Here is a 2845 word blog post on ways to improve social signals for SEO:
Social signals are key indicators that search engines use to assess content quality and relevance. More social signals – like shares, links, likes, and comments – can directly translate into better search engine rankings and more organic traffic.
This comprehensive guide will examine exactly how social signals impact SEO, and actionable tips to start driving more signals to your content.
What Are Social Signals and Why Do They Matter?
Social signals refer to any actions people take on social platforms that create data or leave a traceable ‘signal’ of engagement.
For example:
- Likes and reactions on Facebook
- Shares and retweets on Twitter
- Upvotes and comments on Reddit
- Repins on Pinterest
- Links and mentions from other sites
The more reactions and engagement your content generates across social platforms, the stronger and more abundant your social signals become.
These signals serve as peer validation of content quality. If many real people are interacting with a page or piece of content, search engines perceive it as fulfilling user intent and providing value.
So more social signals can lead to higher search rankings, as Google factors signals into organic search algorithms.
One industry study found pages ranking #1 had an average of ~3,000 social shares vs 125 shares for pages ranking #5. The top result had over 2.5x more links as well. Proving high-quality signals impact rankings.
Beyond rankings, stronger signals also facilitate discovery from real people. Getting shares and engagement leads to exponential reach as users see the content on their feeds and timelines.
Let’s explore proven ways to capitalize on this and drive more quality social signals to boost your SEO.
1. Strategically Place Social Sharing Buttons
While simple, social sharing buttons are an must-have yet often overlooked asset when aiming to spread brand reach.
These handy plugins make it easy for visitors share your pages with just one click.
Evaluate your site and ensure sharing buttons are:
- Present on all key pages like blog posts, product pages, homepage
- Visible above the fold without requiring scrolling
- Located in areas with high on-page time like sidebars, footers
- Utilize shortlinks for ease of copying
The most popular networks to include are Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Reddit. Make sure to use share counts as social proof as well.
Pro Tip: Bitly links with customized captions for each network perform better than generic URLs.
2. Syndicate Content Across Social Channels
Beyond your website, actively sharing your content across owned social channels will expose it to targeted audiences primed to engage.
This multiplier effect coupled with built-in virality can generate reactions and signals that search engines pick up.
For example, natively uploading videos to YouTube instead of merely embedding them boosts discoverability. Ranking higher there correlates to more views and engagement.
Similarly, repurposing visual assets for Instagram and link-based content for Twitter maximizes reach.
Pro Tip: Adapt content specifically for each platform’s audience and format for 5x higher engagement rates.
3. Leverage Influencers to Amplify Reach
Influencer marketing is gaining immense traction, with 86% of marketers now leveraging influencer content.
And sponsored influencer posts delivering 11x higher ROI on average compared to traditional methods.
The reasons are clear – influencers serve as trust signals who can expose your brand to millions of tuned-in followers. They encourage sharing behaviors that spread branded content wider.
Seek out influencers relevant to your niche with high engagement levels. Compensate them to feature your products/services or co-create social-first content.
Tools like BuzzSumo, Klear, and Traackr help discover fitting influencers. While offers like free products, affiliate commissions, or fixed payments often drive partnerships.
Pro Tip: Always disclose paid partnerships using #ad hashtags for transparency and FTC compliance.
4. Publish Social-Friendly Content Formats
Certain types of visually-compelling, snackable content perform better on social channels. Leverage formats optimized for engagement over cold hard SEO value alone.
For example, list posts see 2x the shares compared to long-form guides according to BuzzSumo’s analysis below:
Other social-friendly options include:
- List posts
- Quizzes and polls
- Memes
- Charts/graphs
- Videos under 60 seconds
These lighter formats suit mobile users and shortened attention spans. Making them easily consumable and highly shareable.
Pro Tip: Repackage existing articles and studies into snackable visual graphics. These tend to go viral compared to denser reads.
5. Implement Trackable UTM Links
Urchin Tracking Module (UTM) links allow you to tag URLs to reveal their traffic sources using unique markers.
So you can append elements like:
- UTM medium – source type (social, email, referral)
- UTM source – referrer site (Facebook.com)
- UTM campaign – your named campaign
Implementing campaign tracking links is crucial to measuring ROI of social efforts beyond vanity metrics:
- Quantify shares/clicks into site visitors
- Identify best networks/audiences
- Rank content performance
- Feedback signals to search algorithms
This enables data-backed decisions to double-down on what’s working.
