged visitors, but they’re also new to our site. We can begin to market to them using email (if they sign up) or methods like retargeting. It’s a bit of paid media fueling our SEO and social marketing, all tied together with data.”
“The Twitter advertising we’re testing currently has shown that paid traffic is converting (social engagement) at the same, or a slightly higher rate than our natural Twitter traffic,” said Benson. “The idea of paying for truly engaged social traffic conflicts with many social marketing experts’ best practices. Yet as our data continues to build, I’m still seeing new visitor traffic percentages remaining higher for the ad traffic than natural Twitter visitors.
“So not only are we reaching engaged visitors, but they’re also new to our site. We can begin to market to them using email (if they sign up) or methods like retargeting. It’s a bit of paid media fueling our SEO and social marketing, all tied together with data.”
The Reveal
Another aspect of this social-SEO scenario united by data is how (and why) companies listen to social signals to enhance their SEO efforts and vice versa. “Whether it’s recommendations, social channels that facilitate brands and audiences finding each other's content or new apps that deliver ways to interact, social keeps finding more ways to be involved in the conversation,” said O’Brien.
Platforms like GinzaMetrics and others help companies monitor these conversations. Brands are even moving away from more traditional SEO tactics (e.g. using unique title tags and rich anchor text) in favor of social-SEO programs that use social signals to help them earn more organic traffic, as was the case with Logicalis, Inc., a global provider of high-performance technology and server virtualization solutions.
“We use social media listening tools to identify emerging technology topics and then release content around those topics just as online interest is peaking,” said Lisa Dreher, vice president of marketing for Logicalis U.S. “We also have a disciplined approach that involves members of senior leadership and two agencies collaborating on a daily basis. Each week we issue a ‘social and SEO’ friendly media release that gets picked up by Google News and other online newswires. We support that release with a series of highly targeted Facebook posts, Tweets, LinkedIn updates and blog posts.
“We also respect the difference in our audiences and channels. For Facebook, we will sometimes have contests or highlight great work from our employees. With our blog, we focus on short posts about the hottest topics in IT in a rapid-fire point/counterpoint format. For LinkedIn, it’s all business, while Twitter is about quick hits around events or new content.”
As a result of these social-SEO tactics, Logicalis’s organic search traffic increased 44 percent from 2011 to 2012 (and 2011 search traffic was already a respectable number). The growth continues in 2013, as organic search traffic year to date is already up 16 percent compared to the same period in 2012.
Platforms like GinzaMetrics and others help companies monitor these conversations. Brands are even moving away from more traditional SEO tactics (e.g. using unique title tags and rich anchor text) in favor of social-SEO programs that use social signals to help them earn more organic traffic, as was the case with Logicalis, Inc., a global provider of high-performance technology and server virtualization solutions.
“We use social media listening tools to identify emerging technology topics and then release content around those topics just as online interest is peaking,” said Lisa Dreher, vice president of marketing for Logicalis U.S. “We also have a disciplined approach that involves members of senior leadership and two agencies collaborating on a daily basis. Each week we issue a ‘social and SEO’ friendly media release that gets picked up by Google News and other online newswires. We support that release with a series of highly targeted Facebook posts, Tweets, LinkedIn updates and blog posts.
“We also respect the difference in our audiences and channels. For Facebook, we will sometimes have contests or highlight great work from our employees. With our blog, we focus on short posts about the hottest topics in IT in a rapid-fire point/counterpoint format. For LinkedIn, it’s all business, while Twitter is about quick hits around events or new content.”
As a result of these social-SEO tactics, Logicalis’s organic search traffic increased 44 percent from 2011 to 2012 (and 2011 search traffic was already a respectable number). The growth continues in 2013, as organic search traffic year to date is already up 16 percent compared to the same period in 2012.
The Finale
Clearly companies with cohesive social and SEO efforts are seeing positive outcomes. While that cohesion would make for a boring Real Housewives of the ‘Net reunion show, the new reality is that when social and SEO play nice, brands are better for users and search engines.
- See more at: http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/pages/the-new-reality-of-social-seo.aspx?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter#sthash.OH2yhjvX.dpuf
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