Social interactions like Facebook comments, shares, and likes, +1s on Google+, 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 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 assessing social media signals, as so many things change quickly on social media. Without a reliable ‘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 to “wait and see” how things develop over time, as websites that provide value normally develop longevity, trust and authority, and these are the sites that Google naturally wants to display higher in its search listings.
Social Signals – Which Social Sites Matter?
Social media sites that search engines like Google and Bing look to for measuring social signals include:
With almost 2 billion active users, Facebook is the most influential social network in the world. It has been estimated that one great post can reach over 100,000 users, so even if it seems like Facebook is not driving droves of customers to your site, don’t be quick to dismiss Facebook as an important part of your online business strategy, as Google processes data and information from Facebook when determining your search rankings. In fact, Facebook seems influence search engine rankings more than other social media sites.
(Number of monthly active Facebook users. Source: Statista.com)
After Facebook, Twitter is the second biggest social media site in the world, with over 500 million tweets sent out every single day. Twitter has a significant amount of influence on the cybersphere and places great importance on the authority of tweets posted to followers over the volume of tweets sent …
(Over 500 million tweets are sent every single day. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
Google Plus
Google’s own social media site naturally carries great authority online, even if it is still a fledgling online community compared to sites like Facebook and Twitter.
(More people are interacting on Google+ every month. Source: InternetLiveStats.com)
In addition to the big three social media giants listed above, there are a number of other social media networks that provide important social metrics, such as Pinterest, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon,Reddit, and Digg.
(Social media sites provide important signals to search engines that could affect your rankings)
Social Signals – Which Ones Should You Pay Attention To?
Social signals tracked by search engines like Google and Bing include:
- Facebook – e.g. how many Facebook shares, likes, and comments a person has, growth rate of likes and shares, etc.
- Twitter – e.g. how many tweets and retweets your web page has, the authority of the person sending a tweet, trending topics, etc.
- GooglePlus – e.g. who is following you (influential users), how many people follow you, number of adds and shares, 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 social media-related factors that can influence search engine rankings. These include desirable and negative factors, such as improving clickthrough rate [positive], and whether your site is deemed to be irrelevant by other users [negative].
As a business owner, it’s not only important to develop your presence on major social networking websites, but also to be able to track and analyze your social signals in order to improve your business results.
(Use social media marketing to improve your business results)
Social media monitoring allows you to find insights into your company’s online visibility on social media, take preventative measures if you detect negative comments or feedback by online users, measure the impact of campaigns, assess competitor activity and mind share, and identify opportunities for engagement. Additionally, social media monitoring can also provide you with valuable information about emerging trends and what clients and consumers think about specific topics, businesses, brands, or products.
As a business intelligence tool, being able to track social activity on social media channels like blogging, internet forums, news sites, micro-blogging platforms, discussion boards, video/photo sharing websites, and user-generated content is invaluable. Using social media monitoring as a form of business intelligence, however, is a complex undertaking, typically carried out by various people including market research, PR staff, marketing professionals, agencies, social engagement and community staff, and professional sales reps. Typically, many small businesses do not can’t afford to pay social media monitoring professionals to continually track their coverage in the and actively monitor their online reputation.
Fortunately many technology companies have developed tools and solutions that facilitate the active tracking of a variety of social media channels, allowing you to track what is being said online about your products or brand allowing you to respond proactively to conversations and engage with consumers in a timely fashion.
We have written a comprehensive article where we explore several social media tracking tools that are worth checking out and knowing about. To learn more, visit this page:
(Are you tracking social signals effectively?)
This article discusses a simple social media tracking plugin for WordPress and increasing your social media influence.
Introducing …
Social Metrics Pro – Social Media Analytics For WordPress
Description Of Plugin
SocialMetricsPro is an easy-to-use social media analytics premium WordPress plugin that is designed to help you increase your social media influence online in an uncomplicated way. It is built on a simple premise – Social Metrics Pro tracks how each signal is performing and displays either a red or green indicator. Your objective is to change more reds into greens.
(A standard operating procedure that anyone can operate … turn reds into greens!)
Colors indicate relative popularity. This simplifies your social analytics. Posts that receive the most shares are colored 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 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 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 their revenue increased by 310%.
