Does social media marketing impact SEO?

Social media marketing has a significant impact on SEO but is not a direct ranking factor. So, whilst Google has confirmed that social metrics won’t directly influence where you rank on search engines, it does amplify the signals that do - making social an essential part of modern SEO. 

Search engines don’t value likes, shares and followers as these are platform-specific metrics, rather than universal ranking signals. 

Social media directly impacts SEO in a different way

Content amplification

By posting on social media, you’re encouraging users to engage with your content, increasing visibility and reach. This results in a higher chance of backlinks and mentions that will directly feed into SEO authority signals. 

Link building and brand mentions

A massive part of SEO is natural backlinks and brand citations. To achieve this, you need journalists or bloggers to know who you are; social media gives you visibility and makes you more discoverable. For example, if you can land yourself a viral post, this could lead to coverage on external websites. 

Brand authority 

A strong social media presence builds trust, recognition and authority - the big three in SEO as it aligns with Google’s E-E-A-T principles (Experience, Expertise, Authority, Trust). 

Increased website traffic

Eyes on your social media through regular, engaging posts opens up more opportunities to drive traffic to your website. Although traffic alone isn’t a ranking factor, user behaviour is; therefore, this increase in traffic will contribute to improved engagement metrics and send positive signals to search engines. 

Search demand

If you’ve got a strong social presence, this will, in turn, build brand recognition. Making it more likely for users to search your brand name on Google and click on your site in the search results. Not only is this positive from an awareness perspective, but branded searches are a strong indicator of trust to search engines; seeing subsequent higher click-through-rates can also improve rankings. 

Essentially, whilst social media marketing may not have a direct or instant impact on SEO, it highlights the need for the two functions to work together - this is where they’re stronger. Social media fuels the visibility that SEO relies on and allows your efforts to work harder. 

Looking for more ways to improve your SEO? We can help, get in touch and let’s discuss.