Why Social Signals Are Important For SEO?

One of the most common questions in the new internet era is whether social signals affect online search. The answer is yes they do, though indirectly: it’s very important to understand how to gain confidence with social media and send a message properly in order to encourage readers and general audience to share our content. In this way engagement will increase and so will the positioning: better social signals mean better online presence and therefore a better web positioning. But how to use social signals for SEO purposes? Most likely you heard about Google's ranking: this is definitely an important aspect to bear in mind, though it’s not the only one. The ranking considers complex and intricate data based on quality, quantity and accuracy of a text. Basically, by carefully using social signals you’ll allow your online presence to reach unprecedented levels.

Social Signals: Quality First of All

Some SEO studies have shown that likes, shares, tweets, or +1s on Google Plus depend mostly on quality and value of the content shared. Even search engines confirmed to take social media into consideration in the ranking process: therefore, it is particularly important to invest on social platforms. An active Facebook page with many followers or a YouTube video with thousands of views is translated into authorship and brand awareness.

The fact that some of the most respected websites have successful social media profiles is not a coincidence: often some high ranking websites started as simple Facebook pages with plenty of likes and interactions.

Why investing on social signals may improve online positioning?

It’s a hard question but the answer, especially for those who are already confident with SEO and the digital world in general, may seem much simpler than it actually is. Social signals can generate traffic, which is in turn rewarded by Google itself. In these cases quality prevails over quality, but your page will definitely benefit from many quality social signals and reach its highest ranking peaks.

One of the most vital factors for ranking on Google is definitely the number of backlinks: hyperlinks that redirect to a specific page. However, this is a data which is quite easy to manipulate: exploiting BOTs, which will automatically generate hundreds of artificial social signals, makes it difficult to quantify the data. Google, after years and years of refining its algorithm, now knows how to recognize between natural and fake social signals. The good thing is that now, by improving your presence on social networks, you can generate plenty of 100% natural backlinks: the more a brand or website is followed and respected online, the more it will be followed and appreciated on social networks , and the more often its audience will create spontaneous links that will improve its positioning consistently. 

Social networks are an important aspect of every company. To have a website, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google + profiles is basically necessary. The good thing about this is that everything is interconnected; therefore by investing in your own web marketing strategies and make better social signals you’ll most definitely reach a higher position in Google’s realm.