Myth or Fact: Social Media Dashboards Bad for SEO?
-
I want to start using HootSuite to pre-schedule Facebook/Twitter updates, but am plagued by nagging concerns because I have heard that HootSuite may impact SEO in a negative way.
Is this truth or bull? If it i true, how so, specifically? And can anything be done to mitigate the negative SEO factors?
Also, does anyone prefer another dashboard over HootSuite?
Thanks in advance for your inputs!
-
@ThompsonPaul: I'd welcome additional input...here is the scenario:
We're a 2-man agency, so there really only needs to be one user for the dashboard. The goal is creating an active Facebook/Twitter presence with minimum time commitment, for 3 or 4 small clients - these are local, independently owned businesses with small budgets.
My goal was is to re-purpose newsletter & blog content as pre-scheduled Facebook & Twitter updates in order to be able to "set it & forget it".
These clients don't necessarily view Social as a priority - but as we are creating blog/newsletter content for them anyway, I thought it would be good practice to re-use the content on other platforms, to keep Facebook / Twitter from being completely overlooked.
In terms of the degree of importance placed on analytics - I think if it could be demonstrated that Social is driving traffic to their websites, we would be able to persuade these clients to allocate more budget to social. Each of these clients does use GA.
-
Most welcome, Lucy. I've also used a number of different dashboards - if you can describe the highest-priority things you want to be able to do with your dashboard, I may be able to make a suggestion or two.
eg how many and what types of accounts? Are Analytics and tracking important? Do multiple team members need to collaborate/manage the same accounts?
Paul
-
@ThompsonPaul - Thanks very much for this well-crafted reply - greatly appreciated.
-
There is only one way the use of Hootsuite could negatively affect SEO - if you choose the ow.li URL shortener as your default instead of the default ow.ly version (in the setup section).
The ow.li version is using 302 redirects instead of 301s which is a no-no for SEO.
Otherwise, since the dashboard is only posting contents to Twitter/Facebook and not your website, there's no possibility for harm.
HOWEVER!!! Using Hootsuite (or any 3rd-party tool) to post to Facebook can definitely cause user-engagement problems. Any update posted to Facebook using a 3rd-party tool (like a dashboard) automatically has a harder time earning views by your followers. Facebook's Edgerank algorithm is what determines how many of your followers might see your post, and posts by 3rd party tools always have a lower Edgerank.
So for all important Facebook posts, it is best to submit them using Facebook's own site or their mobile app rather than Hootsuite. (You can now pre-schedule posts from within Facebook itself, so this helps alleviate one of the reasons why most people used 3rd-party tools) In fact, I still believe it's better to make all Facebook updates directly.
Paul
-
Hi Lucy,
Like-wise as Robert, I myself have used hootsuite before for several social media complaints. Besides a huge outage at an important time, I didn't really mind using the service (took a small while getting used to it, that's all).
I suggest you read http://www.seomoz.org/blog/url-shortener-owl-li-indexed-in-google (was released today, excellent timing) as well, which actually talks about using one of the URL shorteners provided by Hootsuite.
Best of luck.
-
Well to be honest lucy i havent at all, not to say hootsuite put me off but its the formula 1 of interfaces so i said to myself "this may not be for me" lets not try and over complicate things and just do it manually.
I might have a look at sproutsocial all right now that you mentioned it but i dont know how it can get any better with my 17" screen (clutter)
It may or may not, i,ll keep u posted
-
Thanks for that input.
Have you used other dashboards with better interfaces? I am also looking into SproutSocial as an alternative & wonder if they have a better user experience.
-
I have used hootsuite and all though it has some great features, its not something i enjoy using because of the cluttered interface.. The only good thing i can think of is that you dont have to login to multiple accounts and simple click between projects, ultra quick.
