Social interactions like Facebook likes, +1s on GooglePlus, etc. are called social signals.
With the increased importance of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines are now taking into account various social signals when determining a site’s ranking.
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 signals, as so many things change quickly on social media. Without a reliable ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign too much 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 websites that provide real value develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites that Google naturally wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signals – Which Social Media Sites Matter?
Social media sites that search engines look to when measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most dominant social media community on the planet. It has been estimated that an average post can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving a ton of sales on your website, don’t be quick to dismiss the importance of Facebook in your online business strategy, as Google processes social data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence search rankings more than other social media sites, like Google+ or Twitter.
(Number of monthly 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 every day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence on the cybersphere and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide great value to readers over the volume of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social networking site, GooglePlus naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it is still a fledgling social community compared to sites like Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are starting to interact socially on GooglePlus each month. Source: Internet Live Stats)
In addition to the big three social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social sites that provide important social signals, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon.
(Social media sites provide important signals that could affect your search rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Search engines track various social signals, including:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, comments, and shares you have, growth rate of shares and likes, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. tweets and retweets, how influential the person retweeting your information is, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (influential 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 Reddit, etc.
- Other signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious social media-related factors that can indirectly influence search engine traffic and rankings. These include positive 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 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.
(Use social media marketing to help improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to gain insights into what people are saying about your company, services, or brand on social media, take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied customers, spy on the competition, spot potential market opportunities, and measure the impact of campaigns. Additionally, monitoring social media can also provide vital information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients think about specific brands, businesses, products, or topics.
As a tool for business intelligence, being able to track social media channels like blogging, forums, wikis, micro-blogging platforms, discussion boards, video sites, and user-generated content 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, marketing teams, PR companies, social marketing agencies, sales teams, and social engagement and community personnel. Typically, small businesses do not can’t afford to pay a social media monitoring service to continually track their coverage in the and actively monitor their online reputation.
Fortunately various providers have created a range of tools that facilitate the active tracking of a variety of social media channels, enabling companies to identify and even predict consumer behavior around their brands allowing them to respond to conversations and engage with online users in various social media platforms.
We have written a detailed article on social media tracking tools that are worth checking out and knowing about. For more details:
(Are you looking for an effective tool to help you monitor your social signals?)
In this article, you will learn about a simple WordPress plugin for tracking social media signals and improving your social media presence.
Presenting …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics For WordPress
Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social media analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help you improve your social media presence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – the tool measures and tracks how each signal is performing and returns either a green or red indicator. The site owner’s task is simple … turn all the red squares into greens.
(A system that any user can operate … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics. Posts with the highest number of shares display green. Posts with low social media activity show up amber or 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”. 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 Social Metrics Pro developers, improving your social marketing can result in higher search engine rankings, more web traffic and an increase in revenue!)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Benefits Of Using SocialMetricsPro
Below we have listed just a few 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 Start Using In Very Little Time
Social Metrics Pro is very easy to install. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s objective is to change reds into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social media signals so you know where to apply more effort and where to optimize.
Choose Only Signals From Social Networks You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you track and monitor social activity across leading networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Digg directly from your WordPress dashboard.
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 of my posts are the most popular?
- And more …
With SocialMetricsPro, all this information can be accessed with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly tracks the sites that you care most about!)
Product Features
SocialMetricsPro offers many unique features to site owners. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Quick and easy to install and implement. Ready to use in minutes.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with built-in and external widgets. Access the latest stats right on your WordPress dashboard, display socially popular content on your sidebar or anywhere on your site using point-and-click widgets.
- 1-click upgrades. You can update the plugin in a single click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update the manually manually. You can also opt to be notified via email whenever new versions are released.
- Plugin even works on the smallest hosting. The plugin generates social metrics reports fast, consuming minimal hosting resources. The tool also includes the amount of time spent retrieving the information and the server memory used to gather data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sort, Search & Filter Features: Social Metrics Pro lets you sort, search 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, post authors, post type, or by category.
- Export Data: You can export filtered, sorted data and custom queries 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.
(SocialMetricsPro is really simple to use … just convert red squares into greens!)
User Feedback
Below are some of the testimonials users have submitted for the SocialMetricsPro plugin:
“Social Metrics Pro is the essential plugin we use to monitor how our content performs on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It’s simple, neat and works precisely as you would expect it. When we work with our clients such as T-Mobile, the .Me domain name registry and others, Social Metrics Pro is the plugin we use to create reports as well as keep track on each bit of content to optimize it for future performance.” Ivan Brezak Brkan, Editor of Netokracija.com, TechCrunch EU Contributor
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”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
Product 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.
Plugin Support
SocialMetricsPro is well-supported, and users get lifetime upgrades and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, sixty-day, complete refund guarantee.
Software Pricing
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License Edition – This license lets you activate SocialMetricsPro on a single web site. Cost includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites Licensing – This edition enables you to set up Social Metrics Pro on multiple sites that you own. Price includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Pricing for this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The price shown above was correct when this content was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the software seller when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing:
Additional Info
Social Metrics Pro 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 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 media marketing campaigns and shows you how and where to improve your results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress admin area.
Get SocialMetricsPro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to shorten your path to success with social marketing.
For complete details, check out the plugin here: Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
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