Social recommendations like Facebook comments, Twitter retweets and mentions, etc. are called social signals.
Google has been tracking social signals as part of its ranking algorithm since late 2010.
Note: Google encourages website owners to build their brand on social media 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 full ‘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 sites that provide 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 like Google look to for measuring social signals include:
With over 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the largest social media network in the world. Research shows that one great post on Facebook can reach over 100,000 users, so even if no one is buying your products or services on Facebook, you should not be quick to dismiss Facebook as an important part of your business strategy, as Google processes social 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.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next biggest social media site in the world, with over half a billion tweets sent out every day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence online and places great emphasis on tweeting posts that provide great value to readers over the amount of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: Internet Live Stats)
Google Plus
Google’s own social networking site naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it is still a fledgling social community compared to sites like Facebook and Twitter.
(More people are interacting on GooglePlus each year. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big 3 social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social sites that provide important social metrics, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Digg, Reddit, and StumbleUpon.
(A number of social media sites provide important signals to search engines that can affect your 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 shares, comments, and likes you have, growth rate of likes and shares, 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 are following you, amount of adds and shares, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. number of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on Digg, etc.
- Other 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 undesirable factors, such as links from authority sites (backlinks) (not as relevant as they once were, but still a factor) [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by other users [negative].
As a website owner, it’s important to not only grow your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track and analyze social media in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media can improve your business results)
Social media monitoring allows you to find insights into your brand’s online visibility on social media, spot opportunities for engagement, spy on the competition, measure the impact of your marketing campaigns, and take preventative measures against the spread of negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied customers. Additionally, monitoring social media can also provide you with valuable information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients think about specific brands, businesses, products, or topics.
As a tool for business intelligence, social media 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 people including market researchers, digital reputation managers, marketing teams, agencies, social engagement and community personnel, and professional sales reps. Typically, small businesses do not can’t afford to pay social media monitoring professionals to continually track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately various technology companies have developed tools that facilitate the monitoring of a variety of social media channels, enabling companies to identify and even predict what is being said online about their products or brands so they can respond to conversations and engage with consumers in a timely fashion.
We have created a comprehensive article where we explore many social media monitoring tools and technologies that will help you manage, measure, and analyze your social media marketing initiatives. For more information, go here:
(Do you know how to effectively track social signals?)
In this article, we look at a simple, yet highly effective social monitoring tool for your WordPress-based online business and increasing your social media influence.
Announcing …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description Of Plugin
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-install social media analytics WordPress plugin that is designed to make increasing your social media influence uncomplicated. It is built on a simple premise – SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures how each signal is performing and displays either a green or red indicator. The site owner’s objective is to convert more reds into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that any user can follow … simply turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics with Excel-like conditional color formatting. 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+ 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”. 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 their revenue increased by 310%.
(According to the plugin developers, focusing on improving your social media marketing campaigns can dramatically can have a dramatic impact on your search engine rankings, web traffic and revenue!)
Go here to learn more:
Benefits
Here we have listed just some of the many benefits of using SocialMetricsPro to track Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WordPress Dashboard on your website:
Be Up And Running In Very Little Time
Social Metrics Pro installs like every other WordPress plugin. Simply upload the plugin file to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s job is to turn all red squares into greens. SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures social media signals so you know which social marketing campaigns need more effort and which ones need to be better optimized.
Track Only Social Signals You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you centrally monitor social media activity from social media networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, StumbleUpon, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Digg directly from your WP admin area.
SocialMetricsPro 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 on social media?
- And more …
With Social Metrics Pro, all of this information can be accessed with just one click.
(Social Metrics Pro actively monitors social signals from the social media sites that you care most about!)
Features
SocialMetricsPro provides website owners with a number of features. Here are just some of these features:
- Quick and simple to install and configure. Ready to use in very little time.
- Social Metrics Pro Is Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using built-in and external widgets. Social Metrics Pro displays the latest information from your WP admin bar, add socially popular content to your sidebar or anywhere in your site using point-and-click widgets.
- 1-click upgrades. Update the plugin 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.
- Low server resource consumption. Reports are compiled fast, consuming minimal hosting resources. Reports also display the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server memory consumed when gathering and compiling the data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: Social Metrics Pro lets you sort and filter the information as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by category, post authors, publishing date, or by post type.
- Export Data: You can export and plot filtered, sorted 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 simple to use … just turn all reds into greens!)
User Feedback
Here are just a few of the testimonials plugin customers have submitted regarding the Social Metrics Pro plugin:
”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
***
“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
Plugin Tips
Social Metrics Pro includes a practical guide on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. how to turn reds into greens).
Product Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and users get lifetime upgrades and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, sixty-day, 100% refund guarantee.
Software Price
SocialMetricsPro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This allows you to run SocialMetricsPro on 1 domain only. It includes free lifetime updates and free support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Unlimited Sites License Edition – This allows you to configure Social Metrics Pro on multiple web sites that you own. Pricing includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: The cost of purchasing the Social Metrics Pro plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The above reflects the current pricing at the time this content was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the product seller when you visit the product website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Install The 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 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 instant feedback on the success of your social marketing campaigns and shows you where to improve your results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress dashboard.
Get this plugin if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to make social marketing measurable.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
***
***