Get Social: Three Reasons Social Media Can Improve Your Traffic
There is no question that social media has become the driving force behind almost everything we do online. Facebook alone is one of the most powerful assets we have in the digital marketing world. It gives businesses the ability to not only reach highly-targeted and re-targeted users, but also showcase the great content that makes every individual brand stand out.
Other social networks like Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and more, all provide unique ways to build brand recognition and boost engagement. Those two things together also help brands build trust with their audiences and improve search engine optimization (SEO).
Even with its overwhelming influence, social media alone will only take you so far in terms of overall reach. Good SEO and the ability to rank high in searches among your most coveted demographic(s) remains the single most important element of any branding or marketing strategy. You rent real estate on social media; your website is your home.
With that in mind, here are three highly effective ways you can use social media to drive site traffic and get the page rankings you need to stand out among your competition.
#1 – Start Blogging. Now.
Developing your own content is vital for brand-building and SEO. The more unique, high-quality content you have on your website, the higher your site will rank. If you haven’t delved into blogging as of yet, the time to do so is now.
The best part is that it is easy and relatively cheap to start a new blog. You can either utilize the blogging capabilities that are native to your website, or you can use one of the numerous, trusted blogging services out there and point your blog at your own domain. Either option will point readers directly to your site and that is how you start building good rankings.
Share all of your unique blog content on social media. When possible, use unique visuals in your posts and ads. High-quality stock images will often work just as well, but you will miss the opportunity to build brand awareness if you go that route.
#2 – Interact on Other Channels Within Your Niche
Don’t try to infiltrate your competitors’ channels and try to lure business away from them. Instead, just be part of the conversation. When you have the opportunity, recommend an article on your blog and link to it. There are also plenty of un-branded groups on social media with strong interests in every imaginable niche. On these groups, you can be a bit more aggressive with your recommendations and even link to product, service, or landing pages on your site that are relevant to the competition.
#3 – Seed Posts with Backlinks Whenever Possible
Include the links to the blog posts you share in your descriptions, even though the content will automatically link to your blog or product pages. The simple act of typing out the URL will get the attention of the major search engines. Also drop URLs to appropriate pages when you respond to existing comments on pages that are not owned or linked to specific brands.
Final Takeaway
Always be sure to deliver content in a way that causes users on each specific network to respond positively and maintain high standards of quality when creating content or sharing curated content. Be selective about where you drop links and maintain a positive presence on the channels where you interact.
Lastly, make use of simple, definitive calls to action in your posts and ads. This will motivate more people to click on your links and engage with your content through likes, shares, and friendly conversation. All of these things can help boost site traffic and improve SEO.
