Social recommendations like +1s on Google+, Facebook shares, comments, and likes, etc. are called social signals.
Google has been tracking social signals as part of its ranking algorithm for several years now.
Note: Google encourages businesses to build their social media 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 own web spam team has stated that Google takes a cautious approach when it comes to social media, as so many things change quickly on social media. Without a perfect ‘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 a sensible one - “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 sites that Google naturally wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines like Google and Bing look to when measuring social signals include:
With over 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most dominant social community on the planet. Research shows that a single post can reach over 100,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving droves of customers to your website, you should not be quick to dismiss the power of leveraging Facebook, as Google uses data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence website rankings more than other social media sites, like Twitter andGoogle+.
(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 online and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide great value to readers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google+
Google’s own social media 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 on Google+ every year. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big 3 social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social sites worth paying attention to, like 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?
Search engines track a number of social signals, including the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, likes, and shares you have, growth rate of shares and likes, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. tweets and retweets, the authority of the person sharing your information, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many people are following you, authority of adds and shares, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on Digg, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious social media-related signals that can influence search traffic. These include desirable and undesirable factors, such as improving clickthrough rate (CTR) [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of low quality by site reviewers [negative].
As a business owner, it’s important to not only find ways to grow your social media presence, but also to be able to monitor, measure and analyze social signals in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media marketing to help improve your business results)
Tracking social media activity allows you to gain insights into your company’s online visibility on social media, assess competitor activity and mind share, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, avert crises, and identify market opportunities. It can also provide vital information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients think about specific topics, brands, products, or businesses.
As a business intelligence tool, being able to monitor social media is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, often carried out by various groups that include marketing teams, market research, PR companies, professional sales reps, agencies, and social engagement and community staff. Typically, small businesses don’t have the budget to pay social media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately different technology companies have developed a range of tools that facilitate the monitoring of a variety of social media channels, allowing companies to identify and even predict consumer behavior around their products or brands so they can react to conversations and interact with online users in a timely fashion.
We have written a detailed article listing over 30 social media measurement tools that will help you keep track of online trends, monitor competitor activity, see what conversations are taking place online that affect your business, etc, see what conversations are taking place online that can affect your business,etc. For more details, visit this page:
(Can you monitor social signals effectively?)
This article discusses a simple, yet highly effective WordPress plugin for monitoring social signals and increasing your social media influence.
Announcing …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin
Description Of Plugin
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-use social analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help users increase their social media influence in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – the system tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a red or green indicator. Your job is simple … change reds into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that any website owner can operate … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics. Posts that get shared the most show up green. Posts with low social media activity display amber and red.
The plugin developers tested SocialMetricsPro on a network of 2,000+ 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 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 SocialMetricsPro developers, improving your social marketing can result in better search rankings, more traffic and more revenue!)
More info:
Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits of using Social Metrics Pro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more from your WP Dashboard on your website:
Fast Installation
Social Metrics Pro installs just like any other plugin. Simply upload a zip file containing the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the site owner’s task is to change all the red squares into greens. SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures social media signals so you know where to invest more effort and which social marketing campaigns need to be better optimized.
Track Only Signals From The Networks You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you track and monitor social activity across leading social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, GooglePlus, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Digg, and LinkedIn directly from your WordPress dashboard.
Social Metrics Pro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social media 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 of this information is available on-demand, with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly tracks the sites that you care most about!)
Features
Social Metrics Pro provides many features to web site owners. Below we have listed some of those features:
- Quick and simple to install and use. Be up and running in minutes.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality with external and built-in widgets. Access the latest stats right on your WP admin bar, display socially popular content on your sidebar or anywhere in your site using widgets.
- One-click updates. You can update the plugin in a single click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update it manually. You can also choose to be notified via email whenever new plugin updates are released.
- Minimal server resources consumption. The plugin generates social metrics reports fast, using minimal hosting resources. Report generation also includes the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server resources consumed when gathering the data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sorting, Searching And Filtering Features: SocialMetricsPro allows you to sort, search and filter data however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by post type, publishing date, category, or by post authors.
- Export Data: You can export filtered data and custom queries 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.
(Social Metrics Pro is simple to use … just turn more reds into greens!)
User Feedback
Below are just a few of the testimonials customers have written about 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
SocialMetricsPro includes a practical, step-by-step guide showing you how to optimize your site for social media success (i.e. turn reds into greens).
Product Support
The plugin is well-supported, and users get lifetime updates and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 60-day, 100% refund guarantee.
Plugin Price
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This license option allows you to activate SocialMetricsPro on one web site only. Cost includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites Licensing – This allows you to run SocialMetricsPro on unlimited websites that you own. Includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: Current pricing for the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the product is being retailed for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product seller when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Product Info
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
We Recommend
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. SocialMetricsPro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives users immediate feedback on the success of their social media marketing strategy and guides them how and where to improve their results.
SocialMetricsPro is ideal for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress dashboard.
We recommend getting Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to save money on outsourcing your social media marketing campaigns.
To learn more, check out the plugin here: Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics For WordPress
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