(According to Social Metrics Pro developers, focusing on improving your social media marketing can impact your search rankings, traffic and revenue!)
More info:
Benefits Of Using SocialMetricsPro
Here are just a few of the benefits of using SocialMetricsPro to track Likes, Tweets, Pins, +1s and more right from your WordPress Dashboard on your web site:
Quick & Easy Installation
Social Metrics Pro is really easy to install. Simply upload a zip folder that contains the plugin to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Really Simple To Use
As mentioned earlier, the user’s objective is to convert reds into greens. The plugin tracks and measures social signals the way Google sees it so you know which campaigns need you to invest more effort and which campaigns need to be better optimized.
Track The Social Signals From Social Networks You Care About
Social Metrics Pro lets you monitor social media activity from networks like Facebook, Twitter, GooglePlus, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Digg, and Pinterest.
SocialMetricsPro helps you get answers to questions like:
- Which social 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?
- And more …
With SocialMetricsPro, all of this information can be accessed with a single click.
(SocialMetricsPro constantly tracks social signals from the sites that you care most about!)
Features
SocialMetricsPro provides WP users with a number of features. Below we have listed a few of these:
- Fast and easy to install and implement. Be up and running in no time.
- Widgets And Extensions Ready. You can extend the plugin’s functionality with external and built-in widgets. Access the latest stats from your WordPress dashboard, display popular content on your blog sidebar or anywhere on your site using point-and-click widgets.
- 1-click upgrades. Update the plugin in one click via the WordPress Updates screen, or update the manually manually. You can also choose to receive email notifications when new versions are released.
- Minimal server resources usage. Social reports are generated very quickly, consuming minimal hosting resources. Report generation also displays the amount of time it took to retrieve the information and the server memory used to gather data.
Additional features include:
- Sorting, Searching & Filtering Features: SocialMetricsPro lets you sort, search and filter data however you like. You can perform keyword searches to study topic-related posts, and even filter the results by post type, post authors, category, or by publishing date.
- Export Data: 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 Excel or the spreadsheet application of your choice.
(SocialMetricsPro is simple to use … just turn all red squares into greens!)
User Testimonials
Here are a couple of the testimonials and feedback plugin users have submitted for the SocialMetricsPro plugin:
“Social Metrics Pro is the essential plugin we use to monitor how our content performs on social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. It’s simple, neat and works precisely as you would expect it. When we work with our clients such as T-Mobile, the .Me domain name registry and others, Social Metrics Pro is the plugin we use to create reports as well as keep track on each bit of content to optimize it for future performance.” Ivan Brezak Brkan, Editor of Netokracija.com, TechCrunch EU Contributor
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“Social Metrics Takes WordPress Stats to the Next Level.” Lorraine Ball, Creative Director, Roundpeg
Plugin Tips
A step-by-step, practical guide containing useful advice on how to optimize your social media strategy (i.e. how to turn reds into greens) is also included.
Product Support
Social Metrics Pro is well-supported, and users get lifetime updates and new releases for free with their purchase, backed by a no-risk, 60-day, complete money-back guarantee.
Plugin Pricing
Social Metrics Pro plugin is available in two editions:
- Single Site Licensing – This license enables you to use SocialMetricsPro on one website only. Price includes free lifetime updates and support. Cost = $27.00 (one-time).
- Multi-Site Edition – This license allows you to install SocialMetricsPro on all websites that you own. Pricing includes free lifetime upgrades and free support. Price = $47.00 (one-time).
Note: Pricing details of the SocialMetricsPro product 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 pricing charged by the product seller when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
SocialMetricsPro requires a self-hosted installation of WordPress and can be instantly downloaded after purchase.
Install This Plugin
As mentioned earlier, with the increase in importance of social sites like Twitter and Facebook, search engines like Bing and Google have started taking into account a range of social signals to help determine a website’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 you immediate feedback on the success of your social media marketing campaigns and shows you how to direct your efforts in order to improve your results.
Social Metrics Pro is ideal for beginners and advanced WordPress users alike. It tracks Tweets, Likes, Pins, +1s and more right from your WP dashboard.
We recommend Social Metrics Pro if you own or manage WordPress sites and would like to save money on outsourcing your social media marketing campaigns.
For complete details, visit the plugin website: SocialMetricsPro – Social Media Analytics Plugin
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