Social recommendations like +1s on Google+, Facebook likes, etc. are called social signals.
With the increase in importance of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines like Google and Bing now take into account various social signals to help determine a site’s ranking.
Note: Google encourages website owners 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 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 summary, Google’s strategy is to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide true value develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signals – Which Sites Matter?
Social media sites that search engines like Google and Bing look to when measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the most influential social community in the world. It has been estimated that one great post can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving a massive amount of sales on your website, you should not be quick to dismiss the power of leveraging Facebook, as Google uses 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.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second largest 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 importance on tweeting posts that provide great value to followers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every single day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social media site, Google+ naturally carries great authority online, even if it is still a fledgling online community compared to sites like Facebook and Twitter.
(More people are actively using GooglePlus every week. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social sites that provide important social metrics, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, Digg, and StumbleUpon.
(A number of social sites provide important signals that could affect your search rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Pay Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Google and Bing include:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, likes, and shares you have, growth rate of likes and shares, 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 (influential users), how many followers on Google+ a site page has, number and growth rate of +1s, 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 factors that can indirectly influence search rankings and traffic. These include positive and negative factors, such as improving clickthrough rate (CTR) [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant 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, measure and analyze your social media campaigns in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media to help improve your business results)
Monitoring social media activity allows you to gain insights into your brand’s online visibility on social media, spot new market opportunities, measure the impact of campaigns, avert crises, and assess competitor activity and market dominance. Additionally, monitoring social media can also provide vital data about emerging trends and what consumers and clients think about specific topics, products, businesses, or brands.
As a business intelligence tool, the ability to track social media 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 people including online reputation management (ORM) specialists, market researchers, marketing teams, professional sales reps, social media marketing agencies, and social engagement and community staff. Typically, small businesses do not can’t afford to pay social media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately a number of providers have made available affordable tools and solutions to facilitate the monitoring of a variety of social media channels, allowing companies to track consumer behavior around their products or brands so they can react to conversations and interact with consumers in a timely manner.
We have created a comprehensive article listing a number of social media tracking tools that are worth knowing about. For more details, go here:
(Are you searching for an effective tool that can help you measure your social signals?)
This article discusses a simple WordPress plugin for monitoring social signals and improving your social media exposure.
Introducing …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help you increase your social media presence in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – the plugin measures how each signal is performing and returns either a green or red indicator. The user’s task is simple … turn reds into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that anyone can operate … just turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts that receive the most shares show up green. Posts with low social media activity are colored amber and red.
The developers of SocialMetricsPro tested their plugin 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 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 the plugin developers, improving your social media marketing can result in better search engine rankings, increased traffic and an increase in revenue!)
More info:
Benefits
Here are just some of the benefits and advantages of using SocialMetricsPro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more directly from your WP Dashboard on your site:
Quick And Simple To Install And Set Up. Be Up And Running In No Time.
Social Metrics Pro installs like any WordPress plugin. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, your goal is to change red squares into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social signals so you know which social campaigns require more effort and where to optimize.
Choose Only Social Signals You Care About
Social Metrics Pro allows you to centrally monitor social media activity from networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, and LinkedIn directly from your WordPress dashboard.
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 is available on-demand, with a single click.
(Social Metrics Pro actively monitors the social media sites that you care most about!)
Features
Social Metrics Pro provides many features to WP users. Here are some of those:
- Quick and simple to install and use. Ready to go to work in no time.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using built-in and external widgets. View updated information from your WP admin bar, display popular content on your blog sidebar or anywhere on your site using widgets.
- One-click updates. You can update SocialMetricsPro with a single click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update it manually. You can also choose to be notified via email whenever new versions are released.
- Minimal consumption of server resources. The plugin generates social metrics reports in seconds, using little hosting resources. Reports also include the amount of time it took to retrieve the information and the server resources consumed when gathering data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: Social Metrics Pro 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 publishing date, post type, post authors, or category.
- 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 Excel or the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(SocialMetricsPro is very simple to use … just convert all the reds into greens!)
Feedback From Users
Below are a couple of the testimonials and feedback plugin users 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
***
”Social Metrics is one of the recipes for Social WordPress. You can integrate it quickly and easily on your WordPress site to view your performance on social networks” Jean-Francois Arseneault, Arseneault Consultation (WordCamp Montreal 2011)
Social Metrics Pro Plugin – Useful Tips
A practical guide on how to optimize your site for social media success (i.e. how to turn reds into greens) is also included.
Support
The software is well-supported, and users get lifetime software upgrades and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 60-day, complete money-back guarantee.
Product Cost
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License Edition – This option allows you to run Social Metrics Pro on a single site. Cost includes free lifetime updates and free support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This enables you to run SocialMetricsPro on all the domains that you own. Pricing includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Price details for the Social Metrics Pro plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the plugin sells for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the plugin developer when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price here:
Additional Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
We Recommend
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. 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 media marketing campaigns and shows you where and how to direct your efforts in order 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 directly from your WordPress dashboard.
We recommend getting SocialMetricsPro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to measure your social media marketing results professionally.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
***
***