How Important Are Facebook Likes? A Brief Explanation of the Correlation Between SMO and Google Rankings

Social Media Marketing in 2011

Both Bing and Google have added a few new social media marketing features over the past year and there’s been some discussion as to which of these social signals contribute to search result rankings. As a social media marketing company, here’s our take.

Is Google actually using social signals to determine search result rankings?

A little bit, they’ve admitted. It’s true that depending on an individual’s Twitter stature, pages are influenced in web rankings. Unlike ordinary web search, where Google uses more than 200 different types of “signals” to determine how to rank pages appropriately in response to a web search, it’s still unclear which social signals have been included in the mix. Google has developed a way to determine if a person is an “authority” or well-established account on Twitter, and display those results within social search features, hence why social media marketing is an important part of any internet marketing strategy.

Social Media Marketing in 2011: One of the most interesting findings from search engine ranking factors in 2011 was the strong correlation between Google search position and Facebook shares. In fact, Facebook shares were the highest single factor correlated to high search result rankings in more than the 100 factors examined.

Social Media Factors and Search Engine Results: The Correlation Between SMO and Google Rankings* and how they play into social media marketing strategy:

• Number of Facebook shares was the single highest correlated metric with high Google rankings.

• Next was the sum of Facebook shares, likes, and comments.

• The 3rd factor was the number of linking C-Blocks to the page.

• The 4th was number of Facebook likes.

• The 5th was the number of tweets to that URL.

• 6th is the number of Google Buzz shares.

It’s becoming clear that Facebook data is used by Google—Google did disclose in December of 2010 that they revealed they used social media signals in search engine result rankings. Users have also begun to see social media results and Facebook share information within search engine results, so it’s clear that Google has access to Facebook’s data.

Google’s Other Factors for Determining Relevance:

Brands: Content associated with well known, or quality brands.

Links: Heavily shared pages on Facebook tend to be heavily linked to.

Content: Factors such as time spent on a page, bounce rate, etc… are factors Google uses to determine high quality content. Users tend to share pages they find interesting and quality.

Social Media Signals: Other social media signals include Tweets, Google Buzz, and Facebook.

All the aforementioned factors may be used by Google to determine relevance and correlate with Facebook shares. Even if you’re not getting shares on Google, don’t stop generating brand engagement and participating in conversations. Earning shares will probably not boost your Google position directly (although it can indirectly promote links, your tweets, or other signals Google relies on to determine rankings).

Social Media Marketing: Want more Facebook likes? Here’s a pretty basic strategy:

Offer coupons, giveaways, or a promotion. The number one reason a Facebook user will join, “fan”, or share a page is for a discount. Include this in your social media marketing plan.

Solve problems. You’ll get likes by saving your audience time or money.

Create resources. Share white papers, eBooks, or other research to help your users make more informed decisions. A good addition to any social media marketing plan.

Entertain. If you entertain your audience, they’ll be more likely to stick around and share your content.

*Source: Seomoz.org