Social interactions like Facebook comments, +1s on Google+, etc. are called social signals.
With the rising importance of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines like Bing and Google now take into account various social signals to help determine website ranking.
Note: Google encourages businesses to build their brand on social media 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 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 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 websites that Google naturally wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signals – Which Social Media Sites Matter?
Social sites that search engines like Google look to when measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the most dominant social media network on the planet. Research shows that one great post on Facebook can reach over 100,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving a massive amount of sales on your website, don’t be quick to dismiss Facebook as an important part of your online business strategy, as Google processes social data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, research indicates that Facebook seems to have the most influence on website rankings of all social media sites, like Twitter andGoogle+.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next biggest social media site in the world, with over 500 million tweets sent out every single day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer on the cybersphere and places great importance on tweeting posts that provide value to readers over the volume of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social site, Google+ naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it is still a fledgling social community compared to sites like Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are interacting on Google+ every week. Source: Internet Live Stats)
In addition to the big 3 social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social media networks that provide important social metrics, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit.
(Social media sites provide important signals to search engines that could affect your rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Pay Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Bing and Google 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, the authority of the person sharing your URL, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (high profile users), how many people are following you, number and growth rate of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. number 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 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 poor quality by visitors [negative].
As a business owner, it’s not only important to find ways to grow your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to monitor and analyze your social media marketing performance in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media can improve your business results)
Social media monitoring allows you to gain insights into your company’s online visibility on social media, take preventative measures against the spread of negative comments or feedback by online users, spy on your competitors, identify market opportunities, and measure the impact of your marketing campaigns. Additionally, monitoring social media can also provide vital information about emerging trends and what clients and consumers are thinking about specific brands, products, topics, or businesses.
As a tool for business intelligence, being able to track social activity on social media is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, typically carried out by various people including market researchers, marketing teams, PR companies, social media marketing agencies, social engagement and community staff, and professional sales reps. Typically, smaller businesses do not can’t afford to pay social media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the and actively monitor their digital reputation.
Fortunately many technology providers have developed tools that facilitate the active tracking of a variety of social media channels, enabling companies to track what consumers are saying about their brands or products so they can respond proactively to conversations and interact with online users in a timely fashion.
We have written a comprehensive article listing over 30 social media measurement tools that you may want to check out. Go here for more info:
(Do you know how to effectively monitor your social signals?)
In this article, you will learn about a simple WordPress plugin for monitoring social signals and increasing your social media influence online.
Announcing …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-install social media analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help users increase their social media presence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – the system measures and tracks how each signal is performing and returns either a red or green indicator. The site owner’s goal is to change all reds into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that any user can operate … turn all the reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics. Posts that get shared the most are colored green. Posts with low social media activity show up amber or red.
The plugin developers tested Social Metrics Pro on a network of over two thousand websites over a period of 3 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 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, improving your social marketing can result in better search engine rankings, increased traffic and increased revenue!)
Go here to learn more:
Benefits
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Social Metrics Pro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more from your WordPress Dashboard on your site:
Installation Is Easy & Quick
Social Metrics Pro installs just like any other plugin. Simply upload a zip folder containing the plugin to your Plugins folder via your WP admin user section and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s objective is to change more reds into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social media signals so you know where to invest more effort and which social marketing campaigns need to be better optimized.
Select Only Signals You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you centrally monitor social activity across leading social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Digg, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, and LinkedIn.
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 SocialMetricsPro, all this information can be accessed with a single click.
(Social Metrics Pro constantly monitors the sites that you care most about!)
Features
Social Metrics Pro provides many features to WP users. Below we have listed just a few:
- Quick and easy to install and implement. Ready to use in minutes.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using external and built-in widgets. SocialMetricsPro shows updated information from your WP admin bar, add socially popular content to your sidebar or anywhere on your site using widgets.
- 1-click updating. You can update SocialMetricsPro in a single click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also choose to be notified via email whenever a new version is released.
- Minimal consumption of server resources. Social metrics reports are generated in seconds, using minimal hosting resources. Report generation also displays the amount of time spent retrieving the information and the server resources consumed when gathering the data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: SocialMetricsPro lets you sort and filter your data as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by publishing date, post authors, category, or post type.
- 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 really simple to use … just change reds into greens!)
User Feedback
Here are just a few of the testimonials users have written about the SocialMetricsPro plugin:
”Our entire marketing strategy relies on social media. Each post on the site has viral potential, but we needed one place to see which social networks are performing the best for us…We went ahead and got the PRO Version of Social Metrics.” Syed Balkhi, Founder of List25 and WPBeginner.com
***
”I give Social Metrics a big thumbs up and I recommend it to anyone who’s serious about tracking their social sharing analytics.” James Johnson, Senior Editor at The Inquisitr
Social Metrics Pro – Tips
A practical guide on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. how to turn reds into greens) is also included.
Support
SocialMetricsPro 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 Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License Edition – This lets you install Social Metrics Pro on a single site. Includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site License Edition – This enables you to set up SocialMetricsPro on unlimited domains that you own. Price includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: Pricing for Social Metrics Pro depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the plugin sells for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product developer when you visit the plugin website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing:
Additional Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Get 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 how important social media is to their online success. SocialMetricsPro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives website owners instant feedback on the success of their social media marketing strategy and shows them how and where to improve their results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress admin area.
We recommend getting SocialMetricsPro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to shorten your social media marketing learning curve.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin
***
***