Social recommendations like Facebook likes, shares, and comments, +1s on Google+, etc. are called social signals.
Social signals impact search engine rankings and Google has been tracking social signals as part of its ranking algorithm since late 2010.
Note: Google encourages businesses to build their social media presence as a long-term investment to drive qualified traffic, instead of aiming for short-term benefits like search ranking placement. Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s own web spam team has stated that Google takes a cautious approach when it comes to social media, as social trends and relationships can change at a moment’s notice. Without a reliable ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign more importance to the social sphere over other aspects of their search algorithm. In short, Google’s strategy is a sensible one - “wait and see” how things develop over time, as sites that provide real value normally develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google naturally wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signals – Which Sites Matter?
Social media sites that search engines like Google look to when measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the largest social media network in the world. It has been estimated that one great post on Facebook can reach over 100,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving droves of customers to your website, you should not be quick to dismiss Facebook as an important part of your online business strategy, as Google processes data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, research indicates that Facebook seems influence website rankings more than other social media sites.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second largest social media site in the world, with over 500 million tweets sent out every single day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer online and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide value to followers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over half a billion tweets are sent each day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google+
As Google’s own social media site, GooglePlus naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it has not reached the same level of growth and take up as Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are starting to interact socially on Google+ every month. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big 3 listed above, there are a number of other social media networks worth getting to know, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Digg.
(A number of social media sites provide important signals to search engines that could affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Search engines like Google and Bing track various social signals, including the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, shares, and comments a person has, growth rate of shares and likes, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. tweets and retweets, how influential the person sharing your posts is, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (high profile users), how many people follow you, number of adds and shares, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, upvotes on Reddit, etc.
- Other signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious social media-related factors that can indirectly influence search traffic. These include desirable and negative factors, such as age and authority of your social media account [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by other users [negative].
As a business owner, it’s not only important to find ways to develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track, measure and analyze social marketing in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media to help improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to find insights into what people are saying about your products, company, or brand on social media, avert crises, measure the impact of campaigns, identify market opportunities, and spy on your competitors. It can also provide valuable data about emerging trends and what consumers and clients are thinking about specific brands, products, businesses, or topics.
As a tool for business intelligence, the ability to monitor social media is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, often carried out by a cross-section of groups that include market researchers, marketing teams, digital reputation specialists, social marketing agencies, social engagement and community personnel, and professional sales reps. Typically, small businesses do not have the budget to pay social media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the and actively monitor their digital reputation.
Fortunately many providers have created many affordable tools to facilitate the monitoring of a variety of social media channels, allowing companies to track consumer behavior around their products or brands allowing them to react to conversations and engage with consumers in a timely manner.
We have written a comprehensive article on social media monitoring tools and technologies that are worth checking out and knowing about. Go here to learn more:
(Do you know how to effectively track your social signals?)
In this article, we discuss a simple plugin for WordPress users for tracking social signals and increasing your social media influence online.
Introducing …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description Of Plugin
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-install social media analytics plugin that is designed to help users grow their social media influence in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – the tool measures and tracks how each signal is performing and returns either a red or green indicator. The site owner’s goal is to change all the reds into greens.
(A system that any website owner can follow … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics with Excel-like conditional color formatting. Posts with the highest number of shares display green. Posts with low social media activity show up amber and red.
The developers of SocialMetricsPro tested their plugin on a network of 2,000+ sites over a period of three months. During this period, all they focused on was turning the “reds” to “greens” and then keeping their metrics on “green”. According to the plugin developers, they noticed a 360% improvement in traffic for their top 10 performing sites, 410% more keywords ranked in the first page of Google and they also experienced a 310% increase in revenues.
(According to Social Metrics Pro developers, improving your social media marketing can result in better search rankings, increased web traffic and increased revenue!)
More info:
Benefits Of Using SocialMetricsPro
Below are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Social Metrics Pro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more directly from your WordPress Dashboard on your web site:
Ready To Go To Work In Minutes
Social Metrics Pro is quite easy to install. Just upload a zip folder containing the plugin to your Plugins folder via your WordPress administrator area and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s objective is to convert more reds into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social signals the way Google sees it so you know which social campaigns need you to invest more effort and which ones need to be better optimized.
Select Only Signals From Social Networks You Care About
Social Metrics Pro provides a powerful dashboard to centrally track and monitor social media activity from networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Digg, and LinkedIn directly from your WP dashboard.
Social Metrics Pro helps you get answers to questions like:
- Which social media networks work best for my site?
- Which posts are performing the best on these social networks?
- Which of my posts are the most popular on social media?
- And more …
With Social Metrics Pro, all this information is available on-demand, with a single click.
(SocialMetricsPro actively tracks social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
Social Metrics Pro Features
Social Metrics Pro offers WP users with a number of great features. Here are just some of those:
- Fast and simple to install and configure. Ready to go to work in very little time.
- Social Metrics Pro Is Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality with built-in and external widgets. View updated information right on your WP admin bar, add socially popular content to your blog sidebar or anywhere on your site using widgets.
- One-click updates. You can update the plugin in one click via the WordPress Updates page, or update the manually manually. You can also opt to receive an email notification whenever a new version is released.
- Consumes minimal resources. The plugin can generate social metrics reports very quickly, consuming little hosting resources. Report generation also includes the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server resources used to gather the data.
Additional features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: SocialMetricsPro allows you to sort and filter your data however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by post authors, category, post type, or publishing date.
- Export Data: You can export and plot data in Excel for further analysis. Data can be exported in tab-delimited and comma-separated file formats, and imported to Excel or the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(Social Metrics Pro is very simple to use … just change more reds into greens!)
Testimonials From Users
Here are just some testimonials and comments users have submitted regarding Social Metrics Pro:
“Social Metrics Pro is the essential plugin we use to monitor how our content performs on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It’s simple, neat and works precisely as you would expect it. When we work with our clients such as T-Mobile, the .Me domain name registry and others, Social Metrics Pro is the plugin we use to create reports as well as keep track on each bit of content to optimize it for future performance.” Ivan Brezak Brkan, Editor of Netokracija.com, TechCrunch EU Contributor
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”Social Metrics is one of the recipes for Social WordPress. You can integrate it quickly and easily on your WordPress site to view your performance on social networks” Jean-Francois Arseneault, Arseneault Consultation
Social Metrics Pro Plugin – Useful Tips
A practical, step-by-step guide containing useful advice on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens) is also included.
Social Metrics Pro Plugin Support
SocialMetricsPro is well-supported, and comes with free support and free lifetime updates, backed by a no-risk, sixty-day, complete refund guarantee.
Plugin Cost
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Edition – This option lets you configure Social Metrics Pro on 1 web site only. Price includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This edition enables you to install Social Metrics Pro on multiple sites that you own. Pricing includes free lifetime updates and free support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: The cost of purchasing the Social Metrics Pro product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the product retails for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the software developer when you visit the website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Install This Product
As mentioned earlier, Google has been tracking social signals as part of its ranking algorithm.
No website owner can afford to ignore how important social media is to their online success. SocialMetricsPro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives you immediate feedback on the success of your social media marketing campaigns and shows you where and how to direct your efforts in order to improve your results.
SocialMetricsPro is ideal for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WP admin area.
Get SocialMetricsPro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to save money on outsourcing your social media marketing or train your staff to manage your campaigns inhouse.
For complete details, visit the plugin website: Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin
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