Every company today is fighting for the highest ranking in search engines like Google. In this fast paced, globalised and extremely competitive world, it’s all about the exposure that your company obtains and the public perception of your brand.
Search engine optimization and social media are interconnected and if your company has a marketing strategy that incorporates both of them successfully, then you have nothing to worry about. Using SEO tools and social media in the right way is especially important for local businesses who don’t have the resources that corporate giants do.
Your SEO ranking basically depends on the flow of traffic to your website which indicates how many people actually know about your company. Now, through likes, shares, +1’s and follows, it is possible to boost SEO rankings even further.
Effects of Google Plus
It is common knowledge that Google shares, adds and +1s can improve Google rankings. However, they also can positively impact local SEO.
- Shares on Google+ or Ads- If you’re a local business, then a lot depends on the location of the person making the ads and shares. Google considers the speed with which sharing is done, the number of shares that are made and the authority of the individual doing the sharing. If these are satisfactory, then your website will be the benefactor.
- The +1s that you earn on your website- The +1s are as good as Google+ shares and also contribute to the ranking of your website.
Effects of Check Ins and Geotagged Media
Being able to check in from your business using Facebook or Foursquare establishes the physical location of your company and more people will become aware of it. Google has become increasingly dependent on check ins for verifying geographical location of businesses and they have also become a key component of Google’s algorithm.
A lot of smart phones have the geotag feature which keeps a record of the location, date and time of the media being created. You can then upload this media onto your Google Places page or company website and this will serve as further proof of your physical location.
Reviews on Social Sites
Reviews on popular social networking sites have the power to influence tons of potential customers. Many people take into consideration business reviews on sites like Places and Yelp. But these reviews also differ in quality and those that come from authoritative individuals who provide quality ratings are the ones which make a difference.
Influence of Facebook and Twitter
Sites like Facebook and Twitter are where all the important discussions take place and today, Facebook likes/shares and Twitter followers/mentions play a very important role in improving your company website’s ranking on search engines like Google.
Google measures your ability to influence through social networking sites and uses the following factors to determine this ability:
- It calculates how many Facebook likes/shares and twitter followers/mentions your company website and any company articles gain.
- It looks into the authority of the individuals who share/like and follow/mention these pages.
- It also measures whether the number of shares/likes and followers/mentions is growing and if so, it finds out the rate of growth.
In today’s insanely competitive business world, SEO and social media are basically interdependent and influence Local Search Engine Optimisation to a huge extent. For local businesses, Google ranking based on location is extremely important and Geotagged media and check ins play a crucial role. Google has an ever-evolving model and will certainly develop new and better means for improving rankings, but till then, being heavily involved in social media and getting major exposure on social networking sites will basically influence your company’s ranking on Google.
