Social interactions like Facebook comments, likes, and shares, +1s on GooglePlus, etc. are called social signals.
With the growth of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines have started taking into account a range of social signals when determining website ranking.
Note: Google encourages businesses to build their brand on social media 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 too much importance to social signals 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 normally 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 and Bing look to for measuring social signals include:
With over 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most dominant social network in the world. Research shows that an average 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 online business strategy, as Google uses data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems to have the most influence on search rankings of all social media sites, like Twitter andGooglePlus.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second biggest 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 great value to followers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent each day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social media site, Google+ naturally carries great authority online, even if it has not reached the same level of growth and take up as Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are actively using GooglePlus each day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big 3 social sites listed above, there are a number of other social sites worth getting to know, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Digg.
(A number of social media sites provide important signals to search engines that can affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Google and Bing include the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, comments, and shares you have, 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 (influential users), how many people are following you, amount and growth rate of +1s, 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 influence search engine traffic. These include desirable and negative factors, such as improving clickthrough rate [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of poor quality by site reviewers [negative].
As a business owner, it’s not only important to find ways to develop your social media presence, but also to be able to track, measure and analyze social media in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media marketing can help improve your results online)
Monitoring social media activity allows you to gain insights into what people are saying about your company, brand, or products on social media, spy on your competition, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, identify potential market opportunities, and avert impending crises. It can also provide vital data about emerging trends and what clients and consumers think about specific businesses, products, topics, or brands.
As a tool for business intelligence, being able to monitor activity on social media channels like blogging, internet forums, wikis, micro-blogging platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, etc., discussion groups, video/photo sharing sites, and user-generated content (UGC) 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 PR companies, market researchers, marketing teams, social media marketing agencies, sales teams, and social engagement and community personnel. Typically, small businesses do not can’t afford to pay media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately different technology companies have developed many tools that facilitate the active monitoring of a broad spectrum of social media channels, enabling you to track what consumers are saying about your brand or products so you can respond proactively to conversations and engage with online users in various social media platforms.
We have created a detailed article where we explore a number of social media measurement tools and technologies that you may want to check out. For more information, go here:
(Are you monitoring social signals effectively?)
In this article, we explore a simple, yet highly effective social media monitoring tool for your WordPress-based site and growing your social media influence.
Announcing …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics WordPress Plugin
Plugin Description
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-install social analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help you increase your social media presence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – Social Metrics Pro measures and tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a green or red indicator. The user’s objective is simple … turn reds into greens.
(SocialMetricsPro provides a standard operating procedure that anyone can follow … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts that receive the most shares display green. Posts with low social media activity show up amber and red.
The developers of Social Metrics Pro tested their plugin on a network of over two thousand sites 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, improving your social marketing campaigns can result in better search engine rankings, more traffic and an increase in revenue!)
More info:
Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Social Metrics Pro to track Likes, Tweets, +1s, Pins and more right from your WP Dashboard on your web site:
Quick And Easy To Install And Set Up. Ready To Start Using In No Time.
Social Metrics Pro is really easy to install. Just upload a zip file containing the plugin to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the site owner’s task is to convert more red squares into greens. SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures social signals so you know which social marketing campaigns need more effort and where to optimize.
Select Only Signals From Social Networks You Care About
Social Metrics Pro provides a powerful dashboard to centrally track and monitor social activity from networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Digg, and StumbleUpon.
SocialMetricsPro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social networks work best for my site?
- Which social campaigns are performing the best on these social networks?
- Which of my posts are the most popular?
- And more …
With Social Metrics Pro, all this information is available on-demand, with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly monitors the social sites that you care most about!)
Features
SocialMetricsPro offers many features to website owners. Here are a few of these:
- Fast and easy to install and set up. Ready to start using in very little time.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using built-in and external widgets. View updated stats from your WP dashboard, display popular content on your blog sidebar or anywhere on your site using point-and-click widgets.
- 1-click updating. Update the plugin with one click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also choose to be notified via email whenever new plugin updates are released.
- Plugin suits even the smallest hosting. The plugin generates reports in seconds, consuming minimal server resources. Report generation also includes the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server resources used to compile the data.
Additional features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: SocialMetricsPro allows you to sort, search and filter information as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by post type, category, publishing date, or by post authors.
- 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 the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(Social Metrics Pro is simple to use … just change all reds into greens!)
User Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials customers have published about the SocialMetricsPro plugin:
“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
SocialMetricsPro – 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.
SocialMetricsPro Support
The software is well-supported, and comes with free support and free lifetime updates, backed by a no-risk, sixty-day, complete refund guarantee.
Software Price
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This enables you to run SocialMetricsPro on a single web site. Price includes free lifetime updates and support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This edition enables you to set up Social Metrics Pro on multiple sites that you own. Includes free lifetime updates and support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Current pricing for the Social Metrics Pro plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the product retails for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the plugin author when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
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 increased importance of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines like Bing and Google are now taking into account various social signals to help determine a site’s ranking.
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 media marketing strategy and guides you where to direct your efforts in order to improve your results.
SocialMetricsPro is ideal for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WP admin area.
We recommend this plugin if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to shorten your path to success with social marketing.
For more information, check out the plugin here: SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics Plugin For WordPress
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