Today, most businesses understand how they can benefit from Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Up until now, all SEO practices were aimed at optimizing the local business’ site as per search locations. With the advent of social media, the term has now become Social Media Optimization (SMO).
Every ‘Share’, ‘Like’, and ‘+1’ impact the overall ranking of a website. Here are the major crossroads of SEO and Social search:
LOCATION BASED
- Geotagged Content:
Many social networks offer an option to tag your location while you are posting and most smartphones automatically geotag your photos when taken When such media is uploaded on sites like Flickr, YouTube, etc., its metadata, such as time, date and location, will be uploaded, as well.
If this data lives on your website or on Google Places, Google crawlers will make note and the SERP (search engine page ranking) will depend on it.
- Check-In’s:
Sites such as Foursquare and Facebook offer the ability to check-in to a physical location. This is similar to Google Places which verifies your location by using data about your physical location. This helps in local SEO and check-ins have become a key part of their search algorithm.
GOOGLE+ ADDS/SHARES & +1’S
There’s no denying that Google is the largest search engine out there. All of our efforts in optimizing websites are to ensure they appear on Google search. When Google announces that its +1’s & Adds/Shares are incorporated in the search algorithm, it’s time to pay attention because it’ll affect your SEO.
- Adds and/or Shares on Google+:
The inclusion of the ‘Share’ or ‘Add’ is important as it is part of the algorithm; however the actual factors of SEO are also at work. The number of Shares, the influence of the people sharing, and the rate at which the content is shared, play an important role in the ranking of a website.
- +1 button:
With Google’s new algorithm, getting +1’s on your website are very important for the SERP to be affected. The volume, influence of the people, and the rate of +1’s play an important role in SEO as well.
INFLUENCER REVIEWS
Identifying influencers in the space of your product or service is one of the most important social media strategies. Once they are identified, obtaining site reviews from them helps create an air of value to your brand. Once your location is set on the website and reviews from influencers start pouring in, consider your localSEO tackled.
TWITTER & FACEBOOK
Google’s algorithm has incorporated the value of influence you carry on social media sites. This depends on the search ranking of your website. They apply a three-dimensional measurement system for both Twitter & Facebook
- The number of followers, mentions and re-tweets on Twitter or the number of likes/shares on Facebook or a website’s content
- The influence of the people who Follow/Mention or Share/Like
- The pace of growth for Followers/Mentions or Shares/Likes
Summary
SEO and Social Media, which were vastly independent before, are merging to become a force to be reckoned with. This is what we call Social Media Optimization (SMO). Since a large portion of Social Media activity is targeted at local audience, this helps with local SEO.
Now, tagging media based on location and check-in’s alone do not determine a site’s ranking. Overall, social media profile health, activity, and engaged influencers also play an important part in SERP.
Keep in mind that the social space is continuously evolving so we’ll have to keep up with the pace. Google, as a search engine, is also constantly upgrading their search algorithms to provide better and faster results.
SOURCE: Local Search Ranking Factors
LITEHOUSE GROUP 