Social media activities can positively impact SEO through social search, local search, and direct effects on search rankings. Both Google and Bing use social metrics from networks like Google+, Facebook, and Twitter to enhance search results for signed-in users and influence general search rankings. Social media sharing of localized content benefits local SEO. Blogs are an effective way to build links and author authority, which is becoming more important to search rankings. The document recommends social media teams promote preferred landing pages and blog posts to target keywords while developing relationships through regular posting and engagement.

1. Social and SEO
How to leverage social media to
achieve better SEO results
Ray “Catfish” Comstock
Director of SEO
BusinessOnline

2. Agenda
• How Social Media Affects SEO
– Social Search
– Local Search Impact Not Covered
– Direct Impact on Ranking
– Links
• Recommendations Based on Findings
– Social Networking Recommendations
– Blogging Recommendations

3. HOW SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECTS
SEO
Social Search

4. What is Social Search
• Google and Bing Enhance Search Listings for Registered Users
• Ranking Enhancements Are Based on Social Activity of Friends
• Bing Primarily Uses Facebook Data but can use any public network
(Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• Google Primarily Uses Google+ Data but can use any public network
(Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• Social Activity is Now Used as an Indicator of User Preference
• Must Be Signed in to Each Search Engine to See Enhanced Results
• Likes, Shares and +1 Data that appears next to social search listings is
currently for display only

5. Google+
In the first example, someone in my circles
(Matt Cutts) has shared this URL. The URL is
listed and a link to Matt’s profile.
In the second example, someone in my circles
has posted relevant information and the post
is ranking in the SERPs. You have to click to
the post and then the link to get to the article.
In the third example, images that were posted
by someone in my circles appear in SERPs.
In the fourth example, the number of Google
Plus Ones and Followers appears in PPC ads.
Users can hide personal results using this
button or easily share content on Google+

6. Bing &Facebook
Bing Example for “SEO Blogs”:
(Ranked #2 and #3 in Bing SERPS)

7. More from Bing
• Login from Facebook in upper right
corner.
• Recommendations based on Friend
Activity.
• Shows Facebook likes and
comments for each
recommendation.
• Occupies a huge amount of front
page screen
real estate.
• On 1/17/2013 Bing Announced It is
now sharing 5 times more data from
Facebook

8. HOW SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECTS
SEO
Local Search

9. Google Local Search – Localized Keywords
• Social Media Also Affects Search Results for
Localized Keyword Phrases:
• Google’s Venice Update in February 2012
Integrated Local Search Results into the
main ranking results.
• As a result, the location from where you are
searching from now influences the search
results you see even if your query is not
localized.
• Non localized keywords see the “local pack”
of search results in Google
• Therefore content shared through social
search that is localized will have a greater
propensity to appear for search queries
affected by the Venice update.
• Reviews (Zagat Scoring System) and
Google Reviews Influence Ranking and
Click Through %
Google Search Results for Pizza

10. Bing Local Search – Localized Keywords
• Bing also shows a mix of
regular and local results for
keywords that are not localized
but imply localization:
• Search results consist of
national brands and local
businesses.
• Location influences search
results
• Bing has a local pack with
locations listed on the map
• Facebook shares appear in left
column results with link to
Facebook business page

11. Local Search – Key Social Metrics
• A number of social metrics influence
which URLs appear in local search
results.
• Metrics are evaluated on:
• Total Number of Citations
• Velocity of Citations
• Authority of Citations
• Metrics Include:
• Google +1s
• Adds / Shares on Google+
• Shares / Likes on Facebook
• Twitter Followers
• Tweets / Retweets on Twitter
• Check-Ins on Foursquare, Facebook,
etc.
• Location of Searcher

12. HOW SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECTS
SEO
Direct SEO Impact

13. Social Media – Direct SEO Impact
• Both Bing and Google has recently confirmed that
Social Media metrics directly influence search
rankings:
http://searchengineland.com/what-social-signals-
do-google-bing-really-count-55389
• Links are still more impactful than social metrics in
driving top search rankings.
• Each engine uses slightly different metrics to
establish social authority or trust. This authority
currently influences search results and will
continue to gain additional influence as it evolves.

14. Social Media – Direct SEO Impact
In addition to using social metrics to influence search
rankings, both engines are developing authority ranking
systems:
• Google’s Authority System is “Author Authority”
• Currently only used in limited situations in regular
search results. Google’s new system called Author
Rank will change that
• Bing’s Authority System is “Social Authority” Slight
effect on regular results and large effect on social
search
• At present, most of the data that contributes to these
Authority systems seems to be based on Twitter
data.

