Can someone clear up social signals as a ranking factor?
-
I'm aware that Google have addressed this before and specifically said that social signals are not a ranking factor: http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/news/2325343/matt-cutts-facebook-twitter-social-signals-not-part-of-google-search-ranking-algorithms
However I came across this (admittedly great) infographic from Neil Patel, an SEO I have a lot of respect for: http://www.quicksprout.com/2014/01/31/how-social-signals-impact-search-engine-rankings/
In the post he specifically states that "both Google and Bing use data from social sites in order to determine how high to rank your website."
I have always understood that social signals help drive links by spreading your content to a bigger audience, thereby getting your content in front of people who are likely to link. I also appreciate that content that is shareable is also likely to be linkworthy.
However. Neil doesn't talk about correlation here, he talks about social signals as a ranking factor. Is he being misleading, or has the game changed since Matt Cutts said they don't use social signals?
-
I think that John Mueller confirmed that they are not using social signals as a factor as well.
I believe personally believe that to be strictly true. That doesn't mean that at good social presence can't help you rank though. A successful social presence will create other positive signals. For instance if Google considered repeat visits to be a positive signal then this is a signal that comes as a by-product of a strong social presence.
That all said, it probably isn't a brilliant use of resources to "do social" just for rankings. Social media can bring targeted traffic and conversions, build brand loyalty, increase your reach etc. These are all good reasons to use social media. If you are using it for those reasons then any benefit to rankings is a free extra.
-
I don't know the actual answer but this http://themoralconcept.net/pandalist.html implies that they are or were up until very recently.
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
-
How to use Social backlinks in SEO.
Do you integrate Social backlinks into your SEO? If so please describe how you use Social backlinks in your SEO.
Social Media | | Green.landon0 -
Social Signals CONFUSION
You know how sharing on social networking sites can act as social signal for ranking but I was wondering that what type of sharing on fb/google + ? does it has to be our site links all the time or any sharing other than our own site links matters too ? lets say if we are just discussing something on fb/google+ without our site link does that count too? social signal is sent only when we share our own sites link on social sites or through any kind of activity on our social fb/google+ page ? If you want to tell anything else connected with social signal please go ahead ..
Social Media | | Personnel_Concept0 -
Legitimate Social Exchange groups or sites?
I know, I know, why am I even asking, but I have to it's just in my nature. Are there any legitimate Social Exchange groups or sites where we can exchanges shares, +1's & retweets, ect.
Social Media | | KristopherWho0 -
Images on Social Media - Can they be Optimized?
My company has been sharing images on its Facebook and twitter outlets which are getting a lot of shares. It seems to be the only thing really working for us. Is there a way to optimize this or use it to our advantage for our website? Or is this just something that will help me gain some edge rank in Facebook?
Social Media | | desmond.liang0 -
Facebooking and Liking - Whis is best SEO practice for Rankings
Hi everyone! , i am a rookie with SEO. I have a very specific question for which i would love to hear your opinions on this. I have a facebook fan page about my company. We try to post quality stuff in regard to the industry we are in. However, we are social people, and i have seen improvements whenever we post more "social" topics such as TGIF, Photos, DIY themes. My question is (Actually two questions) : Is there a direct correlation or metric between rankings and "likes", the size of your facebook community ? If so, which has more power or effect on rankings. Facebook Likes generated from your website , or General Likes of posts within your existing community. Hope to hear from ya! Every advice is good advice. Regards Jesus D Aceromart
Social Media | | JesusD0 -
Anyone use the new "Social Settings" in Google Analytics?
In the past couple of months, Google rolled out a tab called "Social Settings" in the Admin area (see image). It's an optional setting, and Google is rather vague about what it does. GA already tracks social in "Traffic Sources," so what is the advantage of using Social Settings? If you've used these new settings, what have your experiences been? Were the settings helpful? Did they completely screw up your analytics? Thanks, Benjamin Ri5bY Ri5bY.jpg
Social Media | | 1000Bulbs1 -
Anyone have a great example of a confirmation page with a social element?
We're thinking of adding social elements to our confirmation page, which as of right now doesn't ask for any specific action. Might as well take advantage. i.e. "Tweet this" or "Share this" with a shortened link to the landing page. Does anyone have any great examples of Twitter/Facebook being incorporated into a confirmation page? Visually pleasing, striking, great copy? It can be a confirmation for any type of action, whether you've just bought something, subscribed to something, joined a site, anything really.
Social Media | | PurchSEO0 -
Do you think Google +1 can hurt rankings?
More on established B2C sites (not blogs/forums)? For example, a client has the #1 ranking for the kw with the highest exact match volume in their vertical and sitelinks. Is it better to keep things status quo and not give Google the data or potentially introduce a new signal to Google that might be negative if CTR is not high enough?
Social Media | | MatomySEO0