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Does Social Media Affect SEO?

| Janet Camilleri | ,

Does Social Media Affect SEO?

| Janet Camilleri | ,

We get asked all sorts of weird and wonderful questions here at Front Page SEO – like “Does dwell time on your site help improve your Google ranking?” or “Does social media affect SEO (search engine optimisation)”?

does social media affect SEO

It’s the latter question that we’re going to look at today.

While at Front Page SEO we do encourage our clients to create an account for their brand on the various social media platforms (and include their URL in their profile) – the simple answer is: not directly.

According to Matt Cutts when he worked for Google, the search engine giant treats Facebook and Twitter the same as any other webpage. Your popularity (ie number of followers) on social media is not a ranking factor.

Indirectly however is another story – which is why you will now find Front Page SEO on Instagram, as well as Facebook (click the links to follow us on social media!).

How Social Media and SEO Work Together

If you want to boost your business online, a combination of social media and SEO offers some great advantages:

  • Promote your content. Sharing your latest blog post on your Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter account is a great way to drive traffic to your website. And the more visits to your site – the more Google sees that people like the content you have there, which is a ranking signal for SEO.
  • Dominate the front page of search engine results. These days, if you search for a name or organisation, Google is likely to show not just their website, but the links to their social media profiles as well. Imagine your business dominating the front page of search results! Not only could your website appear on the front page of Google, but also your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Youtube, Linked In and other social media accounts … leaving little room for the competition.

Don’t forget too that some social media platforms – like Pinterest, Youtube, and Linked In – are also search engines! My blogging friend Anne Murphy for instance, specialises in driving traffic to websites via Pinterest.

At the end of the day, both social media and SEO are great ways to boost your business online – and like any collaboration, there is much to be gained from working together.

At Front Page SEO, we find it extremely rewarding to help small businesses with their Search Engine Optimisation, while our good friends at Brisbane social media agency Social Cut can help you to launch, establish and grow your social media platforms. Contact us today to find out more.