Social Media and the latest "Google Algorithm Update"

There was a time, not so long ago, when Twitter and Facebook was "kids stuff" and just for "fun." Those days are long gone. Why? Bluntly put, because Google says so and if you want those top SEO rankings, you best follow suit.

If you woke up one day recently and the site you have worked so hard to get on the top pages of Google suddenly dropped in position considerably, it is most likely because you haven't considered your online social presence and you don't have or barely update a Twitter presence and Facebook page. This has happened to hundred of thousands, perhaps millions of people and caused an awakening to the importance of social media that's catching on quickly like wild fire.

Business owners now "get" that Facebook and Twitter isn't "childsplay" anymore and taking it a step further, that it is absolutely critical to their survival online. Conversations are happening online every second of everyday. Ignoring those conversations when they are about you or your business amounts to elevated risk in regards to your reputation as well as missed opportunities to engage, respond, and "join" that conversation. While you can't control what's being said online about you, you can control your reaction to it. Ignoring negative comments and reviews for example can destroy your reputation if left unanswered and ignored.

What we know is that Google now takes into consideration how many tweets you send, how many re-tweets you receive, how many "likes" and "shares" you [your content] gets, how many reviews and the number of stars, and so on. They decided, and for good reason, that all of these things would essentially count as "votes" as to your reputation and relevancy and would therefore offer Google more insight to where you should appear in the Search Engine Results Pages [SERP's].

This is great news, actually! Rejoice! Why? Because it's OPPORTUNITY to shine and grow your business online and it's MUCH less expensive than a Television Spot or Newspaper Ad.

Here are the key points to keep in mind when determining how to move forward with your Social Media Marketing Plan or to be more inclusive, Your Overall Web Presence Plan:

1. SEO [Search Engine Optimization] consists of TWO factors with many elements. There are ON-site factors and OFF-site factors. To be clear, managing your web presence addresses the OFF-site SEO factors. The ON-site factors consist of everything ON your webpage, like coding, design, content, and so on. OFF-site factors is everything else... like your Twitter presence, online reviews [what people are saying about you], Facebook presence, Yelp page, and so on.
2. Remember, Twitter is not about YOU! Not if you want "followers." It's about THEM... your clients/customers and perspective clients/customers. They want to hear things from you about your business but more importantly "what's in it for them." What do you do that can benefit them? Share it! And BRING VALUE to every tweet and "they will come!" Same with Facebook and all the other places online you are "talking" and "sharing" about your business, products, and services.
3. Updating regularly is critical. This can be difficult with so many different accounts to log into and so much going on with the day to day duties of running your business. You'll want to find someone that can manage all of this for you if you plan to fully leverage the social advantages with Google and other Search Engines like Yahoo!, Bing, and hundreds of others. With that being said, if you're a start-up, entrepreneur, or too small just yet to afford a marketing budget, get it started and manage a simple Facebook and Twitter account. This won't bring you ALL of the benefits but it will at least be something. It's a good starting point.
4. If you are a small/medium size business and understand the importance of maximizing your overall web presence, and are ready to take leverage these Google Algorithm changes, you'll need to find the right help. You can hire someone in-house or out-source. I suggest a publicly traded company as opposed to a private provider for the important necessity of "accountability." Accountability is critical and also very rare in this space. Consider this: hiring someone full-time or even part-time in house will likely be costly no matter how you slice it. There are insurance factors to consider and taxes as well as everything else that comes along with an "employee" relationship. Additionally, never forget what a very wise man once told me, "you get what you pay for and nothing in life is free." So, even if you find a college student to do the work for you, in the long run you will likely pay more, get less effective results, and ultimately risk losing new clients/customers and miss our on the opportunity to GROW at your maximum potential. This is why I don't recommend an in-house employee or a free-lance less expensive option like a student or independent "basement" SEO, for example.
5. Finally: Time is of the essence! Get in on this ever changing opportunity now and make it count. Create quality content and share it with the world. Attract and engage new clients/customers with interesting, helpful, valuable bits of information, deals, savings, benefits, and insight. THIS is how you will build a following, generate positive online buzz about your business, products, and services, and KEEP the clients you've already got! Remember, this will garner you more EXPOSURE online and ultimately MORE CLIENTS/CUSTOMERS in the long-run.