The Changing Face of SEO: Social Media
Last month, the report that all keen SEO’ers were waiting for - the biennial SEO Moz Search Engine Rank Report - was released and proved very revealing.
Every two years since 2005, the team at SEOMoz have compiled and released a ‘ranking factors’ report based on the opinions and predictions of the world’s best and brightest search marketers to guide us “mere SEO mortals” in our quest for higher rankings.
Based on a 132-person panel, the 2011 report revealed how ‘link metrics’ and ‘keyword usage’ count for around 70% of the broad algorithm’s genetic make-up, demonstrating the continued importance of these ranking factors for search marketers. However the most obvious development since the last report was released in 2009, was the rise in importance of social media platforms to the search algorithm.
Broad Algorithm 2011
Broad Algorithm 2009
As you can see from the two pie charts above, Social Media platforms are playing an increasingly important role in SEO.
In addition to the broader insights, the report also drills down into exactly which elements of social media have direct influence on search engine ranking and you can see below the ‘influence value’ of page level social metrics. These metrics come from the panel’s own opinion and prediction and include ‘authority of users tweeting links to a page’ (which takes the lion’s share of influence), the ‘quantity of tweeted links to a page’ and the ‘number of Facebook shares to a page’.
Page Level Social Metrics
As well as showing what activities can directly result in higher rankings, the SEOMoz report also goes on to identify top ranking websites. It highlights how, not all of these high-flying sites’ characteristics are directly linked to search ranking factors but their killer content and great looks naturally lend themselves to multiple ‘shares’ in social media spaces. A goal we will all be aiming for!
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