I'm thinking its bull, i have not heard anything at all concerning seo that may impact on social media projects at all
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Social Media / Articles
Hi Mozzers, I have a couple of questions regarding starting out into social media with an e-commerce website. Most of my experience lies in niche content where a social media following is more natural. Having completed most of the site audit (at least the planning). Its time to begin planning the next move into writing articles on the blog and heading out into social media to facilitate link building whilst i finish off creating the last of the updated website content. I have plenty of subjects I can think to write about and many keywords to target with articles on the website. But I could do with some advice linking this into social media. We have youtube, google+, facebook and twitter accounts but all of them are inactive bar profile information and have almost no following. We sell technical measurement equipment across a selection of niches. My plan is as follows so far, 1. Write 5-10 amazing new articles across the selection of products
Social Media | | ATP
2. Link to them all on each social media platform to begin populating each with content
3. Populate the website homepage with links to all our social media accounts to encourage following
3b. Include adverts stating discount codes etc can be obtained by following us on social media a little unsure where to progress from this point, I have no budget available at the moment, but may be able to obtain some if I can achieve some results without. As always thanks for your time.1 -
Improving page rank for a social media profile?
What are some ways to build links to social media page that links back to your website? Example: Building links to my Pinterest page that links back to my website. Who do we pump up the Pinterest page?
Social Media | | KrisPhoto0 -
How to keep social sharing if we change the URL ?
Hi, We want to change the URL of the blogposts. We want to remove the date, so the URL ... websitename.ca/blog/2012/02/04/name-of-the-article/ would become websitename.ca/blog/name-of-the-article/ For SEO link juice it's OK because we will implement 301 redirect on all URL. But we have many Like, Google + and Tweet on our articles. Is there a way we can maintain our social share (Facebook, Twitter and G+) for each URL if we change them ? We are using Wordpress and we have around 1 500 blogpost. Thanks for your time
Social Media | | Adviso0 -
SEO optimization of Facebook page
Hi, I have started to build a great community with the facebook page of my web site. I might be wrong but I believe that a good optimization of my facebook page could have an effect on the SEO of my web sites. If I am wrong (I am still a newbie), please let me know! So if I am wright, can you tell me what are the important configurations to setup in the facebook page in order to get the most out of that Facebook page? Thanks ! Nancy
Social Media | | EnigmaSolution0 -
What are different strategies to achieve a strong social presence for clients in multiple industries? How do you best leverage your time?
I just finished watching the mozinar on "The End of Search Without Social" mozinar, and I have so many points that I want to implement for our agency. The problem I see is that we have clients in about 20 different industries. How do you create strong social relationships in each of these industries for your clients? It seems that you could have more influence if you built all into your own personal profiles or your SEO company's to create that great fan base. Anyone have success in doing it across the board? Thanks!
Social Media | | esztanyo0 -
Optimal Placement For Social Buttons on a Website
Hello, I want to know what the best versions of twitter, facebook, and Google+1 buttons are, and where optimum placement is. site: bobweikel.com but I want to know in general as well Thanks!
Social Media | | BobGW0 -
Linkbuilding vs. Social -- Allocating scarce resources.
I just watched Rand's latest webinar on the end of search without social. It was very timely for me because I've been putting a lot of thought into how allocate my available person-hours. It is clear that SEO these days necessitates both linkbuilding and social. But how much of each? (50%/50%?, 80%/20%?, etc.) -For the DIY small business owner (<10 hours per week available for SEO) -For SEO savvy web business (~20 hours per week available of SEO) -For in-house or other full time SEO's (30+ hours available) Clearly it depends on a lot of other factors, I'm just looking for a good rule of thumb that can be adjusted according to the business.
Social Media | | JesseCWalker0 -
How much power does using keywords on Facebook and Twitter have from an SEO perspective?
Hi all, When we add a new Christmas party package onto our website I always tweet about it with a link to the party page, utilizing a tweet such as : "New Manchester Christmas parties", followed by the link. How much power (if any) does utilizing the key phrase Manchester Christmas parties have on SEO for that page? Bearing in mind the link is shortened and doesn't mention the keywords anywhere in it, they are only present in the tweet itself. Similarly, on our company Facebook page I always post a link with a title such as "check out our new Manchester Christmas parties". Does this have much SEO benefit for the page I'm directing the link to? Many thanks!!
Social Media | | RobertHill0