Digital Insights

How Can Social Signals Impact SEO?


Published: February 5, 2013

Search engines, such as Google and Bing, are using social media signals to calculate organic rankings. Twitter and Facebook are the primary social media sites that concern companies interested in how social signals impact search engine optimization (SEO). To understand how social signals impact SEO, companies must identify the signals used to rank content on the website. Here are some of the most important signals:

  1. Social Followers
  2. Social followers can impact SEO and ranking. The number of followers or fans a person has is instrumental to determining the ranking in the search engine. Not only will a large number of fans or followers increase the ranking, but who the company follows and likes will also affect rankings. Ranking is also affected by the number and quality of replies. This social signal is one of the most important ranking criteria.

  3. Shares, Re-Tweets, and +1s
  4. Shares and re-tweets are probably the most important social signal because shares, re-tweets, and +1s indicate how useful the information is to other readers. This is the easiest way to establish usefulness of content when tests cannot be run on a regular basis. Articles with numerous share, +1s, and re-tweets will yield higher rankings.

  5. Who is Sharing the Content?
  6. Who shares the company’s content also makes a huge difference in the ranking of a company’s website. A company with a good reputation and authority in their field will be ranked higher than a company that has no reputation in the field. Content sharing is similar to link building in this respect. Higher rankings are awarded to companies with reputable associations.

  7. Popularity and Quality of Content
  8. Quality content is typically more popular than other sub-standard content, but this is not always the case. Popular content that lacks quality can play a role in improving ranking, but the combination of popularity and quality content will yield higher rankings.

  9. Timeliness of Content
  10. When the content is recent and relevant from a reputable source, rankings are likely to improve. Every company should refresh the content frequently to improve the ranking of the search engines.

  11. Patterns and Social Signals
  12. Link wheel patterns have now become a part of search engine rankings. These patterns are quite effective and can be considered in the search engine ranking. These link wheel patterns require the use of 100 percent unique content. This is important in improving search engine ranking.

  13. Social Signals Deserve Attention
  14. Social signals deserve attention because they can make a difference in the ranking of a company’s website. Every company should be aware of various social signals to remain competitive on the Internet. Companies need visibility to coerce consumers to buy products or subscribe to newsletters on websites. Study social signals to achieve ample visibility.