Search Engine Optimization (more commonly referred to as simply SEO) is always growing more and more complex as search engines work hard to provide the best possible search results to their users. In doing this, many have begun to consider social signals in their SEO algorithms – including Google. Here’s what you need to know about social signals and how social media can affect your company’s visibility.

What are Social Signals?

In the SEO and marketing realms, social signals refer to instances in which visitors interact with your social media accounts in one way or another – either directly or indirectly. For example, sharing your post on Facebook is a direct social signal; liking a blog post on your website that has been integrated with Facebook is an indirect social signal. It may also include the number of times viewers share your webpage or blog post to their own personal feeds, whether that’s on Facebook, Twitter, or another social site.

Simply put, social signals point to overall social media visibility as viewed by search engines like Google or Bing. In recent years, social media has become a tremendous player in marketing, so it should come as no real surprise that it can also play a role in how the major search engines see your company, too. The more people interact with your content on social media platforms, the better.

How to Increase Your Social Signals for Insane SEO

Now that you know that social signals really do exist, you should spend some time thinking about the best ways to incorporate them into your marketing campaigns. In fact, you should meet with your marketing team and come up with a comprehensive strategy for boosting those signals. The number one tip to do this well is to stick to content that is valuable and informative – or even entertaining if that’s the message you want your brand to send.

Otherwise, some things you can do to boost your social signals include:

  • Being active on all your social media accounts. You should post at least once every single day on Facebook, Twitter, and others. You can even post to places like Reddit, too.
  • Using videos and photos to your advantage. Social media users prefer to consume their information via a video or photo, so don’t shy away from these. Make sure they’re high-quality and encourage viewers to interact with them.
  • Hosting contests or games. These are by far the best ways to get people to interact with the things you post on your social media feeds, which drastically increases social signals, and it’s also a great way to get your brand noticed even more.
  • Partnering with other brands. Look around for businesses with products and services that complement your own, and then reach out to those companies in an effort to form partnerships for a social media series.
  • Use Using social media monitoring software and apps. Some of the best social media marketing apps for tracking social signals across all your accounts are available for free, so look into them and choose the one that you like best. There are also tons of SEO tools out there to choose from, and when used in conjunction with social media trackers, the information provided is priceless.

There’s no denying that social signals have become an important part of SEO, and as social media sites continue to gain traction – and they are expected to do so – those signals will continue to play a huge role in your brand’s visibility. Fortunately, the tips provided here can work to your advantage when it comes to drastically increase the number of social media interactions your brand receives on a daily basis.