Success on social media is often measured by engagement––the number of likes, favorites, shares, and retweets on pages, photos, and posts. Twitter is one of those social media platforms that’s clearly beneficial to SEO, but what exactly does this mean, and how significant are these numbers? Is it the retweets? Is it the favorites? Or is it the shares?
With so many factors influencing Twitter metrics, it can be hard to pinpoint a single factor. Still, you would be hard-pressed to find a business with a decent online following that does not have a Twitter account connected to their website. So, let’s break down the metrics and what they mean for your SEO strategy.
How Does Twitter Improve SEO?
Did you know that Google and Twitter have a strong partnership? This partnership gives Google the ability to access the Twitter stream, allowing the search engine to index tweets in its search results, which gives Twitter leverage in search engine optimization.
Since you can find most Tweets with a simple Google search, a well-optimized presence on Twitter can make a huge difference for your brand online. If you need an example of this, try searching for a hashtag on Google. You’ll notice that the search results will show the latest tweets from that page. This Google-Twitter partnership has given the micro-blogging platform an edge over other social media platforms.
Favorites vs. Retweets
Besides curating your content, favorites and retweets are the two primary actions you can take on Twitter. Though these actions seem equally effective, they’re drastically different. Favorites are probably the least effective for SEO. They only notify you, as the tweet owner, when they happen. However, whoever favorites your tweet doesn’t additionally broadcast that favorite.
On the other hand, a retweet is a direct share of your content. It’s posted on the feed of the Twitter user retweeting the content, so many of their followers will see it. Also, users are more likely to care about information from their friends versus information from a random business account. So, retweets can be extremely valuable for your account.
How Can I Improve Twitter SEO?
Promote Twitter Ads
Besides retweets and favorites, Twitter ads are a fool-proof way to gain traction on Twitter. They can help you gain tons of visibility, generate leads, and grow your audience––helping you rank higher.
Promote Twitter Trends
Promoting trends on Twitter is a good way to gain exposure through viral content. You can find trending topics on the Discover tab within the Twitter app. Once you tweet a trending topic, it will show up here.
Promote Tweets
Promoted tweets are just tweets that appear for Twitter users who don’t follow you. What makes these tweets stand out is the tag that Twitter adds to these tweets. Promoted tweets will read as “Promoted by (your brand’s name.)”
This is a great opportunity to promote your content and reach Twitter users who don’t follow you.
Promote Your Account
When you promote your account, you can put your content in front of users you’ve targeted to grow your audience. As many as 85% of people say that they find new businesses through promoted accounts.
Promoted accounts show up on people’s timelines in the “Who to follow” section and search results. A small tag will appear under your account name that says, “Promoted.”
Try to avoid promoting your account, tweets, and tags to targeted audiences. Instead, be sure to add targeted keywords so Google will recognize your tweets.
Tweet Consistently
You may think that more is better when it comes to tweeting, but Google could see this approach as spam. Make sure to space out your tweets throughout the day and during times when your followers are most active. Social media scheduling tools help navigate the appropriate times to post––when you’re likely to receive the most engagement.
Get to Know Twitter
If you want to have solid engagement on Twitter, you have to know how to use it to your advantage. The more exposure your posts get––favorites, comments, mentions, and retweets––the higher your search engine rankings will be.
