Social interactions like Facebook likes, Twitter mentions and retweets, etc. are called social signals.
Google has been tracking social signals as part of its ranking algorithm since late 2010.
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. 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 perfect ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign more importance to social signals 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 real value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google naturally wants to rank higher in its search listings.
Social Signal Sources
Social 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 largest social network on the planet. Research shows that a single post 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 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 influence search engine rankings more than other social media sites, like Twitter orGooglePlus.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second largest social media site in the world, with over 500 million tweets sent out every single day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence online and places great emphasis on the authority of tweets posted to readers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent each day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google+
Google’s own social site 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 starting to interact socially on Google+ every year. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big 3 listed above, there are a number of other social sites that provide important social metrics, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Digg.
(A number of social media sites provide important signals to search engines that could affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Pay Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Google and Bing include the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, likes, and shares you have, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets a URL has, how influential the person sending a tweet is, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (high profile users), how many people are following you, number and authority 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 factors that can influence search engine 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 of poor quality by site reviewers [negative].
As a business owner, it’s not only important to develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track, measure and analyze social campaigns in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media to improve your business results)
Monitoring social media activity allows you to gain insights into your brand’s overall visibility on social media, spot opportunities for engagement, help you take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied users, spy on your competition, and measure the impact of campaigns. It can also provide vital data about emerging trends and what clients and consumers are thinking about specific brands, businesses, topics, or products.
As a business intelligence tool, the ability to track social media channels like blogging, forums, social networking platforms, micro-blogging platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, etc., discussion boards, video/photo sharing websites, 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 various people including market researchers, PR staff, marketing teams, social engagement and community staff, professional sales reps, and social marketing agencies. Typically, many small businesses do not have the budget to pay a media monitoring service to continually track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately a number of technology providers have developed affordable tools to facilitate the active monitoring of a variety of social media channels, enabling companies to identify and even predict what consumers are saying about their products or brands so they can react to conversations and engage with online users in various social media platforms.
We have written a comprehensive article listing over 30 social media monitoring tools and technologies that are worth checking out and knowing about. Go here to learn more:
(Are you tracking social signals effectively?)
In this article, we look at a simple social monitoring tool for WordPress and increasing your social media presence.
Let’s Review …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics WordPress Plugin
Description Of Plugin
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-install social media analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help users improve their social media exposure in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – the system measures and tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a red or green indicator. The user’s objective is simple … convert red squares into greens.
(A system that any website owner can follow … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts that receive the most shares are colored green. Posts with low social media activity display amber or red.
The plugin developers tested SocialMetricsPro 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 their metrics on “green”. According to the plugin developers, 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 their revenue increased by 310%.
(According to Social Metrics Pro developers, improving your social media marketing can result in better search rankings, more traffic and increased revenue!)
More info:
Benefits
Below 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 WordPress Dashboard on your web site:
Ready To Use In Minutes
SocialMetricsPro is quite easy to install. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your WP admin user account and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s task is to convert all reds into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social media signals the way Google sees it so you know which social campaigns require investing more effort and which ones need to be better optimized.
Choose Only Social Signals You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you monitor social media activity across leading networks like Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, Pinterest, Digg, LinkedIn, and StumbleUpon directly from your WP dashboard.
Social Metrics Pro helps you get answers to questions like:
- Which social 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 SocialMetricsPro, all of this information is available on-demand, with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly tracks the sites that you care most about!)
Features
SocialMetricsPro offers a number of features to web site owners. Below we have listed just a few:
- Fast and easy to install and implement. Be up and running in minutes.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with built-in and external widgets. View the latest stats right on your WP admin bar, display socially popular content on your blog sidebar or anywhere in your site using point-and-click widgets.
- One-click upgrading. You can update SocialMetricsPro in a single click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update it manually. You can also opt to be notified via email whenever a new version is released.
- Plugin works even on the smallest hosting configuration. The plugin generates reports very quickly, consuming minimal hosting resources. The tool also includes the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server memory consumed when gathering and compiling the data.
Additional features include:
- Sort, Search And Filter Features: Social Metrics Pro lets you sort, search and filter the information however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by post authors, publishing date, category, or post type.
- Export Data To Excel: You can export and plot filtered data and custom queries in 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.
(Social Metrics Pro is simple to use … just convert all reds into greens!)
User Feedback
Here are a few of the testimonials that customers have submitted for SocialMetricsPro:
”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 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
Useful Tips
A practical, step-by-step guide on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens) is also included.
SocialMetricsPro Plugin Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and users get lifetime upgrades and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, sixty-day, complete refund guarantee.
Software Price
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This allows you to use Social Metrics Pro on a single domain. It includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site Licensing – This edition enables you to install Social Metrics Pro on multiple web sites that you own. Includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: The cost of purchasing the Social Metrics Pro plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current pricing at the time this review was written. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the plugin author when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Download The Product
As mentioned earlier, social signals impact search engine rankings and Google has been tracking 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 users immediate feedback on the success of their social marketing strategy and shows them where to improve their results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WP admin area.
Get Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to shorten your path to success with social media marketing.
To learn more, check out the plugin here: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics For WordPress
***
***