Social recommendations like +1s on Google+, Facebook likes, etc. are called social signals.
With the rising importance of social sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines like Google and Bing have started taking into account a range of social signals when determining a site’s ranking.
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 assessing social media signals, as so many things change quickly on social media. Without a full ‘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 websites that provide true value 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 when measuring social signals include:
With more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most influential social community on the planet. It has been estimated that a single post on Facebook can reach over 100,000 users, so even if no one is buying your products or services on Facebook, you should not be quick to dismiss the importance of Facebook in your online business strategy, as Google processes data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, research shows that Facebook seems to have the most influence on search engine rankings of all social media sites, like Twitter andGooglePlus.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next largest 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 on the cybersphere and places great importance on tweeting posts that provide value to followers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social media site, Google+ naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it has not reached the same level of growth and take up as Facebook and Twitter.
(More people are actively using GooglePlus every year. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big 3 social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social media networks that provide important social signals, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon,Reddit, and Digg.
(Social media sites provide important signals to search engines that could affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Bing and Google include:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook shares, comments, and likes you have, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets a web page has, how influential the person sending tweets is, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (high profile users), how many people follow you, number and growth rate of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. number 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 signals that can indirectly influence search engine traffic and rankings. These include positive and undesirable 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 website owner, it’s not only important to grow your social media presence, but also to be able to monitor and analyze your social media in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media marketing can help improve your business results)
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 your marketing campaigns, help you take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied users, spot market opportunities, and spy on your competitors. Additionally, social media monitoring can also provide you with vital information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients are thinking about specific topics, products, brands, or businesses.
As a tool for business intelligence, social media monitoring is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, typically carried out by a cross-section of groups that include marketing professionals, market research, digital reputation management (ORM) companies, social marketing agencies, social engagement and community staff, and sales teams. Typically, smaller businesses do not have the budget to pay social media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately many service providers have made available many tools that facilitate the tracking of a wide range of social media channels, allowing companies to identify consumer behavior around their brands or products allowing them to respond proactively to conversations and interact with consumers in a timely fashion.
Go here if you would like to learn more about social media measurement tools that will help you manage, measure, and analyze your social media marketing initiatives:
(Do you know how to effectively track social signals?)
This article discusses a simple WordPress plugin for monitoring social signals and increasing your social media presence online.
Introducing …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics WordPress Plugin
Plugin Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social media analytics plugin that is designed to help users improve their social media presence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures how each signal is performing and returns either a red or green indicator. The site owner’s task is to turn more red squares into greens.
(SocialMetricsPro provides a standard operating procedure that any website owner can operate … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics with Excel-like conditional color formatting. Posts with the highest number of shares display green. Posts with low social media activity display amber and red.
The plugin developers tested SocialMetricsPro on a network of over two thousand sites over a period of 3 months. During this period, all they focused on was turning the “reds” to “greens” and then keeping everything “green”. From these tests, they were able to notice 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 SocialMetricsPro developers, improving your social media marketing campaigns can significantly impact your search rankings, traffic and revenue!)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits of using SocialMetricsPro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more from your WP Dashboard on your website:
Fast And Simple To Install And Use. Ready To Use In No Time.
SocialMetricsPro installs like every other plugin. Just upload a zip folder containing the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your WP admin area and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, your objective is to convert all the red squares into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social signals the way Google sees it so you know which social marketing campaigns need more effort and where to optimize.
Track The Signals You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you monitor social activity across leading networks like Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Pinterest, Digg, LinkedIn, and StumbleUpon directly from your WordPress admin area.
SocialMetricsPro helps you get answers to 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 the sites that you care most about!)
Features
Social Metrics Pro offers WP users with many features. Below we have listed just some:
- Fast and simple to install and implement. Be up and running in no time.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with external and built-in widgets. Access 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.
- 1-click upgrading. You can update Social Metrics Pro in a single click via the WordPress Updates page, or update the manually manually. You can also opt to receive an email notification when a new version is released.
- Low-resource consumption. Metric reports are compiled in seconds, using minimal hosting resources. Reports also display the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server memory used to compile data.
Additional features include:
- Sort, Search & Filter Features: Social Metrics Pro lets you sort, search 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, post authors, or 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 the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(Social Metrics Pro is simple to use … just change more red squares into greens!)
Feedback From Users
Below are just some testimonials and comments that customers 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
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“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
Social Metrics Pro – Tips
A practical, step-by-step guide on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens) is also included.
Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, sixty-day, full money-back guarantee.
Plugin Price
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License Edition – This lets you set up SocialMetricsPro on 1 web site only. Includes free lifetime updates and free support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites Edition – This license option enables you to activate Social Metrics Pro on multiple sites that you own. Price includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Pricing details of SocialMetricsPro can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. When we last checked, the plugin is selling for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the product seller when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price:
Additional Product Info
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Get This Product
As mentioned earlier, with the increased importance of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines like Bing and Google now take into account social signals to help determine website ranking.
No website owner can afford to ignore how important social media is to their online success. 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 shows you where to improve your 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 WP admin area.
We recommend this plugin if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to track your social signals automatically.
For more information, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics For WordPress
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