Google Wave Is Currently In The Preview Stages, But How Can Social Media Help Your SEO?
How Can Facebook And Twitter Be Used To Improve Your Business And Your Websites SEO?
It seems you can’t watch the news, read a newspaper or browse the web without seeing or hearing something about the latest social media tool, from Facebook to Twitter and most recently Google Wave.
The latter is the newest social media tool to hit the web, currently in the ‘limited preview’ stage it promises to offer a means to communicate in real-time using images, videos, maps and richly formatted text.
With all this talk about social media we felt it suitable to broach the question; how exactly can social media help a business and its SEO?
The first, and arguably the most obvious reason to use social media is for networking purposes; Twitter is renowned for its ability to quickly and easily connect like-minded individuals and businesses, and the latest figures by emarketer.com show that by the end of 2009 there will be an estimated 18 million Twitter users, in the US alone. This offers the opportunity to share expertise, make lasting relationships and you could even forge business partnerships.
A large percentage of those that use social media websites such as Twitter use it to back-up their own blog. This is ideal for budding writers as it offers the opportunity to communicate with others with similar interests and potentially contribute to their blog, creating valuable back-links to the writers website.
Secondly, in business it can be difficult getting your voice heard by those that are influential. Using a social networking site such as Facebook or Twitter enables you to communicate with others in your industry. By offering tips, advice and information about your sector it provides the chance for you to appear as an authority in your industry and consolidate your businesses position.
Similarly, as a photographer, designer or artist it can be difficult to get your work viewed; social media websites such as Virb are specifically for these individuals, a place where they can present their portfolio and get it the exposure that it deserves.
Finally, one of the most significant reasons why social media is important for a websites SEO is to generate back-links. By posting links to your website and encouraging others to do so too, for example re-tweeting on Twitter, traffic to your website could be boosted considerably.
There are a variety of reasons why social media could be beneficial for your businesses website, but first take a look into the features that each offers and decide which suits your online marketing campaign best.
