Search engine optimization and social media. Two things that have nothing to do with each other, you would think. Nothing could be further from the truth! Social media can be used to improve the search engine optimization, or SEO (Search Engine Optimization), of your website! Even SEO companies are using both SEO and Social Media in their strategies.
Do you want to learn more? Then read on.
Social Media vs. SEO
What is the difference between social media content and SEO content? On social media, you want to post fun, relevant, and ‘outstanding’ content. Through likes, comments, followers, friend requests, and much more, you ensure engagement between you and your audience. Users visit social media primarily for entertainment. On social media, it is therefore essential that you keep the message short and sweet. On social media, your target group quickly loses its attention. Social media is ideal for creating better brand awareness, more visibility, more engagement, showing the atmosphere of your business, etc. It is necessary to post regularly on social media because there is so much new content online every day and your content is only a minuscule part of it.
SEO content is content that is on your company’s website. If you write a text about backpacking through Europe, someone who searches for ‘Backpacking Europe’ in Google will end up with your text. With this content, someone is specifically looking for information about the topic you are writing about. This content must therefore contain enough informative, relevant content. This does not mean that you cannot make an informal text out of this: that sometimes reads more pleasantly! As long as you keep the text honest.
When writing an SEO text, you not only have to take into account the target group, but Google also has to accept the text. Therefore, carefully process the right keywords in your content, but do not be too exaggerated. The better-optimized keywords and the more relevant, the higher your website will be in Google if someone looks up the main keywords. With an SEO text, the moment of success at which your text will be placed high in Google is a long-term process. It can take a few months or sometimes years before your text is high in Google.
So you can see that there is quite a big difference between social media and SEO content. Nevertheless, social media can influence better ranking SEO content.
Indirect influence
Social media has no direct impact on SEO. This is also quite logical because text based on keywords on Google has nothing to do with a post on an Instagram page. Nevertheless, it is possible to influence the SEO texts on your website through social media. How then? Indirect!
It all starts with the SEO texts you already write. These can be blogs, but also transcripts for podcasts or videos. How do you link this to your social media? It is actually very easy, you do this by sharing your content. Place a link in your story, on your timeline, or in another place on your social media account! With some luck, your audience will even like your content so much that they also share it on their own page. This way you become more visible and you get more audience.
Because others share your content, you create backlinks (links to your website from another website). These backlinks are very good for the performance of your SEO texts! In this way, you strengthen the authority of your texts, and that is one of the most important ranking factors of Google. In this way, Google will put your texts high in the results much sooner!
And then what?
It is important that you know how to hold the attention of your readers. For example, make sure that you include in your SEO text that the text has already been shared 100+ times on social media. In this way, the audience thinks ‘apparently others also found this interesting, so I’m going to continue reading!’
The keywords on the basis of which the text is written are the number 1 most important SEO factor. In the also important 2nd place is the duration that someone stays on your website. Do you make sure that you create very interesting content and therefore do you let the reader/viewer stay longer? This way you score points for your SEO text.
The EAT principle
EAT stands for Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The EAT principle is an important component that has been included in Google’s algorithm since 2015. Google finds it very important that these three factors are reflected in your text. It is therefore very important to think carefully about this when writing a text. Of course, you want your text to rank as high as possible on Google. More about the EAT principle can be found here.
Without these three elements, Google will never put your article at the top. It is important that you also let the EAT principal come back elsewhere than just on your website. The backlinks are a good example of creating more authority. Google pays attention to whether others often use your name, your links, and your brand name. The more often, the sooner Google puts you at the top. So also make sure via social media that you create authority by sharing your content, and others who share your content.
This also applies to trustworthiness. Be open to your target group on your texts online as well as on your social media account. Provide an autobiography, an option to contact someone, etc. Google loves reliability and is therefore more likely to put sources with a sender at the top. Don’t forget to let this come back on your social media page if you add links to your website.
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Tips for better SEO and Social Media content
Finally, there are a number of other factors that can influence a better SEO text, so that it can be promoted better on social media.
Quality over quantity
No matter how important it is to regularly post new content, the quality of the content always remains the most important. You want to attract visitors to your website and you want them to linger there for a while. Do this with relevant content about something up-to-date that is aimed at your target group!
Rewrite older articles
See texts that score well but haven’t been updated in a long time. Rewrite the text, as it were, but with longer, more relevant, and better content. Make sure that your article is added as a backlink on pages that already had the old article as a backlink. They clearly already find the subject and angle interesting, so they will appreciate a more relevant version!
Create rich content
Make sure your content is worth sharing. Useful elements to incorporate into your content are images and videos: rich content. The attention of visitors also lingers longer.
Keep track of your social media page
Also, make sure that your social media account is fully optimized. Most people who access your articles through your account will first view your profile. Provide a well-groomed, neat, but also attractive, and interesting platform.
Use keywords
Make sure that while creating a post or a story on your social media channels, you put the keywords of the SEO text in the descriptions. This way, your audience knows exactly what kind of link they’re clicking on and these keywords are shared by your followers over and over again.
Increase engagement
Regularly ask questions via your social media about what the audience thought of your text. Accept the feedback of others, but also benefit from the positive reactions. This way you ensure a better EAT score.
Conclusion
Although it is therefore immediately not possible to optimize your SEO texts via social media, you can certainly exert a certain influence in an indirect way. It is therefore essential that you know how to approach this. It also requires a lot of patience to place an SEO text. So don’t expect your text to be in Google’s top 5 overnight. Focus on the right keywords, and backlinks and on sharing your important SEO content as much as possible!