Q&A With Online Marketing Experts: Does Social Media Affect Rankings

Does social media affect SEO and rankings? This question has been argued by the online marketing industry for years. Some argue there’s statistical evidence that proves social media has a correlation with SEO and rankings, whereas others oppose the idea due to Google’s Matt Cutts’ statement video discussing the subject. Where do you stand? Do you think what is shared on Facebook can have an effect on where a website ranks?

To help continue the debate, we asked two SEO’s and two Social Media Gurus what they thought on the subject. Although some of their answers were similar, some were boldly different based on their SEO and Social Media backgrounds. Read on to learn what SEO’s Jim Stewart, of StewArt Media and Greg Gifford of DealerOn, Social Media Gurus Samantha Kerstetter of OrganikSEO and Jenn Herman of Jenn’s Trends had to say.

Jim: I would create your SEO strategy first as it will inform your social strategy. Good SEO starts with understanding buyer personas and what keywords they search for. When you begin publishing on social you use those keywords there as well.

Samantha:The first step is to make sure their website lends itself to a successful search and social media campaign. It’s essential to review the site to make sure it’s setup to accommodate human users and search engines appropriately. The SEO campaign and social campaign go hand-in-hand after this step (and don’t forget about the essential content marketing campaign). The next step is to create valuable, consistent content, optimize it properly and then promote via social.

Greg: A social media campaign is a PART of a solid SEO strategy. We always include social media as a part of our SEO service. Sure, Google says there’s nothing there, but there’s simply too much anecdotal evidence that social makes a difference. Plus, it’s just good marketing (when done right). And, social’s important for link building as well. We just don’t see any way to separate the two any more – one depends on the other.

Jenn: In general, I would tend to lean towards promoting a social media campaign before an SEO strategy. This is based on personal experience and client experiences. I have found that building an online social media presence, developing the brand awareness, and using this platform to build quality website traffic is more effective in overall search results. I have found that the more people write for SEO and keywords the less value they create in their content

Jim: Not directly. They do impact though. Think of a video that someone tells you to look up because they saw it in social. Typically they’ll say “just search for..”

Samantha: Absolutely. When our team at Organik SEO analyzes Google Analytics for clients that have a dedicated Facebook campaign and advertising budget, we find that a good amount of referral traffic is often from Facebook. This increase certainly helps the client’s website become more relevant in search. We specifically focus on sharing great blogs that spark conversations, encourage engagement and to drive traffic back to the website.

Greg: With our own clients, no. I’ve been a part of several tests though, and in every case, pages got indexed and ranked purely on social signals (the pages were “islands” with no inbound links and shouldn’t have been able to be indexed).

Jenn: I do not have an advanced SEO strategy (gasp, I know!). The only thing I use is Yoast SEO. However, if you search for anything related to Instagram, and specific social media questions my website will appear in the top search results. If I didn’t have a powerful and strategic social media presence, I don’t think the same results would happen from an SEO strategy alone. It is through the social shares, social proof, and repeated website traffic generated through social media that my blogs develop the basis for strong search results.

Jim: They feed one another. People discover in search and bring back into social. People discover in social and then look for more information via search.

Samantha: Yes, and it’s a big one. You need a successful SEO campaign to make sure your site and content is optimized. Social helps fuel the fire by spreading the content across the Internet.

Greg: Yep. Too much evidence to the contrary… BUT – even if we’re all wrong, there’s definitely a symbiotic relationship there… social feeds off of SEO, and SEO feeds off of social. With all the huge benefits that social brings (when done correctly), why would any business NOT want to make it a part of their online marketing mix?

Jenn: I absolutely believe there is a correlation between SEO and SMM. My blog will consistently rank high in search results and these results drive up to 2/3 of my daily website traffic. Because I have built a trustworthy website, with social proof in the number of shares, regular traffic (generated from social media), and a consistent creation of new content, my site consistently gets ranked higher in searches than other sites, many of which invest a lot in their SEO strategies.

Where Do You See the Future of SEO and SMM?

Jim: Social is so important for getting people to share your content and backlink to it. This sends signals to the search engines that the content is worth taking note of. Broadly speaking search happens inside social as well which is why keyword selection is so important. A lot of search is now happening via interfaces like SIri. You need to be creating great content and reaching out to your communities so you get found when people are looking.

Samantha: SMM is already being more heavily incorporated in search, as is evident by the recent change to Google that allows you to see companies’ tweets when searching for their name. More marketers are continuing to realize that you can’t focus on one element of digital marketing to have a successful campaign. You must take a holistic approach. The trifecta, to me is content marketing, SEO and social media.

Greg: I think it’s obvious that social signals will become more weighted in the ranking algorithm – as soon as Google figures out how to keep people from gaming the signals. I’m a firm believer of the fact that the ONLY reason they’re not more powerful now is because Google can’t figure that piece of the puzzle out yet… At some point in the future, social signals will displace links as the most important gauge of value.

Jenn: I think we’ll continue to see more value from social media affecting SEO and search rankings. Search engines will continue to update their algorithms, taking more stock in the social proof (shares and traffic from social media). As we continue to rely more and more on social media for our news sources and entertainment, search rankings will need to adapt to this perception of value in providing relevant content in search results.

In Five Words or Less, How Would Describe the Relationship Between SEO and SMM?

Jim: Social & Search have a symbiotic relationship.

Samantha: A holistic approach to a successful digital marketing campaign. Sorry. That’s nine. 🙂

Greg: They both start with S (← Well said, Greg!)

Jenn: Social media positively impacts SEO.

What side of the fence do you stand on? Comment below to share your thoughts about the effects of social media and SEO.