Using Social Media to Improve Organic Results

Cindy Turrietta | Search Marketing Strategist | [email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/affordablesearchengineranking http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindytconsulting https://twitter.com/cindyturrietta Special Thanks to:

• Ray “Catfish” Comstock, Director of SEO at BusinessOnline for his presentation on Social and SEO: How to leverage social media to achieve better SEO results

• Stephanie Shkolnik, Social Media Director at Digitaria for her presentation on Optimizing Social Content for Search Engines

Agenda

• The Integration of SEO and Social Media in Search

• How Social Media Affects Organic Rankings

• Tips & Recommendations SEOmoz Correlation Findings

http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2290337/Matt-Cutts-Google-1s-Dont-Lead-to-Higher-Ranking The Integration of Social Media in Search Definitions

SEO ( optimization) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results.

Social Media (SMM: Social Media Marketing) refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. Social Media = WOM source

An Optimized Social Media Strategy

• Increase traffic • Increase visibility • Support brand awareness • Encourage audience engagement

Link Bookmark Like Comment Share Retweet Include

• Consistent approach

• Motivate others

• Broadcast system

• Keyword rich and engaging

• Link to your content

• Create mascot? Why?

Visibility: Coming from:

• Social signals new links • Forums &

• Universal search results • Social reviews

• Real time search results • YouTube

• G+

How Social Media Affects Organic Listings The Social Affect

• Visibility in the engines

• Influence clicks

• Indication of user preference “Direct” SEO Impact

• Links/content on Facebook pages • Facebook shares & Twitter followers • Tweets • + Indirect SEO Impact: Possibilities

• Increased inbound links and citations • Increased positive reviews • G+ impact • Bounce rates • Time on site • Increased repeat visitors No Direct SEO Impact

• Facebook Likes

• Twitter links are rel=nofollow

• Personal Facebook walls

Do your own tests! http://tinyurl.com/qdeovko A Note about Twitter Authority

• Google looks at “Author Authority” based on Twitter profile and activity

• Bing looks at “Social Authority” based on Twitter profile

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/your-guide-to-social-signals-for-seo http://www.stonetemple.com/author-authority-and-social-media-with-bings-paul-yiu/ Just Do It!

• Choose Social Circles

• Promote Profiles

• Develop Links

• Plan and Engage

• Encourage Evangelists! Using Social Media to Improve Organic Results

Cindy Turrietta | Search Marketing Strategist | [email protected]

https://www.facebook.com/affordablesearchengineranking http://www.linkedin.com/in/cindytconsulting https://twitter.com/cindyturrietta Social Engagement Tips & References Tips

• Preferably on your own domain in a sub-directory (NOT a sub-domain)

• Post focused, keyword rich content regularly

• Make social bookmarking and sharing buttons visible for easy findability

• Link to social content when appropriate Google+ Tips

• Use hashtags relevant to your brand, topic or industry responsibly • Complete your information on your bio or about page with a clear photo or logo image • Post focused, keyword rich content regularly • Publish posts with links to pages that are new or not yet indexed for easy indexing by Google Facebook Tips

• Use hashtags • Images good, video not so good • When writing or responding to posts on Facebook, ask yourself these questions:

1. What is the topic of the conversation?

2. What search keywords can I apply to this post to make it relevant to searches related to my brand?

3. What link can I add to this post to send the user back to my main site or to another of my social media properties?

Twitter Tips

Optimize your Network: Optimize your content:

• Account description • Keywords • Twitter influencers • keyword-focused #hashtags • @ • Account description • Links • URL Pinterest Tips

• Use og markup! Online References: • Your Guide to Social Signals for SEO http://www.seomoz.org/blog/your-guide-to-social-signals-for-seo

• Matt Cutts: Google+1s Don’t Lead to Hight Ranking http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2290337/Matt-Cutts-Google-1s- Dont-Lead-to-Higher-Ranking

• It’s Not He Said She Said Over Google Rankings & Facebook Shares http://searchengineland.com/its-not-he-said-she-said-over-google- rankings-facebook-shares-80601

• Does Google Use Facebook Shares to Influence Search Rankings? http://www.seomoz.org/blog/does-google-use-facebook-shares-to- influence-search-rankings

• What Social Signals Do Google & Bing Really Count? http://searchengineland.com/what-social-signals-do-google-bing-really- count-55389