Social recommendations like Twitter mentions and retweets, Facebook likes, etc. are called social signals.
Social signals impact search engine rankings and 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. Google’s own head of its web spam team Matt Cutts 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 full ‘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 value develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google wants to display 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 almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the most dominant social network in the world. Research shows that a single post can reach over 100,000 users, so even if no one seems to be buying your products or services on Facebook, you should not be quick to dismiss Facebook as an important part of your online business strategy, as Google processes data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems to have the most influence on website rankings of all social media sites, like Twitter andGoogle+.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next biggest social media site in the world, with over half a billion tweets sent out every single day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer online and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide value to readers over the number 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 Facebook and Twitter.
(More people are starting to interact socially on GooglePlus each week. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big 3 listed above, there are a number of other social sites that should not be ignored, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit.
(A number of social sites provide important signals to search engines that can affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Pay Attention To?
Search engines like Google and Bing track a number of social signals, including:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook shares, likes, and comments you have, growth rate of shares and likes, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. tweets and retweets, how influential the person sending a tweet is, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – 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. number of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, upvotes on Digg, etc.
- Other signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious signals that can indirectly influence search engine rankings. These include positive and negative factors, such as backlinks from authority sites (not as relevant as they once were, but still a factor) [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by site reviewers [negative].
As a website 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, measure and analyze your social media in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media marketing can improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to find insights into what people are saying about your company, brand, or services on social media, spot market opportunities, measure the impact of campaigns, be alerted to impending crises, and assess competitor activity and market share. It can also provide you with valuable data about emerging trends and what clients and consumers think about specific products, businesses, brands, or topics.
As a tool for business intelligence, social signal 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 market researchers, marketing teams, PR companies, sales teams, social marketing agencies, and social engagement and community personnel. Typically, small businesses don’t have the budget to pay media monitoring professionals to continually track their coverage in the and actively monitor their online reputation.
Fortunately different technology providers have developed tools and solutions that facilitate the tracking of a wide range of social media channels, allowing companies to track what is being said online about their products or brands allowing them to respond proactively to conversations and interact with online users in a timely manner.
We have written a detailed article where we explore many social media measurement tools that will help you keep track of online trends, monitor competitor activity, see what conversations are taking place online that could affect your business, etc, see what conversations are taking place online that could affect your business,etc. Visit this page to learn more:
(Do you know how to effectively track social signals?)
In this article, we discuss a simple, yet effective social media monitoring tool for a WordPress-based site and increasing your social media influence online.
Presenting …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics For WordPress
Plugin Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-install social analytics premium WordPress plugin that is designed to make improving your social media presence uncomplicated. It is built on a simple premise – the plugin measures how each signal is performing and displays either a green or red indicator. The user’s objective is simple … change all the reds into greens.
(A system that any user can operate … simply turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts with the highest number of shares are colored green. Posts with low social media activity show up 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 their metrics on “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 the plugin developers, focusing on improving your social marketing can result in higher search rankings, increased web traffic and more revenue!)
Learn more here:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the benefits of using Social Metrics Pro to track Likes, Tweets, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress Dashboard on your site:
Ready To Go To Work In Minutes
SocialMetricsPro is very easy to install. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your administrator account and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s task is to convert red squares into greens. SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures social media signals so you know which campaigns need more effort and where to optimize.
Track The Signals You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you track and monitor social media activity from networks like GooglePlus, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, and Pinterest directly from your WordPress admin area.
Social Metrics Pro 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 SocialMetricsPro, all this information can be accessed with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro actively tracks the sites that you care most about!)
SocialMetricsPro Features
Social Metrics Pro provides web site owners with many unique features. Here are a few of these:
- Quick and easy to install and use. Ready to go to work in very little time.
- Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality with built-in and external widgets. Social Metrics Pro displays updated information from your WP dashboard, display social content on your sidebar or anywhere on your site using widgets.
- One-click upgrades. Update Social Metrics Pro with a single click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also choose to receive an email notification when a new version is released.
- Consumes minimal server resources. The plugin generates reports very quickly, using very little hosting resources. Reports also display the amount of time spent retrieving the information and the server memory used to compile the data.
Additional features include:
- Sort, Search And Filter Features: SocialMetricsPro lets you sort and filter your data however 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 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.
(SocialMetricsPro is really simple to use … just convert more reds into greens!)
Testimonials
Below are a couple of the testimonials that users have published about SocialMetricsPro:
”As with any cool plugin, it solves a very simple problem – how to view how well your WordPress posts are being promoted.” Adam Small, Marketing Tech Blog
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“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
SocialMetricsPro Plugin – Useful Tips
SocialMetricsPro includes a practical guide showing you how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens).
Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and users get lifetime updates and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 60-day, full refund guarantee.
Product Price
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Edition – This allows you to configure SocialMetricsPro on 1 domain only. It includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites License – This enables you to configure Social Metrics Pro on unlimited domains that you own. Includes free lifetime updates and support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: The price of the Social Metrics Pro product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing above was current at the time this content was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the software seller when you visit the site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing information here:
Additional Info
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Get The Product
As mentioned earlier, 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. Social Metrics Pro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives you immediate feedback on the success of your social marketing strategy and guides you where and how 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 dashboard.
We recommend SocialMetricsPro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to avoid wasting resources on over-optimized social campaigns.
For complete details, check out the plugin here: SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
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