How to Boost Your SEO with Social Media

SEO and social media are two very different strategies. And to be honest, social media can not improve or increase the SEO of any website, at least not directly. However, it can do the most valuable thing for your website: increase visitors! And we know that:

More Visitors = Better SEO

According to HubSpot, companies that actively engage on social media experience a 55% increase in web traffic. Additionally, most of your customers are also on social media. In 2023, over 87% of social media users made online purchases.

So, if you want to boost SEO with social media, you need to start treating them as not separate, but rather as one, singular growth engine. Now, if you’re asking how to do it? In this blog, I’ll walk through, step by step, how to increase SEO using practical, content-sharing strategies that amplify your content and build long-term results. Let’s get started! 

The Relationship Between Social Media and SEO

To begin with, let’s talk about the relationship between social media seo and traditional search optimization. While Google has publicly stated that social signals (likes, shares, follows) aren’t direct ranking factors, the impact of social media on SEO is still enormous.

Here’s how social media increases your website SEO:

• Direct visitors to your website
• Increases visibility for your content
• Generates referral traffic to your website
• Expands brand awareness, leading to more branded searches
• Attracts backlinks by exposing your content to a broader audience

Even though this relationship isn’t direct, the impact that social media has on a website is significant. In short, social media helps increase website traffic, and talk about direct visitors and customers. It is the best strategy to achieve this goal.

How Social Signals Impact SEO Rankings

Social signals are interactions such as likes, shares, retweets, pins, comments, and reactions that content receives on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

But how can this engagement that happens on social platforms help boost SEO with social media? Here’s how:

Again, these are not counted as direct ranking factors, but they contribute to content credibility and online visibility, which are highly correlated with improved rankings. According to a study by CognitiveSEO, content with high social engagement earns 22% more backlinks than content without.

• More shares = More eyes
• More eyes = Higher chance of earning links
• More links = Better SEO

In addition, social signals also help your content get indexed faster. In fact, popular posts on social media are crawled more frequently, which helps your pages appear in search results sooner.

Hence, consistent engagement creates a ripple effect that helps boost SEO with social media, even if it’s not through direct algorithmic impact.

Best Practices for Sharing Content on Social Media

Now that we know the why, let’s move into the how. Simply publishing blog posts or content won’t do much unless you pair them with a thoughtful content-sharing strategy.

Here are some best practices you can implement on your brand to get the best results:

Step 1. Tailor Your Content Per Platform

Each platform has a unique audience and preferred content format. For example, Instagram and TikTok favour short-format reels, while Facebook and X(Twitter) prefer content that combines image, text, and provides the best value. 

Therefore, what works on X may not work on Instagram and vice versa. The best option is to know where you need to post and adjust your tone, visuals, and CTA (Call to Action) accordingly.

Step 2. Use SEO-Driven Captions

Use long-tail keywords throughout the content. For example, the long-tail keyword of the blog you’re reading now is: boost SEO with social media. This is the keyword that people are searching for most regarding this topic, and I’m using that information to rank on top.

Step 3. Encourage Engagement

Ask questions, run polls, and use call-to-actions like “Share if you agree” or “Tag a friend who needs this.” Simply put, the more interaction, the better the visibility.

Step 4. Post at Peak Times

Again, every platform has a unique posting time. Overall, according to Sprout Social, the best times to post are Tuesdays through Thursdays, 9 AM to 12 PM.

Step 5. Repurpose and Reshare Content

Turn blogs into carousels, quotes, short videos, or infographics. You’ll stretch the lifespan of your content and increase the likelihood of shares and clicks.

To sum it all up, the more you optimize your sharing strategy, the easier it becomes to consistently boost SEO with social media over time.

Using Social Media Ads to Boost Your SEO Strategy

Let’s face it, organic reach is cost-effective, but it’s also slow. That’s where paid social ads can give your SEO content the early push it needs. 

To get the best result possible, here’s how you can combine organic and inorganic strategies:

• Promotes new blog posts or landing pages to a targeted audience
• Generates engagement and traffic quickly, which sends strong user signals
• Supports remarketing, keeping your brand top-of-mind
• Helps test which content performs best, so you can double down organically

Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram offer pinpoint audience targeting, allowing you to get your content in front of people who are most likely to read, share, and link to it.

A report from Hootsuite found that businesses using both organic and paid social strategies saw a 70% increase in overall website traffic.

Think of paid promotion not as an alternative to SEO, but as a smart tactic to boost SEO with social media more efficiently and strategically.

Tracking Social Media Metrics to Improve SEO

Lastly, after posting, if you’re not measuring your efforts, how would you know what’s working and what’s not? That’s why tracking social and SEO work side by side.

Here are some key metrics to watch for:

• Referral Traffic: Use Google Analytics to measure how much traffic is coming from each social platform.
• Engagement Rates: Track likes, shares, and comments per post
• Content Shareability: Monitor which types of posts get reshared or saved the most
• Bounce Rate: Identify how long social visitors stay on your site
• Earned Backlinks: Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to see which content is earning links due to social activity

By evaluating these numbers, you can refine your social media SEO strategy and focus on tactics that actually drive results.

Data not only helps justify your efforts, but it also shows you exactly how to boost SEO with social media in ways that are measurable and repeatable.

All-In-All:

Social media does not directly increase SEO of your website, but rather it increases website authority by bringing in more visitors through different social platforms. 

When your content is shared across platforms, it increases visibility, attracts visitors, and enhances the chances of earning backlinks, key elements that support SEO growth. Moreover, social signals such as likes, shares, and comments help your content get noticed and indexed faster.

In short, social media amplifies your content’s reach, which indirectly strengthens your SEO over time. Use it wisely, and you’ll see your search performance steadily rise. 

And if you’re looking to align your social strategy for SEO and business growth, reach out to me at Webbwizz. With decades of experience, I have helped multiple clients increase their business growth just by implementing simple yet effective SEO strategies. Take the responsible step for your business. Reach out to us!

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