Ways To Use Social Media To Improve Your Website’s Ranking
If you have recently heard that your website’s search engine ranking may decline as a result of Google’s latest “Penguin Update,” and you’d like to help minimize any decrease in traffic, there are a few things you can do to boost your site. In this day and age, numerous businesses operate websites. The businesses operating websites which successfully bring in qualified leads understand the critical importance of maintaining an effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategy. Your SEO plan most likely includes performing keyword research on a regular basis, and strategically placing the most effective content throughout the pages of your ecommerce website. Each page of your site is well optimized, including the programming code for the metadata, titles, headings, alt tags, and anchor text within internal links. You have a system for creating a lot of inbound links, you submit your site to countless directories, you have RSS feeds, your write a blog post every day, you actively participate in social media networks, and much more. Eventhough you continually work extremely hard to follow Google’s best practices for SEO, your website’s ranking may fall.
According to Wikipedia, “Google Penguin is a code name for a Google algorithm update that was first announced on April 24, 2012. The update is aimed at decreasing search engine rankings of websites that violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines by using black-hat SEO techniques such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, participating in link schemes, deliberate creation of duplicate content, and others.” Although this update is designed to punish the sites which deliberately “spam” the search engines, your business website could potentially be downranked by Google as well. In order to protect your site from losing web traffic and decreased sales of your products and services, now is the time to expand your website’s online presence.
A great way to enhance your business website and grow your online marketplace is through the use of social media networks. It’s important to share exciting information, news and events concerning your company’s products and services on the two largest social networking sites, Facebook and Twitter. As your first step, devise your social networking marketing plan. Next, develop content that will create a “buzz” about your products and/or services. Then, post the “buzz-worthy” content, on a regular basis, within Facebook and Twitter. There are many more ways to encourage people to make recommendations about your products to their friends, family members and business associates. For instance, you may want to allow customers to post comments about your products and/or services within your website. The more positive comments you have about your business, the greater the chances people will share this content with their social networks. Make it as simple and easy as possible for your online followers and fans to share your content with their friends, family and associates. In addition, utilize the exciting content about your products within blog posts. Spend a little time researching like-minded businesses and then ask if they would like to exchange blog content.
Here are three things you can consider for expanding your online demographics and boosting your website’s search engine ranking:
1. Drive more local search traffic to your website by implementing a Facebook pay-per-click ad campaign. Facebook has a massive following, so now is a great time to explore how it can help you grow your business.
2. Build a profile within Google+. This social media site can really help drive a lot of traffic your website. Google+ allows people to create a profile and share the right things with specific groups of people. Although it has not surpassed Facebook or Twitter in “social” popularity, it does exhibit great authority when ranking content, authors, and users in search engine results pages (SERP)s. So, create a (well optimized) user profile within Google+ and start sharing the fabulous content about your company’s products and/or services.
3. Create a profile account within the social media site called Pinterest. Pinterest allows you to “organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes. Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.” As Pinterest is now the third most popular social networking site, you may want to check out the site, submit a request for an invitation, and start pinning as soon as possible!
To some small and midsized business owners, website search engine optimization may seem like a daunting task. Your staff may not have the time necessary to devote to maintaining your website for optimal SEO. We are happy to help you and your team with your business website, social networks campaigns, marketing and search engine optimization efforts. Call us directly at 813-321-1300 today to learn about all of the ways Cornerstone Consulting can help you drive more web traffic to your business website and increase sales.
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