Social interactions like Facebook shares, likes, and comments, +1s on Google+, etc. are called social signals.
Google has been tracking social signals as part of its ranking algorithm since late 2010.
Note: Google encourages website owners to build their social presence as a long-term investment to drive qualified traffic, rather than aiming for short-term benefits like search ranking placement. Google’s own head of the web spam team Matt Cutts has stated that Google takes a cautious approach when it comes to social signals, as so many things change quickly on social media. Without a full ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign more importance to social signals over other aspects of their search algorithm. In short, Google’s strategy is to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide real value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google naturally wants to rank higher in its search engine.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines like Google and Bing look to when measuring social signals include:
With over 1.5 billion active users, Facebook is the most dominant social media network in the world. Research shows that a single post can reach over 100,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving a massive amount of sales on your website, don’t be quick to dismiss the power of leveraging Facebook, as Google uses data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, research indicates that Facebook seems to have the most influence on website rankings of all social media sites, like Twitter andGoogle+.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next largest social media site in the world, with over 600 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 amount of tweets sent …
(Over half a billion tweets are sent every single day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social networking site, Google+ naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it is still a fledgling online community compared to sites like Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are starting to interact socially on Google+ each year. Source: Internet Live Stats)
In addition to the big three listed above, there are a number of other social media networks that provide important social signals, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon,Reddit, and Digg.
(A number of social media sites provide important signals to search engines that can affect your rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Pay Attention To?
Search engines track various social signals, including the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, shares, and comments a person has, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. tweets and retweets, how influential the person sharing the information is, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (high profile users), how many followers on Google+ a site page has, number and growth rate of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. number of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on Digg, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious signals that can indirectly influence search engine traffic. These include desirable and negative factors, such as links from authority sites (backlinks) (not as relevant as they once were, but still a factor) [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by other users [negative].
As a business owner, it’s important to not only find ways to grow your social media presence, but also to be able to monitor and analyze your social media marketing campaigns in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media marketing to improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to find insights into what people are saying about your company, brand, or services on social media, measure the impact of campaigns, identify new opportunities for engagement, help you take preventative measures against the spread of negative comments or feedback by online users, and spy on your competitors. It can also provide you with vital information about emerging trends and what clients and consumers think about specific brands, products, businesses, or topics.
As a business intelligence tool, social media signal monitoring is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, often carried out by various groups that include marketing teams, PR companies, market researchers, social media marketing agencies, social engagement and community staff, and sales teams. Typically, small businesses do not have the budget to pay social media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the and actively monitor their online reputation.
Fortunately a number of technology providers have developed many affordable tools that facilitate the active monitoring of a wide range of social media channels, allowing companies to identify what is being said online about their brands or products allowing them to react to conversations and interact with consumers in various social media platforms.
If you want to learn more about social media measurement tools and technologies that are worth checking out and knowing about, see this article:
(Are you tracking your social signals effectively?)
This article discusses a simple plugin for WordPress websites for tracking social signals and growing your social media influence online.
Presenting …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics WordPress Plugin
Description
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-use social media analytics premium WordPress plugin that is designed to help you increase your social media presence in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – SocialMetricsPro tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a green or red indicator. The site owner’s goal is simple … convert all red squares into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that any website owner can operate … just turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics. Posts with highest number of shares are colored green. Posts with low social media activity show up amber or 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 that their top 10 best performing sites saw an improvement of up to 360% more traffic, 410% more keywords ranked in the first page of Google and their revenue increased by 310%.
(According to Social Metrics Pro developers, focusing on improving your social marketing can positively impact your search rankings, web traffic and revenue!)
Learn more here:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits of using Social Metrics Pro to track Likes, Tweets, +1s, Pins and more directly from your WP Dashboard on your web site:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
Social Metrics Pro installs like any regular plugin. Simply upload a zip folder that contains the plugin to your Plugins folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, your goal is to convert all reds into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social media signals so you know which social marketing campaigns need you to invest more effort and which campaigns need to be better optimized.
Track The Social Signals From The Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro allows you to centrally monitor social activity from networks like Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.
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.
(Social Metrics Pro constantly tracks social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
Plugin Features
Social Metrics Pro provides many great features to web site owners. Below we have listed a few:
- Quick and simple to install and implement. Ready to use in very little time.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using built-in and external widgets. Social Metrics Pro shows updated stats from your WP admin bar, display social content on your sidebar or anywhere in your site using point-and-click widgets.
- 1-click updates. You can update Social Metrics Pro with a single click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update it manually. You can also opt to be notified via email when new plugin updates are released.
- Minimal hosting resources consumption. Reporting is very quickly, using very little hosting resources. Reports also display the amount of time spent retrieving the information and the server resources used to compile data.
Additional features include:
- Sort, Search & Filter Features: SocialMetricsPro allows you to sort and filter your data as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by post type, category, publishing date, or post authors.
- Export Data To Excel: You can export filtered data and custom queries to 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.
(SocialMetricsPro is really simple to use … just change all reds into greens!)
User Testimonials
Below are just some testimonials that users have submitted regarding Social Metrics Pro:
”Social Metrics is the easiest way to see at a glance which posts have performed well on social networks.” Kevin Muldoon, Founder of WPMods.com
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“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
SocialMetricsPro Plugin – Useful Tips
Social Metrics Pro comes with a practical, step-by-step guide showing you how to optimize your site for social media success (i.e. how to turn reds into greens).
Support
The software is well-supported, and users get lifetime software upgrades and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, sixty-day, complete money-back guarantee.
Software Price
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This lets you use SocialMetricsPro on a single web site. Includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site Licensing – This allows you to install Social Metrics Pro on all the websites that you own. It includes free lifetime updates and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: Price details for the SocialMetricsPro plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing above was current when this article was published. This may or may not be the actual price set by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
We Highly Recommend This
As mentioned earlier, with the rising importance of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines like Bing and Google are now taking into account a range of social signals when determining website ranking.
No website owner can afford to ignore how important social media is to their online success. Social Metrics Pro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives users immediate feedback on the success of their social media marketing strategy and guides them where to improve their results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress admin area.
Get Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to monitor which social networks are working for your business.
For more details, check out the plugin here: Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
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