It’s all interconnected. Your online presence, SEO, reputation, paid traffic, and more interacts with each other. When one aspect of your online marketing is thriving, it can lift the rest of your online marketing factors up. Social media is no exception, especially now that Google is using it to help their customers find relevant businesses near them.
Google is constantly updating its algorithm to provide searchers with more relevant content, and customers today love active, engaged businesses. They’re increasingly incorporating more criteria, from local citations and reviews, and now, social media, to their search rankings.
What does that mean for you as a business owner? Google is finding more ways to reward active, engaged businesses on its platform. That means that now, Google is beginning to mix social media posts into their results pages.
And thus, even if you’re not active on social media yourself, you should be active every day on your page – plus, pay attention to the keywords and hashtags you choose in your posts.
The Why:
According to Synup, 54% of customers use social media to research products and services. That’s over half of all people. There could be a ton of reasons for this. First, a lot of people spend their time scrolling through their feeds for entertainment. Since they’re on social media anyway, if they’re thinking of buying something, why not just search the platform they’re scrolling through anyway? It’s a no-brainer.
Synup further points out that 67% or two thirds of searches are zero-click searches. That means that what appears on Google’s results pages are often enough to make a customer decide whether to do business with you. Soon, that could include a business’s recent posts on Twitter, Facebook, and more platforms.
Also, a company’s social media can give you a lot of clues about how they run their business: do they communicate changes, are they polite and respectful when receiving negative feedback? Is there a strong sense of community, purpose, etc. – as in, does this company really live and breathe its stated mission and vision?
It was only a matter of time before Google took notice and began incorporating social media posts in its search results.
The How:
Wait a minute! Facebook pages appear in their results all the time – this isn’t new! True, so what’s the fuss about? What is new is that you can begin to see specific Facebook posts in certain search results, like this:
Google post indexing means that your posts could be front and center when Google pulls results from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites. So, it’s critical to make your posts count.
Google’s bots crawl your social media page, just like they crawl your website. Also similarly, they look for keywords that can help their customers. For example, if you own a spa and someone in your area is looking for “relaxing massage near me,” Google’s search results could feature some of your posts, especially if you use the same keywords or cover the same topics and questions your customers are searching for.
What should you do?
Make your social media posts count. Make sure as much information on your social media pages is filled in as possible. Here’s another place where you can use keywords and content to your advantage. Mention who you are, where your business is located, some specific towns it serves, and always link back to your website!
Employing good SEO practices on Google is the same as implementing them on your website. Use hashtags as keywords, or use the keywords you’re trying to rank for in your posts. Synup further suggests using hashtags that pinpoint where you are so customers can find you.
For example, if you’re an Italian restaurant in Dearborn, Italian restaurant Dearborn would be a choice hashtag to use, along with Dearborn restaurant, Metro Detroit restaurant, and Dearborn Italian restaurant. You can also use these words in your posts, and not just ones that highlight your business, but ones that drive engagement. Consider asking your audience: What are you looking for in a quality Italian Restaurant when you visit Dearborn? You could also use keywords when explaining what sets you apart from the rest, for instance: “As a high-quality Italian Restaurant, we pride ourselves on using the freshest, most authentic ingredients in our Dearborn kitchen.”
Of course, there’s the consistency. Remember to post or schedule posts around the same time every day, address comments and concerns as they go in, and encourage your clients (every so often) to like follow, and share!
Is social taking too much time from actually running your business? Take social media off your plate and give us a call today!