Social interactions like Twitter retweets and mentions, Facebook shares, etc. are called social signals.
Google has been tracking social signals as part of its ranking algorithm for several years now.
Note: Google encourages website owners to build their social media 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 social trends and relationships tend to change too quickly to fully map out. Without a full ‘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 a sensible one - “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide real value normally develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google wants to rank higher in its search results.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines like Google look to for measuring social signals include:
With more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the most influential social media community on the planet. It has been estimated that one great post can reach over 100,000 users, so even if no one seems to be buying your products or services on Facebook, you should not be quick to dismiss the power of leveraging Facebook, as Google uses 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 Twitter orGoogle+.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next largest social media site in the world, with over 500 million tweets sent out each day. Twitter plays a significant role as a global influencer on the cybersphere and places great emphasis on the authority of tweets posted to readers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent each day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google+
As Google’s own social media site, GooglePlus 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: Internet Live Stats)
In addition to the big 3 listed above, there are a number of other social sites worth getting to know, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon.
(Social media sites provide important signals that could affect your search engine rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines include the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, likes, and shares a person has, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets a web page has, the number of people sharing your URL, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many followers on Google+ a site page has accrued, amount of adds and shares, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on Digg, etc.
- Other signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious social media-related factors that can influence search 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 low quality by site reviewers [negative].
As a business owner, it’s important to not only develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to monitor, measure and analyze social performance in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media to improve your business results)
Monitoring social media activity allows you to find insights into what people are saying about your products, brand, or company on social media, measure the impact of campaigns, spot potential market opportunities, spy on your competitors, and take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied customers. It can also provide you with valuable data about emerging trends and what clients and consumers think about specific products, brands, businesses, or topics.
As a business intelligence tool, social media signal monitoring 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 marketing professionals, digital reputation management (ORM) specialists, market researchers, social engagement and community staff, social marketing agencies, and professional sales reps. Typically, small businesses don’t can’t afford to pay a social media monitoring service to continually track their coverage in the and actively monitor their online reputation.
Fortunately different technology providers have developed tools that facilitate the monitoring of a wide range of social media channels, allowing you to identify consumer behavior around your products or brand so you can respond to conversations and interact with consumers in various social media platforms.
We have created a comprehensive article where we explore several social media measurement tools that will help you keep track of online trends, monitor competitor activity, see what conversations are taking place online that affect your business, etc, see what online conversations are taking place that can affect your business,etc. For more information, go here:
(Are you looking for an effective way to monitor social signals?)
This article explores a simple, yet highly effective social monitoring tool for WordPress and improving your social media presence online.
Let’s Review …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-install social media analytics premium WordPress plugin that is designed to help users increase their 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 green or red indicator. The user’s job is to turn reds into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that any website owner can operate … turn all the reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. Posts that get shared the most show up green. Posts with low social media activity display amber and red.
The developers of Social Metrics Pro tested their plugin 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 everything “green”. According to the plugin developers, 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 the plugin developers, improving your social marketing can dramatically impact your search engine rankings, traffic and revenue!)
Learn more here:
Benefits Of Using Social Metrics Pro
Here are just a few of the benefits of using Social Metrics Pro to track Likes, Tweets, +1s, Pins and more directly from your WordPress Dashboard on your site:
Ready To Use In Very Little Time
Social Metrics Pro is very easy to install. Simply upload it to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s objective is to convert all red squares into greens. SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures social signals the way Google sees it so you know where to invest more effort and where to optimize.
Track The Social Signals From Social Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you monitor social media activity from networks like Facebook, GooglePlus, Twitter, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Digg directly from your WordPress dashboard.
SocialMetricsPro lets you easily answer questions like:
- Which social networks work best for my site?
- Which social campaigns 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.
(Social Metrics Pro constantly tracks the sites that you care most about!)
Plugin Features
SocialMetricsPro offers site owners with many features. Below we have listed some of these features:
- Fast and simple to install and set up. Be up and running in minutes.
- Widgets & Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality with external and built-in widgets. Access updated stats from your WP dashboard, add social content to your sidebar or anywhere in your site using widgets.
- One-click upgrading. You can update Social Metrics Pro with a single click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also opt to be notified via email whenever new versions are released.
- Plugin uses very little resources. Reporting is in seconds, consuming little server resources. The tool also includes the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server resources consumed when gathering and compiling data.
Additional features include:
- Sorting, Searching And Filtering Features: SocialMetricsPro lets you sort, search and filter the data however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by post type, post authors, category, or 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 Excel or the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(Social Metrics Pro is really simple to use … just turn red squares into greens!)
Testimonials
Here are a couple of the testimonials and feedback customers have written about 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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“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
Social Metrics Pro Plugin – Tips
SocialMetricsPro includes a step-by-step guide containing useful advice on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens).
Support
The software is well-supported, and users get lifetime software updates and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 60-day, complete refund guarantee.
Software Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License Edition – This lets you activate SocialMetricsPro on one domain only. Pricing includes free lifetime updates and support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites License – This enables you to configure SocialMetricsPro on multiple domains that you own. Includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Pricing for the product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the software is being retailed for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the product author when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
We Recommend
As mentioned earlier, Google has been elevating the importance given to social signals as part of its ranking algorithm.
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 instant feedback on the success of their social marketing strategy and guides them where and how to improve their results.
Social Metrics Pro is an ideal tool for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WordPress dashboard.
We recommend this plugin if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to outperform your competitors on social media.
For full details, check out the plugin here: Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
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