Pro Tip: Use Google’s Campaign URL Builder or Bitly to easily create UTM links.
6. Join Relevant Social Communities
Beyond the major networks, got services and communities exist solely for sharing. These niche platforms have very active user bases hungry for content.
Identify which sharing hubs your buyer personas flock to by searching relevant keywords.
For example, programmers frequent Hashnode and Dev.to to share programming tutorials. Finance writers publish market analyses on Seeking Alpha and The Motley Fool.
Create accounts and share your content natively using site tools. Follow contributors, comment on posts, use hashtags, and embed rich media for engagement.
Pro Tip: Tailor content formats to leverage each platform’s native traffic sources for higher pick up.
7. Syndicate Content via Paid Discovery Networks
If you want to accelerate sharing an order of magnitude through paid reach, discovery ad networks are a smart route.
These advertising platforms have direct partnerships with major social and media platforms to amplify content propagation across 100,000+ sites.
Top providers like Taboola, Outbrain, Revcontent and MGID boast 40 billion+ monthly impressions.
You supply the content, choose target interests/behaviors, set a budget, then watch discovery ads drive traffic and engagement.
Pro Tip: Target lookalike audiences of current social followers and website visitors for conversions up to 5.5% higher.
8. Analyze Performance to Identify Optimization Opportunities
Have clear goals before acting to accurately track progress. Signals to analyze across networks:
- Mentions – links and brand references
- Followers – audience size trajectory
- Engagement – reactions, clicks, time-on-site
- Virality – shares, comments, embed codes
- Conversions – email sign-ups, sales from shares
Convert social analytics into action plans:
- Double-down on highly-shared formats
- Re-angle underperforming content
- Set key benchmarks to track
Pro Tip: Measure channel-specific metrics like Facebook’s People Taking About This for insights.
9. Join HARO as a Source
Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a popular journalist request service with 500k+ users.
It connects expert sources like yourself to reporters seeking quotes from niche authorities. Queries range across 3k+ leading media outlets.
Sign up for free, browse relevant requests in a daily email digest, then reply with your commentary by deadline.
Securing a backlink and exposure from HARO only takes minutes per day with huge SEO and branding potential in return.
Pro Tip: Source quotes from old articles or interviews to easily respond at scale. Aim for tier-1 publications for amplified domain authority boosts.
10. Host Social Contests and Giveaways
Contests, freebies and exclusive deals entice web visitors to follow your brand across socials for access.
In exchange you gain:
- Permmissions for advertising
- Expanded reach from entries and tags
- Social proof with more followers
Clever contests like hashtag campaigns, photo filters and quiz questions drive fun engagement.
Pro Tip: Tie entries to sharing on Facebook/Twitter and email signup to accelerate virality.
11. Interlink Branded Hashtags
Hashtags help content be discovered by target audiences. But using 1 dimension generic ones lead to diminishing returns.
Get creative by “namespacing” and interlinking brands hashtags across channels and campaigns.
A few examples:
- #NIKE runners
- #JustDoIt generation
- #WeAreCisco engineers
- #TheNetworkIsEverywhere
This taps existing networks and momentum for exponential exposure.
Pro Tip: Use FollowerWonk to discover industry hashtags with pre-baked authority to tap into.
12. Promote Links Through Outreach
A trusted way to earn high-quality backlinks is through proactive blogger and media outreach.
Start by curating a list of 20-50 sites related to your industry. Identify the types of content pieces that perform well there.
Craft personalized pitches showcasing why your data or assets would appeal to their audience.
Sending new content alerts, expert quotes, guest posts, or link insertion opportunities.
Response rates around 25-35% are common when contacts are qualified. Don’t fear hearing no – it’s a numbers game. Persistence pays off.
Pro Tip: Export outreach templates from tools like NinjaOutreach to streamline workflows.
Monitor and Measure Signals Over Time
With the strategies above, consistently tracking key metrics tied to goals paints a clear picture of what works.
Gauge whether efforts drive concrete growth in targeted areas like:
- Followers and engagement rates
- Referral traffic and lower bounce rates
- Ranking improvements for target keywords
- Conversions from social channels
Course correct tactics based on platform and audience data.
Pro Tip: Create a social media dashboard to monitor important metrics weekly using Google Data Studio or Klipfolio.
