The Growing Power and Force of Social SEO

With Google’s recent launch of social search built into their search results, they confirmed what many search engine optimization specialists had already believed to be true.  One of the growing factors that search engines uses to weigh the value of any given page on the Internet is the organic social links that point to it. This SEO factor is known as social SEO.

The programmers behind this search engine are incredibly smart and every day the algorithm that’s used to populate its search results is evolving to reflect this.  They want to show their users the highest quality and most relevant information possible and it’s rapidly improving the way that it does this.

Make a Bigger Splash in the Social Community

Google knows that if a page is able to quickly grab the attention of its surrounding social community then it’s probably a quality page. And they are right in thinking this way. Those pages that go viral across social media platforms do so because people are interested in them. This is exactly the type of material that they’re looking for. Search engines view those inbound links from social media like blogs and twitter as votes in favor of your page.

Even though twitter and other social media often use the nofollow tag which is designed to tell Google and other search engines not to notice that link as a vote, many of these links are still finding their way into our Google Webmaster Tools account as inbound links. This is yet another indication that search engines care about the inbound links that are being created across social networks.

With this in mind, you should be able to see how it is more important than ever to create high quality content that your visitors are genuinely interested and how important it is to develop and expand your social circle. You should be actively working to expand your network every day for the sake of your social SEO.

Writing For Real People vs. Writing For Search Engines

Often people debate the idea of which is more important, writing for search engines or writing for real people. But the answer has now become simplified. Create content that inspires your visitors in such a way so that they feel compelled to share it in their network. Writing for real people in this way is effectively writing for the search engines.

I’ve heard people complain about the concept that Google favors certain established websites and often discounts the quality of smaller, less-known sites. But this is a good thing. Google knows that those sites who are able to create a buzz in the community without search engine traffic are exactly the type of results that they should be delivering to their users.

The better attitude is not to get upset that the more established sites find favor in the eyes of Google, but to determine to learn and improve our own social SEO. Find a way to create a buzz around your site. Rally your community. Get people excited and provide dynamite content that they won’t find anywhere else. This will drive you to the top.

Group Reflection

I hope that you’re not simply praying that Google will miraculously start sending free traffic to your website. If that is your attitude then you are going to be sadly disappointed. If you want search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing to take notice of your website then you need to start making a bigger splash in the broader social community.

What are you doing at your website to improve the quality of the content you deliver? What are you doing right now to create a buzz in your community? Are you doing what it takes to get noticed or are simply praying for a miracle?