15. Twitter – Direct SEO Impact - Google
Google looks at references in Twitter (Tweets / Re-Tweets)
as Ranking Signal for regular search results and news results
Google looks at “Author Authority” based on Twitter profile
and activity
• Google calculates authority of person who tweeted
• Independent of Page Rank and currently has slight affect on
regular search rankings
• Fire hose data is used only in limited situations, not for all
of general web search
• Probably also use number of people you follow and number
of followers as a metric of Authority (not specific)
• Both engines are similar in their approach to Twitter

16. Twitter – Direct SEO Impact - Bing
Bing looks at total references in Twitter
(Tweets / Re-Tweets) as a Ranking Signal
Bing looks at “Social Authority”
• Bing calculates authority of person who tweeted
• Links tweeted by people with high social authority carry more
weight
• How many people you follow
• How many people follow you
• Social Authority has slight affect on regular search results
• Social Authority has large affect on social search (tweets from
biggest authority have highest change to appear in social search)
• No link equity directly (Twitter links are rel=nofollow)
• **Fire hose Data does not have rel=nofollow
(may carry some link equity)
• Many other metrics can be speculated as having an impact
• Authority of Followers
• Following / Followers Ratio
• Diversity of Sources
• Engagement Level

17. Facebook – Direct SEO Impact
Google:
• Does not index links / content / data on personal walls
• Does index links / content on pages
• Treats shares on pages as tweeted links
• Likes do not affect regular search results
• Event pages get indexed and can rank in search results
Bing:
• Does not index links on personal walls
• Does index links / content on pages
• Does not calculate personal authority of users
• Looks at shares marked “everyone” and shares from pages
• Likes do not affect regular search results
• Event pages get indexed and can rank in search results
• Looks to see if a Facebook shared link also appears in Twitter, if so it may give it a
slight boost

18. • According to Matt Cutts in October 2012, Google +1s
Do Not Directly Affect Search Rankings
• This is likely to change going forward – Quote from
Google:
“For +1's, as with any new ranking signal, we are
starting carefully and learning how those signals affect
search quality.”
• They do affect Social Search rankings and what people
see in their Google plus wall streams
• High number of Google +1s can increase click through
rates for organic listings
Direct SEO impact - +1

19. Direct SEO impact – Shares
Google Plus Shares
• Google posts can rank in Social Search Results
• There is no conclusive data for the affect of
Google Plus shares on the direct impact of SEO
• It seems logical that it would be treated much
like Tweeted Links or Facebook shares.

20. Google Plus – Rel=Author
Rel=Author is Google’s new syntax which
allows attribution of content creation to
individual authors.
Rel=Author can be used to attribute
content to authors (personal profiles) or
brands (pages).
Authorship is another way for Google to
establish trust for pages.
No evidence that Rel=Author currently
influences rankings.

21. 40% more
Click Thru
Click-through rates that
are 40 percent greater
than normal.
- Greg Boser, President
BlueGlass SEO
Google Plus – Rel=Author

22. Highly Recommended
Rel=Author is a necessary implementation and the
cornerstone for Google’s new Author Rank system.
Google Plus – Rel=Author
Image taken from www.seomoz.org

23. 4 Easy Steps to Implement Rel=Author
Step 1
Sign up for a Google+ Profile (Author) http://plus.google.com
Sign up for a Google+ Page (Brand) http://www.google.com/+/business/

24. 4 Easy Steps to Implement Rel=Author
Step 2:
List the Websites You Create Content For In the Contributors Section of Your Profile
Edit Your Profile and Add Links to the Field that Says: “Contributor To:”

25. 4 Easy Steps to Implement Rel=Author
Step 3:
Implement the Rel=Author Meta Tag <a rel="author" href="https://plus.google.com/profileID"></a>
Example: <a rel="author" href="https://plus.google.com/105175341881739425951"></a>

26. 4 Easy Steps to Implement Rel=Author
Step 4:
Check that the Implementation Works with the Google Structured Data Testing Tool:
http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/richsnippets
Detailed Instructions:
http://searchengineland.com/the-definitive-guide-to-google-authorship-markup-123218

27. The Two Link Method
• Alternative to Meta Tag
Image Taken from http://www.seobuzzinternetmarketing.com/blog/rel-author-and-google-seo-tool/

28. Blogging - Direct Impact
• Blog posts are new pages of content that
can be focused on new keyword
opportunities or reinforce existing targets
• Blog posts topics are not constrained by
current site architecture
• Blog posts provide excellent internal link
opportunities
• New blog posts create new pages that
slightly increase Page Rank

