Social recommendations like Facebook likes, +1s on Google+, etc. are called social signals.
With the rising importance of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines like Google and Bing have started taking into account various social signals when determining website ranking.
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. Google’s own head of the web spam team Matt Cutts 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 reliable ‘map,’ Google is understandably reticent to assign more importance to social signals 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 websites that provide true value normally develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signal Sources
Social media sites that search engines like Google and Bing look to for measuring social signals include:
With over 1.5 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the largest social network in the world. Research shows that one great post can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if no one seems to be buying your products or services on Facebook, you should not be quick to dismiss the importance of Facebook in your online business strategy, as Google uses data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence search rankings more than other social media sites.
(Number of active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the next 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 on the cybersphere and places great emphasis on the authority of tweets posted to followers over the number of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google Plus
As Google’s own social 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 GooglePlus each month. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social media networks worth paying attention to, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, Digg, StumbleUpon, and Reddit.
(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?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Bing and Google include the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook likes, shares, and comments a person has, growth rate of shares and likes, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. tweets and retweets, the number of people sending a tweet, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (high profile users), how many people follow you, amount 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 rankings. These include desirable and negative factors, such as backlinks from authority sites (not as relevant as they once were, but still a factor) [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of poor quality by visitors [negative].
As a website owner, it’s not only important to develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to monitor, measure and analyze your social marketing performance 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 what people are saying about your company, products, or brand on social media, spot market opportunities, assess competitor activity and market dominance, help you take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by disgruntled customers, and measure the impact of campaigns. It can also provide vital information about emerging trends and what consumers and clients are thinking about specific topics, brands, products, or businesses.
As a business intelligence tool, social 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 marketing teams, digital reputation specialists, market researchers, social marketing agencies, professional sales reps, and social engagement and community personnel. Typically, many 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 various service providers have created tools that facilitate the monitoring of a broad spectrum of social media channels, enabling companies to identify and even predict what consumers are saying about their brands so they can react to conversations and interact with consumers in various social media platforms.
We have written a comprehensive article on social media monitoring tools and technologies that are worth knowing about. For more info, see this article:
(Are you looking for an effective way to monitor social signals?)
This article discusses a simple, yet highly effective WordPress plugin for tracking social media signals and improving your social media presence.
Announcing …
SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description Of Plugin
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-install social analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help users grow their social media influence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – the plugin tracks how each signal is performing and returns either a green or red indicator. Your task is simple … turn all the red squares into greens.
(Social Metrics Pro provides a system that any user can operate … 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 and red.
The plugin developers tested Social Metrics Pro on a network of 2,000+ websites over a period of 3 months. During this period, all they focused on was turning the “reds” to “greens” and then keeping everything “green”. From these tests, they were able to notice 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, focusing on improving your social media marketing campaigns can significantly impact your search rankings, traffic and revenue!)
Go here to learn more:
Benefits
Here are just some of the benefits of using SocialMetricsPro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more right from your WP Dashboard on your web site:
Installation Is Easy
SocialMetricsPro installs like every other WordPress plugin. Simply upload it to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Very Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s goal is to convert all the reds into greens. SocialMetricsPro tracks and measures social media signals so you know where to put more effort and which campaigns need to be better optimized.
Choose Only Signals From Social Networks You Care About
SocialMetricsPro lets you track and monitor social media activity across leading social networks like Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, LinkedIn, Digg, Pinterest, and StumbleUpon.
Social Metrics Pro helps you get answers to questions like:
- Which social media 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 of this information is available on-demand, with just one click.
(Social Metrics Pro actively monitors the social sites that you care most about!)
Features
Social Metrics Pro provides many unique features to WP users. Below we have listed just some:
- Quick and easy to install and set up. Ready to start using in very little time.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend its functionality with built-in and external widgets. View updated information from your WordPress admin bar, add social content to your blog sidebar or anywhere in your site using point-and-click widgets.
- One-click upgrades. You can update SocialMetricsPro in a single click via the WordPress Updates page, or update it manually. You can also choose to receive email notifications whenever new versions are released.
- Plugin works even on the smallest hosting. Reporting is in seconds, consuming little server resources. Reports also display the amount of time spent retrieving the information and the server resources used to gather and compile data.
Additional features include:
- Sort, Search And Filter Features: Social Metrics Pro lets you sort and filter data as you like. You can perform keyword searches to study posts related to certain topics, and even filter the results by category, post type, post authors, or publishing date.
- 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 the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(Social Metrics Pro is very simple to use … just convert all red squares into greens!)
Testimonials From Users
Here are a few of the testimonials customers have provided 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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”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
SocialMetricsPro includes a step-by-step guide showing you how to optimize your site for social media success (i.e. 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, 100% refund guarantee.
Product Price
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This option lets you use Social Metrics Pro on a single web site. Includes free lifetime updates and free support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site License Edition – This license enables you to activate Social Metrics Pro on all the sites that you own. It includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Please Note: The cost to purchase Social Metrics Pro depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the pricing when this content was written. This may or may not be the actual price set by the software developer when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing information:
Additional Product Info
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
We Recommend
As mentioned earlier, with the growth of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines have started taking into account a range of social signals when determining website 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 instant feedback on the success of their social marketing strategy and guides them where and how to direct their efforts in order 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 dashboard.
We recommend getting SocialMetricsPro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to save money on outsourcing your social campaigns or train your staff to manage your campaigns in-house.
For full details, visit the plugin website: Social Metrics Pro – Social Analytics Plugin
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