Looking for an innovative way to get your website to rank in Google’s Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)..? Aspects of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are now being counted amongst the ranking factors that make up Google’s algorithm. Have you adapted your website and marketing strategy accordingly?

Facebook

Facebook has achieved massive market penetration worldwide and New Zealand is no exception. Accordingly, Google now factors Likes and Shares into its ranking algorithm. Recent research by SEOmoz suggests that of the two, Facebook Shares may carry more SEO authority (and is therefore more likely to yield you ranking gains) than Likes. It is important for websites to create “likeable” and “shareable” content users will want to tell their friends about!

Twitter

Google has confirmed in the past that tweets count towards rankings. Specifically, being tweeted about by a user with a significant number of followers, and people they follow back, has more authority than a user with only a handful. Tweets from top contributors are also more likely to be retweeted, meaning your business should be looking at strategies to get these people to talk about you as a future proofing measure.

Google’s +1

First Rate has previously commented on Google’s “+1” initiative which allows users to vote for pages and search results. This is an initiative yet to take significant shape, but one to watch in the future.

First Rate is available to consult on social media initiatives as part of a holistic SEO strategy.