Social Signals in Search: Establishing Social Authority

As I’ve discussed in prior posts, social media has a direct effect on search engine rankings. Rankings have long been affected by authority. In the past, authority is often measured by inbound links to a website. The more quality links a site has, the more that site is considered an authoritative site. Higher authority sites have better search engine rankings. Social authority is a big measurement of social signals in search.

Although, link building is still a large part of SEO, we now have to add social authority. Individuals with higher social media authority can gain more ground with their posted links in search engine rankings. Multiple factors go into determining social authority.

Social Authority Factors

• Number of replies or comments
• Automation vs. Manual
• Relevancy of messages
• Association with online groups

The above factors add in to a profile’s authority. Below are some great tips to keep in mind with social media.

Tips to Gaining Social Authority:

1) Automate minimally. Some automation in social media is okay, but it has to be supported by manual intervention and monitoring.

2) Associate with people who will share.. If you are connected to people that are interested in your topics, they are more likely to share your updates.

3) Mix up. Don’t be predictable with your sharing.

4) Don’t overexpose the message. You know that annoying commercial that you see on TV … don’t be that.

5) Meet IRL. Meeting in real-life with people makes a personal connection. People are more like to share your information if they know you on a personal level. It’s old-fashioned networking.