Social interactions and recommendations like +1s on Google+, Facebook shares, likes, and comments, etc. are called social signals.
With the rising importance of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines have started taking into account a range of social signals when determining a website’s ranking.
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. Google’s own head of its 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 social signals over other aspects of their search algorithm. In short, Google’s strategy is a sensible one - “wait and see” how things develop over time, as sites that provide true value 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 almost 2 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most influential social media community in the world. Research shows that an average post can reach over 100,000 users, so even if no one seems to be buying your products or services on Facebook, don’t be quick to dismiss the power of leveraging Facebook, as Google processes social data and information from Facebook when determining 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 monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second biggest social media site in the world, with over 600 million tweets sent out every single day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer on the cybersphere and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide great value to followers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent each day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
Google’s own social site naturally carries great authority online, even if it is still a fledgling social community compared to sites like Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are interacting on GooglePlus every day. 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.
(A number of social sites provide important signals to search engines that could affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Be Paying 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 you have, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets your site has, how influential the person tweeting is, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many people are following you, amount and growth rate 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 signals that can influence search engine traffic. These include positive and undesirable factors, such as age and authority of your social media account [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of low quality by other users [negative].
As a business owner, it’s not only important to grow your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to monitor and analyze social signals in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media can improve your business results)
Tracking social media activity allows you to gain insights into your brand’s overall visibility on social media, measure the impact of campaigns, identify market opportunities, spy on the competition, and help you take preventative measures against the spread of negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied users. Additionally, social media monitoring can also provide vital information about emerging trends and what clients and consumers are thinking about specific products, businesses, brands, 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 various groups that include marketing teams, market research, digital reputation management (ORM) companies, social engagement and community staff, social media marketing agencies, and professional sales reps. Typically, many small businesses don’t can’t afford to pay a media monitoring service to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately a number of service providers have made available affordable tools that facilitate the monitoring of a variety of social media channels, enabling you to identify consumer behavior around your products or brand allowing you to respond to conversations and engage with online users in a timely manner.
We have written a comprehensive article where we explore over 30 social media measurement tools that will help you manage, measure, and analyze your social media marketing initiatives. More info:
(Are you monitoring social signals effectively?)
In this article, you will learn about a simple WordPress plugin for monitoring social signals and improving your social media presence.
Announcing …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description Of Plugin
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-install social media analytics WordPress plugin that is designed to help users improve their social media presence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – the plugin tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a red or green indicator. Your task is simple … convert all the reds into greens.
(SocialMetricsPro provides a standard operating procedure that any website owner can follow … turn all the reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics. Posts that get shared the most are colored green. Posts with low social media activity display amber or red.
The plugin developers tested SocialMetricsPro 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 their metrics on “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 they also experienced a 310% increase in revenues.
(According to Social Metrics Pro developers, focusing on improving your social media marketing can result in better search rankings, increased traffic and increased revenue!)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Benefits Of Using SocialMetricsPro
Here we have listed just some of the benefits of using Social Metrics Pro to track Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WP Dashboard on your website:
Quick Installation
SocialMetricsPro installs like any other plugin. Simply upload it to your Plugins folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s objective is to convert all the red squares into greens. Social Metrics Pro tracks and measures social signals so you know where to invest more effort and where to optimize.
Choose Only Signals You Care About
SocialMetricsPro provides a powerful dashboard to track and monitor social media activity across leading networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, StumbleUpon, Pinterest, Digg, and LinkedIn.
SocialMetricsPro 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 this information can be accessed with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly monitors social signals from the social sites that you care most about!)
Features
Social Metrics Pro offers a number of great features to WordPress users. Below we have listed just a few of these:
- Quick and simple to install and implement. Be up and running in no time.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with built-in and external widgets. SocialMetricsPro shows the latest information right on your WordPress dashboard, add popular content to your blog sidebar or anywhere on your site using point-and-click widgets.
- One-click updates. You can update the plugin in one click via the WordPress Updates page, or update the manually manually. You can also choose to receive an email notification when new versions are released.
- Plugin uses very little resources. Reporting is fast, using very little hosting resources. The tool also displays the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server resources used to compile data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: SocialMetricsPro lets you sort, search and filter data as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by post authors, post type, category, or publishing date.
- 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 change all reds into greens!)
Testimonials From Product Customers
Below are a few of the testimonials and feedback that plugin customers have provided for SocialMetricsPro:
”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
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“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
Product Tips
SocialMetricsPro includes a step-by-step, practical guide containing useful advice on how to optimize your site for social media success (i.e. how to turn reds into greens).
Product Support
SocialMetricsPro is well-supported, and comes with free support and free lifetime updates, backed by a risk-free, 60-day, full refund guarantee.
Product Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License Edition – This enables you to configure SocialMetricsPro on 1 website only. Pricing includes free lifetime upgrades and support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites License – This enables you to set up Social Metrics Pro on multiple web sites that you own. Includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: The price of the SocialMetricsPro software can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current price when this article was written. This may not be the actual price set by the product developer when you visit the plugin website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing information:
Additional Product Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Install This Product
As mentioned earlier, with the increase in importance of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines like Google and Bing now take into account various social signals when determining a site’s ranking.
No website owner can afford to ignore the importance of social media. Social Metrics Pro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives website owners immediate feedback on the success of their social media marketing strategy and shows them how and where to direct their efforts in order to improve their results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WordPress admin area.
We recommend this plugin if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to save money on outsourcing your social media campaigns.
For more information, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
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