Social interactions and recommendations like Facebook comments, Twitter retweets and mentions, etc. are called social signals.
Google has been elevating the importance given to social signals as part of its ranking algorithm for several years now.
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. Google’s own head of the web spam team Matt Cutts 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 reliable ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign too much importance to the social sphere over other aspects of their search algorithm. In summary, Google’s strategy is to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide real value normally develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites that Google wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signals – Which Social Media Sites Matter?
Social sites that search engines look to when measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most dominant social network on the planet. Research shows that one great post can reach over 100,000 users, so even if no one seems to be buying your products or services on Facebook, don’t be quick to dismiss the importance of Facebook in your business strategy, as Google uses data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, research shows that Facebook seems influence search rankings more than other social media sites.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next largest social media site in the world, with over 500 million tweets sent out each day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer on the cybersphere and places great importance on tweeting posts that provide value to readers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every single day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google Plus
Google’s own social site 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 interacting on Google+ every week. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social media networks that should not be ignored, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon,Reddit, and Digg.
(Social media sites provide important signals that could affect your search engine rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines include:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, shares, and comments a person has, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets a web page has, how influential the person tweeting is, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many followers on GooglePlus your URL has accrued, amount and growth rate of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on Digg, etc.
- Other signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious signals that can influence search rankings and traffic. These include desirable and undesirable factors, such as age and authority of your social media account [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by site reviewers [negative].
As a website owner, it’s important to not only grow your social media presence, 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 company’s online visibility on social media, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, spy on the competition, take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by embittered customers, and identify opportunities for engagement. It can also provide vital data about emerging trends and what consumers and clients think about specific brands, topics, businesses, or products.
As a business intelligence tool, the ability to track social media is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, typically carried out by various people including market research, marketing professionals, digital reputation managers, agencies, sales teams, and social engagement and community staff. Typically, many small businesses do not have the budget to pay a media monitoring service to continually track their coverage in the and actively monitor their digital reputation.
Fortunately various service providers have created affordable tools that facilitate the monitoring of a variety of social media channels, enabling you to identify and even predict consumer behavior around your products or brand so you can respond to conversations and engage with consumers in various social media platforms.
We have written a comprehensive article on social media measurement tools that will help you keep track of online trends, monitor competitor activity, see what online conversations are taking place that can affect your business, etc, see what online conversations are taking place that could affect your business,etc. Go here to learn more:
(Do you know how to effectively track your social signals?)
This article discusses a simple, yet highly effective social media tracking plugin for your online business and increasing your social media presence online.
Our Recommended WordPress Plugin Is …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description Of Plugin
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social media analytics premium WordPress plugin that is designed to help you increase your social media influence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – Social Metrics Pro measures how each signal is performing and returns either a green or red indicator. The user’s job is to convert all reds into greens.
(A system that anyone can operate … turn all the reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts that receive the most shares show up green. Posts with low social media activity show up amber or red.
The developers of SocialMetricsPro tested their plugin on a network of over two thousand 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”. 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 they also experienced a 310% increase in revenues.
(According to the plugin developers, focusing on improving your social marketing campaigns can result in higher search engine rankings, more web traffic and increased revenue!)
Go here to learn more:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the benefits and advantages of using Social Metrics Pro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more directly from your WP Dashboard on your web site:
Ready To Use In Minutes
SocialMetricsPro is very easy to install. Just upload it to your Plugin folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s objective is to change red squares into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social media signals so you know where to put more effort and where to optimize.
Choose Only Signals From Social Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you monitor social media activity across leading networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Digg, and LinkedIn.
Social Metrics Pro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social networks work best for my site?
- Which posts are performing the best on these social networks?
- Which of my posts are the most popular?
- And more …
With Social Metrics Pro, all of this information is available on-demand, with a single click.
(Social Metrics Pro constantly monitors the social media sites that you care most about!)
Product Features
Social Metrics Pro offers many great features to WP users. Here are a few of these:
- Quick and simple to install and implement. Ready to go to work in very little time.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using external and built-in widgets. Social Metrics Pro displays updated stats right on your WP admin bar, add socially popular content to your sidebar or anywhere on your site using point-and-click widgets.
- One-click updating. You can update SocialMetricsPro with a single click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update the manually manually. You can also opt to be notified via email when new versions are released.
- Uses very little hosting resources. Reporting is in seconds, using little server resources. Report generation also includes the amount of time used to retrieve the information and the server resources used to gather and compile the data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sorting, Searching And Filtering Features: Social Metrics Pro allows you to sort, search and filter the data as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by publishing date, category, post type, or 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 the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(SocialMetricsPro is really simple to use … just turn more red squares into greens!)
Testimonials From Plugin Users
Below are just a few of the testimonials and comments customers have provided for 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 – Tips
A practical guide showing you how to optimize your campaigns and improve your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens) is also included.
Product Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and comes with free support and free lifetime updates, backed by a no-risk, sixty-day, full refund guarantee.
Product Cost
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This license option enables you to use SocialMetricsPro on one site only. Includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites Edition – This lets you configure SocialMetricsPro on all the web sites that you own. Includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: The price of the Social Metrics Pro plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the product sells for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
We Highly Recommend This
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. SocialMetricsPro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives you instant feedback on the success of your social marketing campaigns and guides you where to improve your results.
SocialMetricsPro is an ideal tool for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WP admin area.
Get SocialMetricsPro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to save money on outsourcing your social marketing or train your staff to manage your campaigns inhouse.
For more details, check out the plugin here: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics For WordPress
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