How Facebook and Instagram impact SEO and your google ranking

Guest post by Karlie Plowman, Techno Bird

In recent years, social media and SEO have become business BFFs. We know that social media has the ability to create brand awareness and trust and nowadays, people treat social media as a ‘pre-Google’ type of function - going to Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter to scope out a brand and get a feel for their vibe, products, what they offer, who they are etc. before deciding if clicking on their website link will be worth their time.

Gone are the days when people went straight to Google and clicked on a link - they’re now doing their research on social media first. OK, some people DO go straight to Google but more and more? They’re ‘Googling’ you on Instagram first and making a judgement based on your social media content before clicking the link in your bio.

So, how does this all affect SEO? How do social media and SEO actually work together, besides adding your website link in your bio?

4 things you need to know ABOUT social media and SEO…

and how the correlate

1. Google crawls social websites for data in the same way that it would any other website

Social popularity helps rankings on Google, kind of like an influencer of SEO, if you will. While social media accounts with high follow numbers or massive engagement rates will not necessarily be looked on more favourably by Google, Google does look at your social media content, how often people click on your website link in your bio and how many people do this, to understand the influence your social media accounts have on your website traffic.

2. Your social media profiles rank in Google search results

Ever Googled a business or company and not only do you find their website link, but usually underneath it you’ll see their Facebook page in the results? This is GOLD for SEO - social profiles definitely influence the content of your search results.

Social channels can feel more personal than web pages and they’re a great way to get a sense of a company’s personality - this backs up the point about people wanting to get a feel for you and your brand on your social media, before they make the decision to click through to your actual website and convert from there. They’re doing their research first. Which is why it pays to have social media profiles with up-to-date info and engaging content.

3. Social sharing enhances the number of clicks on your website

Social shares (i.e. people who share your social media accounts and content on their own accounts, websites and other forms of communication) do not automatically increase your ranking on Google, but they do spread your content further.

Enhanced social shares mean enhanced visibility which means more people are likely to link back to your content. Google does take into consideration visits to your page and how long people stay on the page when they visit, so producing high-quality content that is shared across social media can help to move your search engine ranking ever closer to the top of that coveted first page of Google.

4. Social media promotes engagement with your website content

Social media is an efficient, expedient and effective way of promoting your SEO-based content.

There is a huge impact on your bounce rate (the time it takes for people to land on your website then ‘bounce’ or exit without exploring your site further) and duration of the on-site engagement (the time it takes people to click on links, read your content and interact with your site) by the number of links you have coming through.

If your content is good and people stick around to read it, these metrics communicate value to search engines.

If you’re a visual person like me, this diagram provides an excellent explaination of how social media and SEO work together.

Social media and SEO are BFFs. This diagram by www.postano.com proves it. — *Social media and SEO are BFFs. This diagram by* *www.postano.com* *proves it.*

About Karlie and Techno Bird

Techno Bird is a team of web designers and SEO experts who specialise in small business, mums in business, women in business, creatives and tradies. Chief Bird, Karlie, is a website developer, SEO specialist and sports-mad mother of two with a passion for helping female biz owners thrive online.

Her superpower is her no-BS approach to SEO – breaking it down to easily-digestible concepts that even that most technically-challenged among us can understand and implement.

To learn more about Karlie and SEO, visit her website and listen to Episode 31 of the Mad Marketing Mums Podcast

Karlie Plowman

Chief Bird and SEO expert, Techno Bird