Social interactions like Facebook shares, comments, and likes, +1s on GooglePlus, etc. are called social signals.
With the increased importance of social sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines like Google and Bing now take into account various social signals when determining website ranking.
Note: Google encourages businesses to build their brand on social media as a long-term investment to drive qualified traffic, instead of 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 assessing social media signals, as so many things change quickly on social media. Without a perfect ‘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 to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide real value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites that Google naturally wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines like Google and Bing look to when measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the largest social community on the planet. Research shows that an average post can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if no one is buying your products or services on Facebook, don’t be quick to dismiss Facebook as an important part of your business strategy, as Google uses data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems to have the most influence on search engine rankings of all social media sites, like GooglePlus and Twitter.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second biggest social media site in the world, with over half a billion tweets sent out every single day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence on the cybersphere and places great importance on the authority of tweets posted to readers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social networking 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 Google+ each year. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big 3 listed above, there are a number of other sites worth getting to know, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit.
(Social media sites provide important signals to search engines that can affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Pay Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Bing and Google include the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, comments, and shares a person has, growth rate of shares and likes, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets your URL has, how influential the person tweeting is, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many people follow you, amount of adds and shares, 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 social media-related signals that can indirectly influence search rankings and traffic. These include positive and undesirable 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 irrelevant by visitors [negative].
As a website owner, it’s not only important to grow your social media presence, but also to be able to track, measure and analyze social marketing campaigns in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media can improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to find insights into your company’s overall visibility on social media, help you take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied customers, spy on the competition, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, and identify market opportunities. Additionally, social media monitoring can also provide you with vital data about emerging trends and what clients and consumers are thinking about specific businesses, brands, products, or topics.
As a business intelligence tool, social signal monitoring 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 marketing teams, PR agencies, market research, professional sales reps, social marketing agencies, and social engagement and community personnel. Typically, smaller businesses don’t can’t afford to pay media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately various technology companies have developed a range of affordable and even free tools that facilitate the active monitoring of a variety of social media channels, enabling you to identify what is being said online about your brand or products so you can respond to conversations and engage with consumers in a timely fashion.
We have written a detailed article on social media measurement tools and technologies that are worth checking out and knowing about here:
(Can you measure your social signals effectively?)
In this article, you will learn about a simple, yet highly effective social tracking plugin for WordPress and increasing your social media exposure online.
Our Featured WordPress Product Is …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics WordPress Plugin
Description
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-install social media analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help you improve your social media exposure 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 goal is to change all reds into greens.
(A system that any user can follow … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts that get shared the most show up green. Posts with low social media activity display amber or red.
The developers of Social Metrics Pro tested their plugin on a network of 2,000+ sites over a period of 3 months. During this period, all they focused on was turning the “reds” to “greens” and then keeping everything “green”. From these tests, they were able to notice a 360% improvement in traffic for their top 10 performing sites, 410% more keywords ranked in the first page of Google and they also experienced a 310% increase in revenues.
(According to SocialMetricsPro developers, focusing on improving your social media marketing can result in higher search rankings, increased web traffic and more revenue!)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Benefits
Below are just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Social Metrics Pro to track Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WordPress Dashboard on your site:
Be Up And Running In No Time
SocialMetricsPro is really easy to install. Simply upload a zip folder that contains the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your administrator account and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s task is to change reds into greens. SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures social signals the way Google sees it so you know where to invest more effort and which social marketing campaigns need to be better optimized.
Select Only Social Signals From Social Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you monitor social media activity across leading networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Digg, and LinkedIn.
SocialMetricsPro 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 Social Metrics Pro, all this information can be accessed with a single click.
(SocialMetricsPro actively monitors social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
SocialMetricsPro Features
SocialMetricsPro offers WP users with many unique features. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Quick and easy to install and configure. Ready to use in very little time.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with external and built-in widgets. SocialMetricsPro shows updated stats right on your WP dashboard, display social content on your sidebar or anywhere in your site using point-and-click widgets.
- 1-click auto-upgrading functionality. You can update SocialMetricsPro with one click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also opt to be notified via email when new plugin updates are released.
- Minimal use of hosting resources. Social metrics reports are generated in seconds, consuming minimal server resources. Report generation also includes the amount of time it took to retrieve the information and the server resources used to compile the data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sorting, Searching And Filtering Features: Social Metrics Pro allows you to sort, search and filter the data however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by category, post authors, post type, or publishing date.
- Export Data To Excel: 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.
(SocialMetricsPro is very simple to use … just change all reds into greens!)
User Feedback
Below are a few of the testimonials that users have written about the Social Metrics Pro 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 Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
SocialMetricsPro Plugin – Useful Tips
SocialMetricsPro comes with a step-by-step guide on how to optimize your site for social media success (i.e. how to turn reds into greens).
Product Support
The software is well-supported, and users get lifetime upgrades and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 60-day, full money-back guarantee.
Plugin Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License Edition – This license option allows you to install SocialMetricsPro on one site only. Pricing includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site Licensing – This license option lets you activate SocialMetricsPro on unlimited websites that you own. Includes free lifetime updates and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Price details for the SocialMetricsPro product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the plugin sells for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the software developer when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price here:
Additional Plugin Info
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Install This Plugin
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 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 where 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 admin area.
We recommend this plugin if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to shorten your social media marketing learning curve.
For full details, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
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