Some people believe that search engine optimization is dying. Not only are Google’s algorithms changing almost too fast for SEO experts to keep up, but SEO itself may soon be replaced by social media as the main source of information online. This is of course a huge exaggeration. Social media is far from our main source of information online. People still use Google, and search engine rankings and hits are still important.

That doesn’t mean that social media should be ignored, though. Social media may not be a replacement for SEO, but it does have a huge effect on it. Google’s last algorithm update included Social Media Ranking. If your business isn’t active on Social Media, you could be doing damage to your listing on Google. Here are just a few ways Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter are affecting your SEO efforts.

Social Shares and Link Building

Link building has always been one of the cornerstones of SEO, and in most respects that hasn’t changed. Google still looks at the number of links on a site to determine if it is a quality source of information, but social media has changed the way these links are being shared. These days, links are being achieved through original and compelling content that is shared across social media. For example, if someone finds an interesting article, they will be likely to post it onto their Facebook wall or Twitter feed for all of their followers to see. Many of those followers will in turn post the article to their followers, and so on. Eventually, thousands of people will have seen that article, which translates to page views for the website or blog the in which the article originally appeared.

Links that are shared via Facebook, Google+, Twitter or even YouTube will rank higher according to Google’s search algorithm. Google will assume that this content is being shared for a good reason, and it will show up near the top of a typical search result.

Social Media and Credible Sources

If your content is shared on your social networks and you have several followers, Google is more likely to see you as a credible source. This will mean that your content will always rank higher and be seen not just by your followers, but by potentially thousands of others viewers who will help build your brand and increase your social media presence.

Branding

A large part of social media marketing is branding, which definitely has an effect on SEO as well. Having your brand merely mentioned on a site is often enough to get a boost from Google, even if it is only a mention and not actually a link. In many ways, this is closer to “old fashioned” advertising in that it gets your brand’s name out even if it doesn’t technically involve SEO link building.

The thing to remember when it comes to social media and the changing face of SEO is that content is king. Social media Marketing Billings MT is all about real people reading and sharing content, so SEO experts have their work cut out for them. It’s not about keyword stuffing and other questionable techniques anymore; content has to be genuinely engaging if it is to spread across any social network.

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