29. YouTube - Direct Impact
• YouTube is the world’s second largest
search engine
• Top listings in YouTube can drive
considerable traffic
• YouTube thumb nails also appear in
regular Google / Bing search results
• Thumb nail universal search listings are
influenced by social metrics (shares,
embeds, etc)

30. Facebook Open Graph - Direct Impact
• Facebook Open Graph Search is the
new searching functionality that allows
you to search Facebook profiles / pages
• Currently focused on people and places
• Facebook Meta Tags for Open Graph
can be implemented:
https://developers.facebook.com/docs/o
pengraphprotocol/
• How usage varies from regular Google /
Bing search remains to be seen
• Facebook Open Graph search is still in
Beta and available to only a select group
at this time.

31. LINK DEVELOPMENT

32. Links – Effect of Social Media
• Most links found in social media
networks are rel=nofollow and do not
boost regular search rankings.
• Occasionally profile links will be counted.
• Social Media Networks attract links by
marketing good content to target
audiences
• The more friends and followers you have
that share an interest in the content you
are producing, the more potential links
you content will receive when it is shared
through those channels

33. Links – Effect of Social ctd
• The stronger and more personal your
relationship is with friends and followers,
the greater propensity for links
• Having a consistent approach to
promoting content through social networks
is critical
• Social networks are not push marketing
channels
• The collection of social media networks for
your audience can be referred to as your
Social Media Broadcast System

34. • Bloggers have a high propensity to link to
3rd party sites - Webmasters do not
• Blog posts are typically more timely in
nature and are focused on current events
• Bloggers typically have personal
relationships with other bloggers which
increase the propensity to receive a link
• The more personal relationships a
blogger has with authoritative authors in
their industry, the greater chance of
receiving a meaningful link for any piece
of content
• Blog posts are most effective from an
SEO perspective when they have
keyword focused internal links to relevant
pages that target high priority keywords
• Guest blogging is one of the most
effective link building exercises that also
benefits your brand and authority
New Blog URL: 481 Links / 33 Domains
Old Blog URL: 960 Links / 192 Domains
Only Includes Links to Blog Homepages
Links – How Blogs Attract Links

35. SOCIAL MEDIA & SEO
RECOMMENDATIONS

36. Social Media Recommendations
1. Ensure Social Media teams understand what pages
target high priority keywords
2. Share preferred landing pages consistently across
social media networks
3. Update those URLs consistently with unique,
relevant and compelling content
4. Use social media networks to establish relationships
by liking, commenting and sharing content from
friends and followers
5. Have a consistent posting schedule to all social
media networks you participate in
6. Ensure that you respond to friends and followers in a
timely manner
7. Share new content, press releases, current company
events, discount codes and contests

37. Blog Recommendations
1. Ensure Blogging teams understand what pages
target high priority keywords
2. Consistently imbed relevant preferred landing
pages for your site into blog posts
3. Use your standard site navigation template for all
blog pages
4. Ensure that your bloggers have Google profiles
and implement Rel=Author tags on your site
5. Implement Rel=Author tags for your brand on
news pages
6. Incorporate the development of personal brands
for your bloggers into your social media strategy

38. Blog Recommendations ctd.
7. Ensure that blogs posts are optimized for SEO, especially
page titles
8. Make sure you have a link to your blog in your global
navigation template
9. Train bloggers on SEO best practices so that they can
optimize content as it is created
10. Make back links a metric that bloggers are rewarded for
11. Add compelling info-graphics to important blog posts
12. Ensure that bloggers spend some time each week reading
and commenting on target blogs to establish relationships
13. Ensure your bloggers spend time each week cultivating
relationships with prominent bloggers
14. Create blog posts that offer an opinion or point of view on
popular blog posts from other authors

39. • Social media activities improve performance across social
and local search results (as well as YouTube).
• Author authority is going to play a significant impact on SEO
performance going forward and companies need to develop
strategies for embracing individual brands.
• Social media teams must integrate with SEO teams in order
to maximize performance:
– SEO Best Practices Training
– Follow the Social Media and Blog recommendations
– Understand Priority Keywords / PLPs
– Emphasize Relationship Development
– Incorporate Link Acquisition into Social Media Success Metrics
• Rel=Author is a necessary implementation and the
cornerstone for Google’s new Author Rank system.
• Facebook Open Graph search bears watching as it becomes
available to all users.
Key Takeaways

40. www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org
www.businessol.com
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