You could have the most amazing website on the internet, but if no one visits, it is essentially worthless. There are websites that are beautifully created and intuitively programmed that still only get a few hits per month. So, how can you leverage social media to ensure your website does not suffer this fate? The following are tips that will help you understand why social media is important and how to get the most out of it.
Social Media is How Customers Find You
Nobody looks in the Yellow Pages to find a business anymore. People do not call their friends about great restaurants, good doctors, or to ask which company they should have landscape their yard. These things are all done on the internet. Where do people look for this type of information? They search for online reviews of companies on Yelp or Angie’s List, read their friends Facebook posts, consult Twitter, and watch YouTube videos.
Your Search Engine Rank
Many businesses have their Facebook and Twitter pages show up in Google search rankings ahead of their actual business pages. Your “about us” sections on your social media sites need to do a good job of directing potential customers to your website. If your social media sites are lacking in this area, you are probably missing traffic.
When people use search engines to locate a product of find reviews, the results they get are based on a number of factors. Social media takes care of a number of these including
- Backlinks
- Customer Reviews
- Social Interaction
- New Content
Using social media to cover these elements does more than just increase traffic to your website. It brings in actual customers looking for your product or services.
Social media creates real engagement with your customers and is a great way to drive traffic to your website.
Social Media Builds Links
Speaking of links, when you share a link to content on your website to a social media account, you are building the links that Google indexes. This boosts your SEO ratings because good considers links to social media quality linking.
The more of these links you have, the faster Google will index those pages. When others share your content, the pages where the content appears are indexed even faster.
Quality Connections Lead to Better Ranking
Shares from customers lead to more traffic on your sight, and most people trust the recommendations they get from family and friends. Typically, people are now getting these recommendations from social media instead of the old-fashioned way.
You have to honor this trust, though, so avoid buying followers or setting up dummy accounts. Not only does this not bring you real customers, it will alienate your real customers if they find out.
So, Why is Social Media Important for Your Website?
Prioritizing social media for your business can help you:
- Share your knowledge and expertise
- Receive feedback from your customers
- Get free advertising
- Get customers to your website
Having a great social media presence just makes sense. It provides you with exposure, free advertising, and customers who are interested in what you have to offer. Make it a part of the marketing strategy for your website today.