Social interactions like Facebook comments, shares, and likes, +1s on GooglePlus, etc. are called social signals.
Social signals impact search engine rankings and 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, 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 media, 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 short, Google’s strategy is to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide true value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites that Google naturally wants to display higher in its search results.
Social Signals – Which Sites Matter?
Social sites that search engines look to when measuring social signals include:
With more than 1.5 billion active users, Facebook is the largest social network in the world. Research shows that an average post can reach up to 150,000 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 data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence search engine rankings more than other social media sites.
(Number of 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 the authority of tweets posted to followers over the volume of tweets sent …
(Over half a billion tweets are sent each day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google+
Google’s own social media 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 actively using GooglePlus each year. 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 should not be ignored, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit.
(A number of social media sites provide important signals that could affect your search rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Pay Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Bing and Google include:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, likes, and shares you have, growth rate of shares and likes, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets a site has, the authority of the person tweeting, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (high profile users), how many people follow you, authority of adds and shares, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. number of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on StumbleUpon, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious social media-related signals that can influence search engine rankings. These include desirable and negative factors, such as improving clickthrough rate [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of poor quality by other users [negative].
As a business owner, it’s important to not only develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to monitor and analyze your social media in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media can help improve your business results)
Social media monitoring allows you to gain insights into your company’s online visibility on social media, spy on the competition, help you take preventative measures against the spread of negative comments or feedback by disgruntled customers, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, and spot potential market opportunities. Additionally, monitoring social media can also provide you with vital data about emerging trends and what consumers and clients are thinking about specific brands, businesses, products, or topics.
As a business intelligence tool, social signal monitoring 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 digital reputation management (ORM) agencies, market researchers, marketing professionals, social marketing agencies, professional sales reps, and social engagement and community staff. Typically, small businesses don’t have the budget to pay media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately different technology companies have developed affordable tools and solutions that facilitate the tracking of a wide spectrum of social media channels, enabling companies to track what is being said online about their brands so they can react to conversations and engage with online users in a timely manner.
We have written a detailed article where we explore many social media monitoring tools that you may want to check out. For more information, go here:
(Can you track your social signals effectively?)
This article explores a simple WordPress plugin for monitoring social media signals and increasing your social media exposure.
Our Featured WordPress Product Is …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics WordPress Plugin
Description
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-install social analytics premium WordPress plugin that is designed to help users increase their social media exposure in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures how each signal is performing and returns either a green or red indicator. The site owner’s task is simple … change all the reds into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that any website owner can follow … turn all the reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics. Posts that get shared the most display green. Posts with low social media activity are colored amber and red.
The developers of Social Metrics Pro tested their plugin 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”. 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 SocialMetricsPro developers, improving your social media marketing can dramatically impact your search engine rankings, web traffic and revenue!)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Plugin Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits of using SocialMetricsPro to track Likes, Tweets, Pins, +1s and more from your WordPress Dashboard on your website:
Ready To Use In Minutes
Social Metrics Pro is quite easy to install. Simply upload a zip folder containing the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s job is to change all red squares into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social media signals so you know where to put more effort and which social marketing campaigns need to be better optimized.
Choose Only Social Signals From Social Networks You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you track and monitor social activity from social media networks like Twitter, Google+, Facebook, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Digg.
SocialMetricsPro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social networks work best for my site?
- Which posts 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 just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro actively monitors the social media sites that you care most about!)
Social Metrics Pro Features
SocialMetricsPro provides many unique features to site owners. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Quick and simple to install and use. Ready to start using in minutes.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality using built-in and external widgets. SocialMetricsPro shows updated information from your WP dashboard, add socially popular content to your sidebar or anywhere in your site using widgets.
- 1-click auto-upgrading functionality. Update SocialMetricsPro in one 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.
- Minimal use of resources. Reports are generated very quickly, using very little server resources. Report generation also displays the amount of time used to retrieve the information and the server resources consumed when gathering the data.
Additional features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering 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 authors, publishing date, post type, or by category.
- Export Data To Excel: You can export data 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 very simple to use … just convert more reds into greens!)
User Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials and feedback customers have written about the Social Metrics Pro 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
Plugin Tips
A practical guide containing useful advice on how to optimize your campaigns and improve your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens) is also included.
Social Metrics Pro Support
SocialMetricsPro is well-supported, and comes with free support and free lifetime updates, backed by a no-risk, 60-day, complete money-back guarantee.
Product Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This edition enables you to configure SocialMetricsPro on a single website. Includes free lifetime updates and support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This enables you to use SocialMetricsPro on all the websites that you own. Pricing includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Pricing for SocialMetricsPro can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing above was correct when this article was written. This may or may not be the actual price set by the software author when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price:
Additional Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
In Conclusion
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 WordPress users instant feedback on the success of their social media marketing strategy and guides them where to improve their results.
SocialMetricsPro is ideal for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress dashboard.
Get Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to shave years off your social media marketing learning curve.
For complete details, visit the plugin website here: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
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