One of the major concerns for businesses is to rank high on Google’s search engine results page (SERP) and to increase their visibility. This leads to the question, is social media engagement used as a ranking factor by Google?
In short, the answer is no. Google does not take social signals like engagement and use them as a ranking signal in its algorithm. However, social media engagement can drive website traffic, which does impact rankings.
Social media engagement refers to the interaction between a user and a post, such as likes, comments, shares, etc. The more engagement there is, the more likely the post is to be seen by others, and this ultimately leads to increased brand visibility.
Now, coming back to the question, is social media engagement used as a ranking factor by Google? The answer is both yes and no.
Google’s stance on social media engagement as a ranking factor has been ambiguous. On the one hand, Google has said that social media engagement doesn’t directly impact rankings. In other words, if a website has a lot of social media engagement, it doesn’t mean that it will rank higher on Google.
On the other hand, Google has also stated that social media signals are used as a ranking factor in some cases. This means that social media engagement can indirectly impact search engine rankings.
Let’s understand this in more detail.
Social media engagement can indirectly impact search engine rankings in the following ways:
- Increased Website Traffic: Social media engagement can lead to an increase in website traffic. If a user sees a post on social media and clicks on it to visit the website, it will increase the website’s traffic. Increased website traffic can indirectly impact search engine rankings, as Google considers traffic as a ranking factor.
- Brand Awareness: Social media engagement can increase brand awareness, which can lead to increased searches for a brand on Google. Increased searches can indirectly impact search engine rankings as Google considers brand searches as a ranking factor.
- Link Building: Social media engagement can lead to link building. If a user shares a website’s link on social media, it can lead to more backlinks. Backlinks are considered a major ranking factor by Google.
However, it’s important to note that social media engagement alone isn’t enough to rank higher on Google. A website needs to have other essential ranking factors, such as quality content, backlinks, page speed, mobile-friendliness, and more.
Bottom Line
Social media engagement is not a direct ranking factor, but it can indirectly impact search engine rankings. If a website has a lot of social media engagement, it can lead to increased website traffic, brand awareness, and link building, which can ultimately impact search engine rankings. Therefore, businesses should use social media to increase their brand visibility and engagement, but they should also focus on other essential ranking factors to rank higher on Google.