Social interactions like +1s on GooglePlus, Facebook likes, shares, and comments, etc. are called social signals.
Social signals impact search engine rankings and Google has been elevating the importance given to social signals as part of its ranking algorithm for several years now.
Note: Google encourages website owners to build their social 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 web spam team 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 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 sites that provide true value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites 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 for measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the largest social network in the world. It has been estimated that one great post on Facebook can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if no one seems to be buying your products or services on Facebook, you should not be quick to dismiss Facebook as an important part of your online business strategy, as Google uses social data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, research shows that Facebook seems to have the most influence on search rankings of all social media sites, like GooglePlus and Twitter.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next biggest social media site in the world, with over half a billion tweets sent out every day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer online and places great importance on tweeting posts that provide great value to followers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent each day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
Google’s own social networking site naturally carries great authority online, even if it is still a fledgling online community compared to sites like Facebook and Twitter.
(More people are interacting socially on Google+ every day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three social sites listed above, there are a number of other social sites worth getting to know, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon,Reddit, and Digg.
(A number of social sites provide important signals to search engines that can affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Pay Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Bing and Google include:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, comments, and shares a person has, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets your URL has, how influential the person retweeting your information is, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many followers on Google+ your web page has, spread rate of adds and shares, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, upvotes on StumbleUpon, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious social media-related signals that can indirectly influence search engine rankings. These include positive and negative factors, such as age and authority of your social media account [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of low quality by visitors [negative].
As a business owner, it’s important to not only find ways to grow your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track, measure and analyze social performance in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media can help improve your business results)
Social media monitoring allows you to find insights into what people are saying about your brand, services, or company on social media, help you take preventative measures against the spread of negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied users, spot market opportunities, spy on your competitors, and measure the impact of your marketing campaigns. Additionally, social media monitoring can also provide vital data about emerging trends and what clients and consumers are thinking about specific products, businesses, brands, 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 groups that include market research, marketing professionals, online reputation management (ORM) companies, social engagement and community staff, agencies, 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 many service providers have created a range of affordable and even free tools that facilitate the monitoring of a broad spectrum of social media channels, allowing you to track what is being said online about your brand or products allowing you to react to conversations and interact with consumers in a timely manner.
We have written a detailed article where we explore many social media monitoring tools that you may want to check out. To learn more, go here:
(Are you searching for an effective way to track social signals?)
This article explores a simple, yet highly effective social monitoring plugin for WordPress and improving your social media exposure online.
Presenting …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
Description Of Plugin
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social media analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help you grow your social media influence in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – the tool tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a red or green indicator. Your job is to convert all the reds into greens.
(SocialMetricsPro provides a system that any website owner can operate … turn all the reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts with highest number of shares show up green. Posts with low social media activity display amber or red.
The developers of Social Metrics Pro tested their plugin 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 their metrics on “green”. From these tests, they were able to notice 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 the plugin developers, focusing on improving your social marketing campaigns can significantly can have a significant effect on your search rankings, traffic and revenue!)
For more details go here:
Benefits Of Using Social Metrics Pro
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using SocialMetricsPro to track Likes, Tweets, +1s, Pins and more right from your WP Dashboard on your site:
Ready To Go To Work In Minutes
SocialMetricsPro is quite easy to install. Just upload a zip file that contains the plugin to your Plugin folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the site owner’s goal is to change red squares into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social signals the way Google sees it so you know which social campaigns require more effort and where to optimize.
Track Social Signals From The Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you track and monitor social media activity across leading social media networks like GooglePlus, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Pinterest directly from your WP dashboard.
SocialMetricsPro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social media networks work best for my site?
- Which posts are performing the best on these social networks?
- Which are my most popular posts?
- And more …
With Social Metrics Pro, all of this information can be accessed with just one click.
(Social Metrics Pro constantly tracks social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
Features
Social Metrics Pro provides WordPress users with many unique features. Here are just a few:
- Quick and easy to install and use. Be up and running in minutes.
- Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with external and built-in widgets. View the latest stats right on your WP admin bar, display socially popular content on your sidebar or anywhere on your site using widgets.
- 1-click upgrades. Update SocialMetricsPro with a single click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also opt to be notified via email when new plugin updates are released.
- Plugin works the smallest hosting. The plugin can generate reports very quickly, using very little server resources. Report generation also includes the amount of time it took to retrieve the information and the server resources used to gather data.
Additional features include:
- Sort, Search And Filter Features: SocialMetricsPro allows you to sort and filter the data as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by category, post authors, post type, or by publishing date.
- Export Data: 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 really simple to use … just turn all red squares into greens!)
Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials and comments that plugin users have written about Social Metrics Pro:
”As with any cool plugin, it solves a very simple problem – how to view how well your WordPress posts are being promoted.” Adam Small, Marketing Tech Blog
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“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
SocialMetricsPro – Tips
Social Metrics Pro includes a step-by-step, practical guide showing you how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens).
Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and comes with free lifetime updates and support, backed by a risk-free, 60-day, 100% refund guarantee.
Software Price
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This allows you to set up Social Metrics Pro on a single web site. Cost includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites Licensing – This option enables you to install Social Metrics Pro on multiple websites that you own. Includes free lifetime updates and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: Price details for the SocialMetricsPro product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing above was correct when this content was published. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product seller when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Get The 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 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 you immediate feedback on the success of your social media marketing strategy and shows you how and where to improve your results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WP dashboard.
Get Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to see measurable results.
For full details, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
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