Social recommendations like Twitter retweets and mentions, Facebook shares, etc. are called social signals.
With the rising importance of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines like Bing and Google have started taking into account a range of social signals to help determine website ranking.
Note: Google encourages businesses to build their social presence 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 own web spam team 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 reliable ‘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 to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide true value tend to develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the websites that Google wants to ascribe higher search rankings to.
Social Signal Sources
Social sites that search engines look to for measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the most dominant social network on the planet. It has been estimated that one great post on Facebook can reach up to 150,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving droves of customers to your website, you should not be quick to dismiss the power of leveraging Facebook, as Google processes social data and information from Facebook to help determine your search rankings. In fact, research indicates that Facebook seems influence search engine rankings more than other social media sites.
(Number of 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 day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence on the cybersphere and places great importance 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 a significant degree of authority online, even if it is still a fledgling social community compared to sites like Twitter and Facebook.
(More people are actively using GooglePlus each month. Source: Internet Live Stats)
In addition to the big 3 social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social sites that should not be ignored, like Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Reddit.
(A number of social sites provide important signals that can affect your search engine rankings)
Which Social Signals Should You Pay Attention To?
Search engines like Google and Bing track various social signals, including the following:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook comments, shares, and likes you have, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. tweets and retweets, how influential the person retweeting your information is, trending topics, etc.
- Google+ – e.g. who is following you (high profile users), how many people follow you, amount and authority of +1s, etc.
- Other sites – e.g. growth rate of Pins and re-Pins on Pinterest, comments on Digg, etc.
- Not so obvious signals – In addition to the above, there are other not so obvious signals that can indirectly influence search engine rankings. These include positive and undesirable factors, such as age and authority of your social media account [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be of poor quality by other users [negative].
As a business owner, it’s important to not only find ways to grow your social media presence, but also to be able to monitor, measure and analyze social media marketing performance in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media to improve your results online)
Social media monitoring allows you to find insights into your brand’s online visibility on social media, spy on your competitors, identify potential opportunities for engagement, help you take preventative measures against the spread of negative comments or feedback by online users, and measure the impact of campaigns. It 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 business intelligence tool, social signal monitoring is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, typically carried out by various people including marketing teams, market researchers, PR companies, social engagement and community staff, social media marketing agencies, and professional sales reps. Typically, many small businesses do not have the budget to pay social media monitoring professionals to continually track their coverage in the media.
Fortunately a number of service providers have developed tools that facilitate the monitoring of a variety of social media channels, enabling companies to track consumer behavior around their brands or products allowing them to respond proactively to conversations and engage with online users in a timely manner.
Go here for a detailed article on social media measurement tools that are worth knowing about:
(Are you looking for an effective tool that can help you monitor your social signals?)
This article explores a simple social monitoring plugin for your WordPress-based online presence and improving your social media exposure online.
Presenting …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics Plugin For WordPress
Description
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social media analytics plugin for WordPress that is designed to help you increase your social media influence in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple concept – Social Metrics Pro measures and tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a red or green indicator. Your objective is to change all reds into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that anyone can follow … simply 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 developers of SocialMetricsPro tested their plugin on a network of over two thousand sites over a period of 3 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 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 SocialMetricsPro developers, improving your social media marketing campaigns can significantly impact your search engine rankings, web traffic and revenue!)
Learn more here:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits of using SocialMetricsPro to track Tweets, Likes, +1s, Pins and more right from your WordPress Dashboard on your web site:
Quick And Simple To Install And Configure. Ready To Use In Minutes.
SocialMetricsPro is really 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 goal is to convert reds into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social media signals so you know which social marketing campaigns need you to invest more effort and where to optimize.
Track Only Social Signals You Care About
Social Metrics Pro allows you to track and monitor social media activity from networks like Google+, Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and StumbleUpon.
Social Metrics Pro helps you get answers to questions like:
- Which social 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 this information can be accessed with a single click.
(Social Metrics Pro constantly monitors social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
Plugin Features
SocialMetricsPro provides WordPress users with a number of features. Here are a few:
- Fast and easy to install and use. Be up and running in no time.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality using built-in and external widgets. Access updated stats from your WP admin bar, add socially popular content to your blog sidebar or anywhere on your site using widgets.
- One-click upgrades. You can update SocialMetricsPro in one click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update the manually manually. You can also opt to be notified via email whenever a new version is released.
- Plugin even works on the smallest hosting. The plugin can generate reports fast, using minimal server resources. Reports also include the amount of time it took to retrieve information and the server memory consumed when gathering and compiling data.
Additional plugin features include:
- Sort, Search & Filter Features: Social Metrics Pro 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 category, post authors, publishing date, or by post type.
- Export Data: You can export data 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 simple to use … just turn all red squares into greens!)
User Feedback
Below are some of the testimonials and feedback plugin users have written about Social Metrics Pro:
”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 – Useful Tips
A step-by-step, practical guide containing useful advice on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. turn reds into greens) is also included.
Plugin Support
SocialMetricsPro is well-supported, and users get lifetime upgrades and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a risk-free, 60-day, 100% money-back guarantee.
Product Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site License – This enables you to configure SocialMetricsPro on a single domain. Price includes free lifetime updates and support. Price = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site License Edition – This enables you to install SocialMetricsPro on all the sites that you own. Pricing includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Price details for this product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The above reflects the pricing at the time this article was written. This may not be the actual price set by the software seller when you visit the website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
Social Metrics Pro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Install This Product
As mentioned earlier, with the rise of social sites like Facebook and Twitter, search engines are now taking into account various social signals when determining a website’s ranking.
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 WordPress users immediate feedback on the success of their social marketing strategy and guides them where to direct their efforts in order 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 WP admin area.
We recommend getting Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and want to shorten your path to success with social media marketing.
For more information, check out the plugin here: SocialMetricsPro – Social Analytics Plugin For WordPress
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