Social recommendations like Facebook comments, shares, and likes, +1s on Google+, 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 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. 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 perfect ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign more importance to social signals over other aspects of their search algorithm. In short, Google’s strategy is to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as sites that provide value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites that Google wants to rank higher in its search results.
Social Signals – Which Social Sites Matter?
Social sites that search engines look to when measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the largest social media community on the planet. Research shows that one great post can reach over 100,000 users, so even if no one is buying your products or services on Facebook, don’t be quick to dismiss the importance of Facebook in your online business strategy, as Google uses social data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence search engine rankings more than other 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 600 million tweets sent out each day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer on the cybersphere and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide value to followers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent each day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
Google’s own social networking 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 every month. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three social sites listed above, there are a number of other sites worth getting to know, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit.
(A number of social sites provide important signals to search engines that could affect your rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Pay Attention To?
Search engines track a number of social signals, including:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, shares, and likes you have, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets your web page has, the number of people sharing your URL, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many followers on Google+ your URL has accrued, amount and authority of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. number of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, upvotes on StumbleUpon, etc.
- Other signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious signals that can indirectly influence search rankings. These include desirable and negative factors, such as links from authority sites (backlinks) (not as influential 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 business owner, it’s important to not only find ways to grow your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track and analyze social signals in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media marketing can improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to gain insights into your brand’s overall visibility on social media, identify potential opportunities for engagement, assess competitor activity and market dominance, measure the impact of campaigns, and help you take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by online users. It can also provide you with valuable information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients think about specific topics, products, brands, or businesses.
As a tool for business intelligence, being able to monitor social media channels like blogging, internet forums, social networking sites, micro-blogging platforms like Twitter, Tumblr, etc., discussion boards, video sites, and user-generated content (UGC) 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 people including market research, digital reputation specialists, marketing professionals, social engagement and community staff, agencies, and professional sales reps. Typically, smaller businesses don’t can’t afford to pay media monitoring professionals to continually track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately many technology providers have developed many affordable tools that facilitate the monitoring of a wide spectrum of social media channels, allowing you to identify and even predict consumer behavior around your brand or products allowing you to respond to conversations and interact with online users in a timely fashion.
We have written a comprehensive article on social media tracking tools and technologies that will help you manage, measure, and analyze your social media marketing campaigns here:
(Are you measuring your social signals effectively?)
In this article, we review a simple social media monitoring plugin for WordPress and increasing your social media exposure online.
Presenting …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics WordPress Plugin
Description Of Plugin
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-install social analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help users increase their social media influence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – SocialMetricsPro measures how each signal is performing and returns either a green or red indicator. The site owner’s objective is to convert more reds into greens.
(SocialMetricsPro provides a standard operating procedure that anyone can follow … 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 or red.
The plugin developers tested Social Metrics Pro on a network of over two thousand websites 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”. 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, improving your social media marketing can significantly affect your search engine rankings, web traffic and revenue!)
Go here to learn more:
Benefits
Below are just a few of the benefits and advantages of using SocialMetricsPro to track Likes, Tweets, Pins, +1s and more right from your WP Dashboard on your site:
Fast And Simple To Install And Set Up. Be Up And Running In Minutes.
SocialMetricsPro installs like every plugin. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your WordPress administrator area and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the site owner’s task is to turn red squares into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social media signals so you know which campaigns require more effort and where to optimize.
Track Social Signals From Social Networks You Care About
Social Metrics Pro allows you to monitor social media activity across leading social media networks like Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Social Metrics Pro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social 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 on social media?
- And more …
With Social Metrics Pro, all of this information is available on-demand, with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly tracks the social sites that you care most about!)
SocialMetricsPro Features
Social Metrics Pro offers many features to site owners. Here are some:
- Quick and easy to install and configure. Be up and running in no time.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with external and built-in widgets. SocialMetricsPro displays the latest stats right on your WP dashboard, display socially popular content on your blog sidebar or anywhere on your site using widgets.
- 1-click updates. You can update Social Metrics Pro in one click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update it manually. You can also choose to receive an email notification when a new version is released.
- Minimal server resources usage. The plugin generates social metrics reports in seconds, using very little hosting resources. Reports also include the amount of time used to retrieve the information and the server memory used to gather and compile data.
Additional features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: Social Metrics Pro lets you sort and filter the information however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by publishing date, category, post authors, or post type.
- Export Data: You can export and plot data 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.
(Social Metrics Pro is simple to use … just convert all reds into greens!)
User Feedback
Below are some of the testimonials plugin users have submitted regarding 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
***
“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
SocialMetricsPro – Useful Tips
A step-by-step guide on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens) is also included.
Social Metrics Pro Plugin Support
The software is well-supported, and comes with free support and free lifetime updates, backed by a risk-free, 60-day, complete refund guarantee.
Plugin Price
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License – This option allows you to install SocialMetricsPro on a single website. Includes free lifetime updates and support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites License – This lets you use Social Metrics Pro on multiple websites that you own. It includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: The cost to purchase the product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. When we last checked, the software is being retailed for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the product developer when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing here:
Additional Plugin Information
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Get This Plugin
As mentioned earlier, social signals impact search engine rankings and Google has been elevating the importance given to 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 you instant feedback on the success of your social marketing strategy and shows you how and where to direct your efforts in order to improve your results.
SocialMetricsPro is an ideal tool for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WP admin area.
We recommend getting this plugin if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to shorten your path to success with social marketing.
For more information, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
***
***