Facebook still reigns at the top when it comes to social networking, with more than one billion active users, but did you know that it can also impact your SEO? In fact, it’s not uncommon to see Facebook pages ranking among the top SERPs (Search Engine Result Pages)! If you haven’t put much thought into Facebook marketing, it’s time to start — in this blog, we’ll explain why.
How does Facebook Marketing impact SEO?
Before diving into the benefits, it’s important to understand how Facebook can impact SEO. Even though search engine giants like Google say that social media doesn’t directly impact SEO rankings, it’s been proven that there is indeed a correlation between social signals and ranking factors. Consider this quote from Searchmetrics’ 2016 Rebooting Ranking Factors White Paper:
The correlation between social signals and ranking position is extremely high, and the number of social signals per landing page has remained constant when compared to with the values from last year’s whitepaper. … The top-ranked websites in Google’s rankings displays vastly more social signals than all other pages…. This is primarily due to the overlap between brand websites performing strongly in social networks and being allocated top positions by Google.
There are several reasons that this is the case, but what it boils down to is that your content will be shared more and seen more via Facebook, which increases click-through rates. If your audience engages with it on your site, it also decreases your bounce rate, which is another factor that search engines really like. Here are some ways in which Facebook can help your rankings:
- Build and engage a community: Your business will get a lot more search engine love when you have a loyal brand following (which translates to more people visiting your site!), and one of the best ways to obtain this following is by creating a strong community on social media, where people spend a lot of time. Continuously producing great content is key to building up your following, so make sure you’re regularly establishing your brand authority by keeping your social media channels updated. (Tip: blogging is an excellent way to do this!)
- Increase link-building potential: The more people who see your content, the greater the likelihood that it will be shared (and linked to). Search engines recognize backlinks as points of credibility/authority, which is why it’s smart to be strategic about backlinks. If you’re interested in learning more about link building, here’s a great resource from Moz.
- Optimize with keywords: Just like on your website, keyword optimization is vital to on-page SEO on social channels. You have prime real estate to sprinkle the keywords that you’re trying to rank for through the page, both in the information section as well as in the posts that you generate. If you haven’t done keyword research yet, this blog we wrote on the topic is a great starting point.
With this quick look into Facebook marketing for SEO, we hope you see the value of leveraging this social channel for your ranking benefit. Did you know that we offer social media services here at Moose May? From strategy through to implementation, we can help you bring your social media channels to life (and improve your rankings!). Get in touch with us to see how we can work together here.