The Role of Social Media in Local SEO: Tips and Tricks for Success
Posted on June 17, 2023
It goes without saying that local businesses ought to use social media in 2020. Nevertheless, the effect of social media on local SEO is frequently ignored. This is due to the haziness surrounding the relationship between social media and search engine results in the past.
Consider this: more than half of consumers use social media to investigate goods and services. Also, keep in mind that social profiles typically show up on Google company searches’ first page.
Leveraging Social Media Platforms for Local SEO Success
To improve your position in search results, it is suggested that you use social media wisely. To begin with, you must optimize your social media profiles so that followers are directed to your website.
Social media, on the other hand, offers countless chances to create linkless backlinks. The idea is straightforward: for Google, any connection to or online mention of your brand—including social mentions—is beneficial.
The best ways to actively use social media to enhance your local search efforts are broken down below each platform.
When it comes to local SEO, Facebook should be your top focus because it has the largest and most engaged user base on social media. Remember that most customers won’t get in touch with a company unless their website is mobile-friendly.
Facebook frequently serves as an addition to or complete substitute for conventional small company websites. You can advertise your services on the platform and take direct bookings. In addition, if your profile is properly optimized, it may be a gold mine for visitors and SERP appearances.
Start by trying to provide as much information as you can in the “About” section of your Page.
Your firm overview and business information provide several chances to not only highlight your experience but also to focus on essential industry keywords. Look at how Massachusetts Eye and Ear, for instance, incorporates terms relevant to services in their “Products” category.
Your location is one of the most crucial factors to post on Facebook for local SEO. Local clients will find you more easily if your location is prominently displayed, as 86% of people use Google Maps to research the locations of businesses.
Enabling Facebook’s “Services” option will give you more chances to sprinkle pertinent keywords throughout your Page. With the use of this tab, you may draw attention to particular services that your company provides and which Google users could also be interested in.
These products and their descriptions may then appear in Google search results. The Facebook Page displayed above, for instance, is ranked for “Bay Area CoolSculpting,” which is extensively displayed throughout their profile.
Oh, and don’t forget that your Facebook Page needs to be well-curated for user reviews and ratings. These discussions provide Google more chances to crawl your page for relevant keywords (the examples below use “great hotel bar” and “romantic atmosphere”).
Keep in mind that when someone searches for your company on Google, Facebook reviews and star ratings will appear alongside it. The fact that 50% of people need at least a four-star rating before they’ll consider a company shows how crucial Facebook reviews are for attracting clients through search.
Beyond page layout, make it a point to consistently publish content that links back to your website’s offers and blog articles. These are the types of linkless backlinks that we previously discussed.
Facebook’s call-to-action button is another clever step to drive more people to your website. Simply said, this serves as a direct connection between your Facebook website and your online booking system or appointment website.
In short, Facebook provides a ton of chances for increasing site visitors and promote pertinent keywords.
Instagram may be a huge asset for local companies. Incredibly, 90% of users follow at least one company profile. Despite the platform’s apparent SEO limitations, Instagram is a valuable traffic source that may be exploited to increase your search visibility.
The most crucial component of the puzzle may be your Instagram bio. Your bio link must direct followers to the correct page because there is only one link for your complete profile.
Drive traffic to a particular promotion or mobile-friendly landing page instead of including a general link to your homepage. To better understand how Instagram is performing for your website, make sure you are tracking link clicks and Instagram traffic.
Links can be shortened and tracked using tools like Bitly and Rebrandly, saving you significant space in your bio. Additionally helpful for more precisely directing Instagram traffic to your website based on their aim are tools like LinkTree.
It’s crucial to consider how to use regional hashtags in your captions. Unbelievably, hashtags do up in Google searches. You should keep these guidelines in mind while you write your Instagram captions.
What Twitter is actually worth to smaller, local businesses today is a topic of much discussion.
If so, Twitter is a great platform for spreading content and getting your links in front of consumers and other key players in the market. Twitter can help you extend the reach of your promotions when used in conjunction with hashtags.
It’s ideal to carefully evaluate how you set up your Twitter bio and how that real estate can help your search efforts, similar to how you should do with Instagram. A good place to start is by including your site, pertinent keywords, and hashtags associated with your company.
We also advise adding a pinned tweet to your profile to direct people to your most recent promos. This post is the only one of yours that appears “above the fold” in your feed, making it an ideal place to draw followers to your website.
Given that it generates 80% of B2B leads, LinkedIn is an essential network for everyone working in the B2B industry.
Similar to Facebook, your company details and “About” section offer several options to include keywords that affect your search rankings.
Make the most of the 2,000 words that LinkedIn gives you to describe what your business has to offer. Additionally, similar to Facebook’s “Services” tab, the “Specialties” area enables you to access particular services.
These recommendations apply equally to B2C businesses where your LinkedIn profile may be more “set and forget.” It is preferable to have a lengthy, keyword-rich “About” than to leave the space empty or devoid of pertinent terms.
For B2B businesses publishing content that generates leads, such as blog articles, videos, or e-books, be sure to utilize both your company profile and the presence of your employees on LinkedIn.
Fact: On social media, consumers share promotional content from individual accounts 24x more frequently than those of businesses. Each time a new campaign or piece of content is shared by several employees, your company gains access to a massive amount of potential traffic and reach that would be nearly hard to obtain on your own.
Cross-Platform Tips for Local Social Media SEO
In order to conclude up, let’s quickly go over some basic pointers and best practices you should take into account if you want to use social media to boost your SEO efforts.
Mind Your Captions and Keywords
Make sure to add keywords or a call-to-action to your content when sharing on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn. When you do this, you have still another chance to leverage keywords or a call to action to promote clicks.
Dropping links by themselves won’t help you much with the social algorithms of today.
Maximize the Engagement Rate of Your Posts
Whatever way you look at it, social algorithms can be unpredictable.
We advise trying out several post formats to see which generates the most clicks and, consequently, the most traffic to your website. For instance, interactive material (think: polls and questions) or visual content (think: photographs, infographics, or videos) are frequently used in content strategies to boost engagement on Facebook.
No matter what you post, consistency is important. A company that posts frequently and engages with its social media followers is more likely to attract customers than one that just posts once a week.
Monitor You Social Traffic and ROI
The last thing you need to do is determine which social media sites are giving your company the best return on investment.
After all, you have a finite amount of time and money. Businesses should use their time effectively and concentrate on the most effective marketing avenues.
Where, then, is your audience more interested? Which social media platforms provide reliable leads and traffic? As was already mentioned, URL trackers can help you keep tabs on the factors that influence traffic and the sources of your social media visits.
Simple-to-read reports are ideal for dissecting what’s working and what isn’t via social media and sharing with clients and coworkers.
And of course, keep an eye on Google Analytics’ social media traffic. You’ll get a bird’s-eye view of your social media traffic and how each platform compares when you do this.
For instance, you might find that Twitter visitors are clicking around and converting after they reach your site, despite the fact that Facebook visitors are driving the majority of your traffic.
Using this information, you may decide which social networks need the most attention and which marketing strategies are most important for your company.
Is Your Social Presence Optimized for Local SEO?
The aforementioned advice complements the best social media strategies for small enterprises. Although these minor adjustments to your social presence might not seem like much when combined they can have a significant impact.
After all, anything you can do to increase the visibility of your company is a bonus, right? By adhering to the aforementioned guidelines, you may increase the chances that customers will find you over time through search and social media.
