Social recommendations like +1s on GooglePlus, Facebook likes, shares, and comments, 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 for several years now.
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. Matt Cutts, the head of Google’s web spam team has stated that Google takes a cautious approach when it comes to social signals, 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 short, Google’s strategy is to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide real value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google wants to rank higher in its search listings.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines like Google and Bing look to when measuring social signals include:
With more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the largest social media community in the world. It has been estimated that a single post on Facebook can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving a massive amount of sales on your site, you should not 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 website rankings more than other social media sites, like Google+ or Twitter.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next biggest social media site in the world, with over 500 million tweets sent out each day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence on the cybersphere and places great emphasis on the authority of tweets posted to followers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over half a billion tweets are sent every day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google Plus
Google’s own social site naturally carries a significant degree of authority online, even if it has not reached the same level of growth and take up as Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are interacting on GooglePlus every year. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three listed above, there are a number of other social media networks worth getting to know, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Digg.
(A number of social media sites provide important signals to search engines that can affect your rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Be Paying Attention To?
Search engines track various social signals, including the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, shares, and likes you have, 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 followers on Google+ your site page has amassed, number and authority of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on StumbleUpon, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious signals that can influence search traffic. These include desirable and negative factors, such as age and authority of your social media account [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by visitors [negative].
As a website owner, it’s important to not only develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track, measure and analyze social signals in order to improve your business results.
(Using social media marketing can improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to gain insights into your company’s overall visibility on social media, help you take preventative measures against the spread of negative comments or feedback by dissatisfied users, spot market opportunities, spy on your competition, and measure the impact of your marketing campaigns. Additionally, social media monitoring can also provide vital data about emerging trends and what clients and consumers are thinking about specific brands, products, businesses, or topics.
As a tool for business intelligence, the ability 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 people including PR companies, marketing professionals, market researchers, social marketing agencies, social engagement and community personnel, and professional sales reps. Typically, many small businesses don’t can’t afford to pay a media monitoring service to continually track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately many service providers have developed tools that facilitate the tracking of a variety of social media channels, allowing you to identify and even predict what is being said online about your brand allowing you to respond proactively to conversations and engage with online users in a timely fashion.
We have written a comprehensive article listing over 30 social media tracking tools and technologies that you may want to check out. To learn more, visit this page:
(Do you know how to effectively monitor your social signals?)
In this article, we explore a simple, yet highly effective social media tracking plugin for a WordPress-based digital presence and improving your social media exposure online.
Announcing …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
Description Of Plugin
Social Metrics Pro is an easy-to-install social analytics WordPress plugin that is designed to make improving your social media presence online uncomplicated. It is built on a simple premise – SocialMetricsPro measures and tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a red or green indicator. The user’s task is simple … convert reds into greens.
(SocialMetricsPro provides a system 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 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 their metrics on “green”. From these tests, 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 SocialMetricsPro developers, focusing on improving your social marketing campaigns can significantly affect your search engine rankings, web traffic and revenue!)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Social Metrics Pro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more directly from your WordPress Dashboard on your web site:
Fast And Easy To Install And Set Up. Ready To Start Using In Very Little Time.
Social Metrics Pro installs like every other WP plugin. Just upload the plugin file to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, your job is to turn more red squares into greens. SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures social signals the way Google sees it so you know which social marketing campaigns require investing more effort and which need to be better optimized.
Select Only Signals You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you monitor social media activity from networks like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Digg, and LinkedIn directly from your WP admin area.
SocialMetricsPro helps you get answers to 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 this information can be accessed with just one click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly monitors social signals from the social sites that you care most about!)
Features
SocialMetricsPro provides many great features to site owners. Here are just a few:
- Quick and simple to install and configure. Be up and running in no time.
- SocialMetricsPro Is Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with external and built-in widgets. View the latest information right on your WordPress admin bar, display popular content on your blog sidebar or anywhere in your site using widgets.
- 1-click auto-upgrade functionality. You can update the plugin with one click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update it manually. You can also opt to be notified via email whenever new plugin updates are released.
- Low server resource consumption. Metric reports are generated very quickly, consuming very little hosting resources. The tool also displays the amount of time spent retrieving information and the server resources used to compile the data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sort, Search And Filter Features: SocialMetricsPro allows you to sort 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 authors, publishing date, post type, or category.
- Export Data To Excel: You can export filtered, sorted data and custom queries to 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.
(SocialMetricsPro is very simple to use … just convert red squares into greens!)
Testimonials
Here are just a few of the testimonials that plugin users have submitted for SocialMetricsPro:
”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
SocialMetricsPro – Tips
Social Metrics Pro includes a step-by-step, practical guide showing you how to optimize your campaigns and improve your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens).
SocialMetricsPro Plugin Support
Social Metrics Pro 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.
Software Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License – This lets you install SocialMetricsPro on a single domain. It includes free lifetime updates and free support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multiple Sites License – This license enables you to configure Social Metrics Pro on unlimited web sites that you own. Pricing includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: The price of the Social Metrics Pro software 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 not be the actual price charged by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Product Information
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Download The Plugin
As mentioned earlier, with the rise of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines like Bing and Google are now taking into account various social signals to help determine a site’s ranking.
No website owner can afford to ignore how important social media is to their online success. Social Metrics Pro solves the problem of how to find a simple, time-saving solution that gives WordPress users instant feedback on the success of their social media marketing strategy and guides them where to improve their results.
SocialMetricsPro is an ideal tool for beginners and advanced users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more directly from your WordPress dashboard.
Get Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to see measurable results.
For complete details, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics Plugin For WordPress
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