Social interactions and recommendations like Twitter retweets and mentions, Facebook shares, comments, and likes, etc. are called social signals.
Google has been tracking social signals as part of its ranking algorithm for several years now.
Note: Google encourages businesses 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. Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s own web spam team 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 the social sphere over other aspects of their search algorithm. In summary, Google’s strategy is a sensible one - “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites 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 results.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines look to when measuring social signals include:
With more than 1.5 billion active users, Facebook is the most influential social media community in the world. Research shows that one great post on Facebook can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if no one seems to be 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 to help determine your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence search rankings more than other social media sites.
(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 day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer on the cybersphere and places great importance on tweeting posts that provide great value to readers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent each day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google+
Google’s own social site 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 Google+ every year. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three social sites listed above, there are a number of other sites worth paying attention to, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon,Reddit, and Digg.
(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 various social signals, including the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, shares, and likes a person has, growth rate of shares and likes, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. tweets and retweets, how influential the person sending tweets is, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many people follow you, number and growth rate of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, upvotes on Digg, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious signals that can influence search engine rankings and traffic. These include positive and negative factors, such as age and authority of your social media account [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of poor quality by other users [negative].
As a business owner, it’s not only important to find ways to develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to monitor, measure and analyze social media in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media to improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to gain insights into your company’s online visibility on social media, spy on your competitors, be alerted to disasters, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, and identify market opportunities. It can also provide vital data about emerging trends and what clients and consumers are thinking about specific businesses, topics, products, or brands.
As a tool for business intelligence, being able 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 groups that include market researchers, marketing professionals, digital reputation management (ORM) agencies, social media marketing agencies, social engagement and community personnel, and professional sales reps. Typically, small businesses don’t can’t afford to pay a social media monitoring service to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately a number of service providers have developed tools and solutions to facilitate the tracking of a variety of social media channels, allowing you to identify and even predict consumer behavior around your brand so you can react to conversations and interact with consumers in a timely manner.
We have written a comprehensive article about social media tracking tools that you may want to check out. Learn more here:
(Are you monitoring your social signals effectively?)
This article discusses a simple plugin for WordPress users for monitoring social signals and increasing your social media presence online.
Our Featured WordPress Plugin Is …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description Of Plugin
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social 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 premise – SocialMetricsPro measures and tracks how each signal is performing and returns either a red or green indicator. The user’s goal is simple … convert all red squares into greens.
(A system that any user can operate … simply 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 Social Metrics Pro on a network of 2,000+ websites over a period of three months. During this period, all they focused on was turning the “reds” to “greens” and then keeping everything “green”. From these tests, they noticed a 360% improvement in traffic for their top 10 performing sites, 410% more keywords ranked in the first page of Google and their revenue increased by 310%.
(According to Social Metrics Pro developers, improving your social media marketing campaigns can result in higher search engine rankings, more web traffic and increased revenue!)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Benefits
Below are just some of the many benefits of using SocialMetricsPro to track Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress Dashboard on your web site:
Fast And Simple To Install And Implement. Ready To Start Using In Minutes.
Social Metrics Pro is really easy to install. Just upload it to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the site owner’s task is to convert all red squares into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social signals the way Google sees it so you know which campaigns require investing more effort and which need to be better optimized.
Choose Only Social Signals From Social Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you monitor social media activity from social media networks like Facebook, GooglePlus, Twitter, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Digg directly from your WP dashboard.
Social Metrics Pro helps you get answers to 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 of this information can be accessed with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly tracks social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
Features
SocialMetricsPro offers WordPress users with a number of features. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Fast and easy to install and set up. Be up and running in minutes.
- Social Metrics Pro Is Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using external and built-in widgets. Access the latest stats right on your WP admin bar, display popular content on your sidebar or anywhere on your site using point-and-click widgets.
- 1-click auto-upgrade functionality. You can update Social Metrics Pro in one click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also choose to be notified via email whenever new plugin updates are released.
- Utilizes very little hosting resources. Reporting is fast, consuming very little server resources. Reports also display the amount of time used to retrieve information and the server resources used to compile the data.
Additional features include:
- Sort, Search & Filter Features: SocialMetricsPro allows you to sort and filter the information as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by post authors, post type, category, or by publishing date.
- Export Data To Excel: You can export and plot filtered data and custom queries in 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 really simple to use … just convert more red squares into greens!)
Feedback From Users
Here are just a few of the testimonials users have submitted regarding Social Metrics Pro:
”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
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”I give Social Metrics a big thumbs up and I recommend it to anyone who’s serious about tracking their social sharing analytics.” James Johnson, Senior Editor at The Inquisitr
Product Tips
SocialMetricsPro includes a practical guide containing useful advice on how to optimize your site for social media success (i.e. how to turn reds into greens).
Plugin Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and comes with free lifetime updates and support, backed by a risk-free, sixty-day, full refund guarantee.
Plugin Pricing
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License Edition – This allows you to configure Social Metrics Pro on a single domain. Includes free lifetime updates and free support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site License Edition – This license enables you to install Social Metrics Pro on all the web sites that you own. Pricing includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: Price details for SocialMetricsPro can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the plugin is selling for the amounts shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin author when you visit the website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing here:
Additional Info
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Get This Plugin
As mentioned earlier, with the growth of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines are now taking into account social signals when determining a website’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 guides you where to improve your results.
SocialMetricsPro is an ideal tool for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress admin area.
Get Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to save money on outsourcing your social media marketing campaigns or train your staff to manage your campaigns inhouse.
For more information, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin
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