Social interactions like +1s on Google+, Facebook shares, 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 since late 2010.
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. 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 full ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign more 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 sites that provide true value develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google naturally wants to rank higher in its search engine results.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines like Google look to for measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the most influential social media community on the planet. 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 Facebook as an important part of 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 engine rankings more than other social media sites, like Twitter andGooglePlus.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second largest social media site in the world, with over half a billion tweets sent out every single day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence online and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide value to readers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over half a billion tweets are sent each day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google+
Google’s own social 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 each month. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three listed above, there are a number of other social sites worth getting to know, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit.
(A number of social sites provide important signals to search engines that can affect your rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Search engines like Google and Bing track various social signals, including:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, shares, and comments a person has, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets a web page has, how influential the person retweeting your posts is, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many followers on Google+ a web page has accrued, spread rate of adds and shares, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. number of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on Reddit, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious social media-related signals that can influence search engine traffic and rankings. 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 low quality 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 and analyze your social signals in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media marketing can improve your results online)
Tracking social media activity allows you to find insights into your brand’s overall visibility on social media, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, spy on your competitors, spot market opportunities, and be alerted to disasters. It can also provide valuable information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients 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, often carried out by a cross-section of groups that include marketing professionals, PR companies, market research, agencies, social engagement and community staff, and professional sales reps. Typically, smaller businesses do not can’t afford to pay social media monitoring professionals to track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately various service providers have developed many affordable tools that facilitate the active monitoring of a variety of social media channels, enabling you to identify consumer behavior around your brand allowing you to react to conversations and engage with online users in a timely fashion.
We have created a comprehensive article where we explore over 30 social media tracking tools that you may want to check out. To learn more, go here:
(Are you looking for an effective tool to help you measure social signals?)
In this article, we explore a simple WordPress plugin for tracking social signals and growing your social media influence online.
Let’s Review …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics For WordPress
Description Of Plugin
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-install social analytics WordPress plugin that is designed to help you increase your social media exposure in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – Social Metrics Pro measures how each signal is performing and displays either a red or green indicator. The site owner’s task is to turn red squares into greens.
(Social Metrics Pro provides a standard operating procedure that anyone can operate … just 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 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”. According to the plugin developers, they noticed 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 SocialMetricsPro developers, improving your social media marketing can result in higher search rankings, more web traffic and an increase in revenue!)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits of using Social Metrics Pro to track Likes, Tweets, Pins, +1s and more from your WP Dashboard on your site:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
Social Metrics Pro is quite easy to install. Just upload it to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, your goal is to turn all red squares into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social signals so you know which campaigns require more effort and which need to be better optimized.
Track The Signals From The Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you monitor social activity from networks like Facebook, GooglePlus, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Digg, Pinterest, and LinkedIn directly from your WP admin area.
Social Metrics Pro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social media 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.
(Social Metrics Pro constantly monitors social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
Features
SocialMetricsPro offers many features to website owners. Here are a few:
- Quick and simple to install and set up. Ready to start using in very little time.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using external and built-in widgets. Social Metrics Pro shows updated information from your WordPress admin bar, add social content to your blog sidebar or anywhere on your site using widgets.
- 1-click updating. Update Social Metrics Pro in a single click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update the manually manually. You can also choose to receive email notifications whenever a new version is released.
- Low-resource consumption. Reporting is in seconds, using little hosting resources. The tool also includes the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server memory used to compile the data.
Additional features include:
- Sort, Search And Filter Features: SocialMetricsPro lets you sort, search and filter your data as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by publishing date, post authors, category, or by post type.
- Export Data To Excel: You can export filtered data and custom queries 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.
(Social Metrics Pro is simple to use … just change all red squares into greens!)
Testimonials From Product Customers
Below are a couple of the testimonials customers have submitted regarding the SocialMetricsPro plugin:
”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
SocialMetricsPro Plugin – Tips
Social Metrics Pro includes a practical, step-by-step guide showing you how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. how to turn reds into greens).
Social Metrics Pro Support
The plugin is well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, sixty-day, complete refund guarantee.
Plugin Cost
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License – This allows you to configure Social Metrics Pro on a single site. It includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites Licensing – This allows you to use SocialMetricsPro on multiple sites that you own. Includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: The cost of purchasing this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current pricing at the time this review was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin author when you visit the site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Install The Product
As mentioned earlier, with the growth of social sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines now take into account a range of 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 WordPress users immediate feedback on the success of their social media marketing campaigns and shows them how and where to improve their 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 Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to make social marketing work for you.
For complete details, visit the plugin website: Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
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