Social recommendations like Facebook likes, shares, and comments, Twitter retweets and mentions, etc. are called social signals.
With the growth of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines like Google and Bing now take into account social signals when determining a website’s ranking.
Note: Google encourages businesses to build their brand on social media 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 assessing social media signals, as social trends and relationships can change at a moment’s notice. Without a perfect ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign more importance to the social sphere over other aspects of their search algorithm. In summary, Google’s strategy is a sensible one - “wait and see” how things develop over time, as sites that provide value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites that Google naturally wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signal Sources
Social sites that search engines like Google look to for measuring social signals include:
With more than 1.5 billion active users, Facebook is the most dominant social network on the planet. It has been estimated that an average post on Facebook can reach over 100,000 users, so even if no one is buying your products or services on Facebook, don’t be quick to dismiss the power of leveraging Facebook, as Google uses data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence search engine rankings more than other social media sites.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second biggest social media site in the world, with over 600 million tweets sent out each day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer online and places great emphasis on the authority of tweets posted to readers over the volume of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google+
Google’s own social site naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it is still a fledgling social community compared to sites like Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are starting to interact socially on Google+ every day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
In addition to the big three social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social sites worth getting to know, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Digg.
(A number of social media sites provide important signals that could affect your search engine rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Pay Attention To?
Search engines like Google and Bing track various social signals, including:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, comments, and shares you have, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets your web page has, how influential the person sending tweets is, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many followers on GooglePlus a web page has amassed, number and authority of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, upvotes on Reddit, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious social media-related signals that can influence search rankings and traffic. These include positive and undesirable factors, such as backlinks from authority sites (not as important as they once were, but still a factor) [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by visitors [negative].
As a website owner, it’s important to not only find ways to develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track and analyze your social media in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media marketing can improve your business results)
Tracking social media activity allows you to gain insights into your brand’s overall visibility on social media, identify potential opportunities for engagement, measure the impact of campaigns, spy on your competitors, and help you take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by online users. It can also provide you with valuable information about emerging trends and what clients and consumers are thinking about specific products, brands, businesses, or topics.
As a tool for business intelligence, social monitoring is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, typically carried out by various people including digital reputation managers, marketing teams, market research, sales teams, social marketing agencies, and social engagement and community staff. Typically, many small businesses do not have the budget to pay social media monitoring professionals to continually track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately different technology companies have developed affordable tools and solutions that facilitate the tracking of a variety of social media channels, enabling you to track consumer behavior around your brand allowing you to respond proactively to conversations and engage with consumers in a timely fashion.
We have created a detailed article where we explore many social media monitoring tools and technologies that you may want to check out. More information:
(Are you searching for an effective way to track social signals?)
This article discusses a simple, yet effective WordPress plugin for tracking social signals and improving your social media exposure online.
Introducing …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics WordPress Plugin
Plugin Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social analytics premium WordPress plugin that is designed to help users grow their social media influence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – Social Metrics Pro measures how each signal is performing and returns either a red or green indicator. The site owner’s job is to change reds into greens.
(SocialMetricsPro provides a system that any user can operate … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts that get shared the most show up green. Posts with low social media activity display amber or red.
The plugin developers tested SocialMetricsPro on a network of 2,000+ websites over a period of three months. During this period, all they focused on was turning the “reds” to “greens” and then keeping everything “green”. From these tests, 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 SocialMetricsPro developers, focusing on improving your social media marketing campaigns can positively can have a significant effect on your search engine rankings, traffic and revenue!)
Learn more here:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed 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:
Easy To Install
Social Metrics Pro is quite easy to install. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your WP admin user login and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, your job is to change red squares into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social signals so you know where to apply more effort and which social marketing campaigns need to be better optimized.
Track Only Signals From Social Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro allows you to track and monitor social activity from social networks like Twitter, GooglePlus, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, Pinterest, and StumbleUpon.
Social Metrics Pro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social media networks work best for my site?
- Which social campaigns are performing the best on these social networks?
- Which are my most popular posts?
- And more …
With Social Metrics Pro, all this information is available on-demand, with a single click.
(Social Metrics Pro actively tracks social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
Product Features
Social Metrics Pro provides a number of great features to website owners. Here are just a few:
- Fast and easy to install and configure. Be up and running in minutes.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality using built-in and external widgets. View updated stats from your WordPress dashboard, add popular content to your blog sidebar or anywhere in your site using widgets.
- 1-click upgrades. You can update Social Metrics Pro with one click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also opt to receive an email notification when new plugin updates are released.
- Consumes very little resources. Social reports are compiled in seconds, using minimal hosting resources. Report generation also displays the amount of time spent retrieving the information and the server resources used to gather data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sorting, Searching And Filtering Features: Social Metrics Pro allows you to sort and filter information however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by publishing date, post type, category, or by post authors.
- Export Data To Excel: You can export data 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 simple to use … just convert more reds into greens!)
Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials that plugin users have provided for the SocialMetricsPro plugin:
”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
***
“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
Useful Tips
A step-by-step guide showing you how to optimize your campaigns and improve your social media strategy (i.e. how to turn reds into greens) is also included.
SocialMetricsPro Plugin Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and comes with free lifetime updates and support, backed by a risk-free, sixty-day, 100% money-back guarantee.
Software Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Edition – This enables you to use SocialMetricsPro on a single web site. It includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites License – This license enables you to set up Social Metrics Pro on multiple websites that you own. Price includes free lifetime updates and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: The cost to purchase Social Metrics Pro can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The price above was current when this article was published. This may not be the actual pricing set by the product author when you visit the product site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Install This Plugin
As mentioned earlier, Google has been elevating the importance given to social signals as part of its ranking algorithm.
No website owner can afford to ignore the importance of social media. Social Metrics Pro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives website owners immediate feedback on the success of their social media marketing strategy and guides them how to direct their efforts in order to improve their results.
Social Metrics Pro is an ideal tool for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WordPress admin area.
We recommend getting Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to make social marketing work for you.
For complete details, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics For WordPress
***
***