Social recommendations like +1s on Google+, Facebook comments, likes, and shares, etc. are called social signals.
Social signals impact search engine rankings and Google has been elevating the importance given to social signals as part of its ranking algorithm for several years now.
Note: Google encourages website owners to build their social presence 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 the web spam team Matt Cutts 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 more importance to the social sphere over other aspects of their search algorithm. In short, Google’s strategy is a sensible one - “wait and see” how things develop over time, as sites that provide true value normally develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google naturally wants to display higher in its search listings.
Social Signals – Which Sites Matter?
Social sites that search engines like Google look to for measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the largest social community in the world. It has been estimated that an average post can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if no one is buying your products or services on Facebook, you should not be quick to dismiss Facebook as an important part of your business strategy, as Google uses data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence search engine rankings more than other social media sites.
(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 has a significant amount of influence online and places great importance on the authority of tweets posted to readers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over half a billion tweets are sent each day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social site, GooglePlus naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it has not reached the same level of growth and take up as Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are interacting socially on GooglePlus every month. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three social media giants listed above, there are a number of other sites that should not be ignored, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon.
(Social media sites provide important signals that could affect your search rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Google and Bing include the following:
- 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.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many people follow 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 factors that can indirectly influence search engine traffic. These include desirable and undesirable factors, such as links from authority sites (backlinks) (not as relevant as they once were, but still a factor) [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of poor quality by visitors [negative].
As a website owner, it’s not only important to develop your social media presence, but also to be able to monitor and analyze your social media in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media marketing to help improve your results online)
Monitoring social media activity allows you to find insights into what people are saying about your brand, company, or products on social media, spy on your competitors, spot opportunities for engagement, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, and be alerted to impending crises. Additionally, social media monitoring can also provide valuable information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients are thinking about specific brands, topics, products, or businesses.
As a business intelligence tool, social media signal monitoring 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 PR companies, marketing teams, market research, social engagement and community staff, social media marketing agencies, and professional sales reps. Typically, smaller businesses do not can’t afford to pay media monitoring professionals to continually track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately various service providers have developed affordable tools to facilitate the active tracking of a variety of social media channels, allowing you to identify what is being said online about your brand so you can respond proactively to conversations and engage with online users in a timely fashion.
We have written a detailed article on social media monitoring tools and technologies that are worth knowing about. For more info, see this article:
(Are you tracking social signals effectively?)
In this article, you will learn about a simple social media tracking tool for your WordPress-based website and increasing your social media influence.
Let’s Review …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics For WordPress
Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-install social media analytics WordPress plugin that is designed to help you grow your social media influence in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – SocialMetricsPro measures how each signal is performing and returns either a red or green indicator. The user’s job is simple … convert more red squares into greens.
(A system that anyone can follow … turn all the reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts that get shared the most are colored green. Posts with low social media activity are colored amber and red.
The plugin developers tested Social Metrics Pro 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 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 the plugin developers, focusing on improving your social marketing can result in better search rankings, increased traffic and increased revenue!)
Learn more here:
Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits of using SocialMetricsPro to track Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WP Dashboard on your site:
Fast And Easy To Install And Use. Ready To Go To Work In Very Little Time.
SocialMetricsPro is really easy to install. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your WordPress admin area and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the site owner’s objective is to change all red squares into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social signals so you know which social marketing campaigns need you to invest more effort and which campaigns need to be better optimized.
Choose Only Social Signals From Social Networks You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you centrally track and monitor social media activity from networks like GooglePlus, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Digg, and Pinterest.
SocialMetricsPro 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 actively tracks the sites that you care most about!)
Social Metrics Pro Features
Social Metrics Pro offers WordPress users with many great features. Below we have listed just some:
- Fast and easy to install and use. Be up and running in no time.
- Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality with external and built-in widgets. SocialMetricsPro displays updated stats from your WP admin bar, add socially popular content to your sidebar or anywhere on your site using point-and-click widgets.
- One-click updating. You can update Social Metrics Pro with one click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update it manually. You can also opt to receive an email notification when new plugin updates are released.
- Plugin suits even the smallest hosting configuration. The plugin can generate reports fast, consuming very little hosting resources. Reports also include the amount of time spent retrieving the information and the server memory consumed when gathering and compiling data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sort, Search & Filter Features: Social Metrics Pro allows you to sort and filter data however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by post type, post authors, category, or by publishing date.
- Export Data: You can export data to Excel for further analysis. Data can be exported in tab-delimited and comma-separated file formats, and imported to the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(Social Metrics Pro is very simple to use … just turn all red squares into greens!)
Feedback From Users
Here are just a few of the testimonials and comments that users have published about the Social Metrics Pro plugin:
”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
Useful Tips
Social Metrics Pro comes with a step-by-step, practical guide on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. how to turn reds into greens).
Plugin Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 60-day, complete refund guarantee.
Plugin Cost
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This enables you to use SocialMetricsPro on 1 site only. Includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site License – This option lets you install SocialMetricsPro on multiple sites that you own. Cost includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Price details for this product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the plugin is being retailed for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the plugin author when you visit the product 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 Info
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
In Conclusion
As mentioned earlier, with the growth of social sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines like Google and Bing have started taking into account various social signals to help determine a site’s ranking.
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 you immediate feedback on the success of your social marketing campaigns and shows you how and where to direct your efforts in order to improve your results.
Social Metrics Pro is an ideal tool for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WP dashboard.
We recommend getting Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to measure your social marketing results professionally.
For complete details, check out the plugin here: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics For WordPress
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