SEO Experts continue to explore and perfect ways to use social media to enhance SEO. Though social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn undoubtedly have the power to reach many people and generate genuine interest, whether it can help gain strong, relevant links is still a topic of debate.
Article marketing is one of the most reliable and measurable approaches to gaining links. Once content has been posted and indexed, rankings can go up.
However, social media sites do not really offer a direct path from content to link. The key is to nurture relationships you form on Twitter and make sure the medium is being used both wisely and effectively.
Twitter is a content-heavy platform. Much like Facebook, it allows real-time updates and an endless stream of links to peruse. But Twitter operates as a more personal tool for communication than the other heavy hitters. Messages are brief, to the point, and (hopefully) relevant to the handle they’re being posted from. Given its structure, Twitter has proven to be a great tool for communication with potential link partners. When email doesn’t work, try Twitter. Here are 3 reasons Twitter can be a powerful SEO tool.
Communication is Key
Companies and individuals are on Twitter to communicate. They’re there to instantly connect and interact with their consumers/readers/friends. Unlike email, communicating on Twitter has a social advantage. Seeing users talk to one another shows that they’re active and engaged with their audience, and that’s the pinnacle of social media marketing and brand building. By reaching out on Twitter you’re making connections, generating content for your timeline, and reaching new audiences.
Brevity
The 140-character limit on Twitter can sometimes be difficult to deal with. But as a means of communication with link-building partners, it is short, to the point, and effective.
@SampleBrand Great post about Google+! I’d like to share a great article with you about Twitter for SEO. Do you guest post?
What more needs to be said? Lengthy emails that discuss content and blogging policy tend to dry up the subject and cloud your intentions. By approaching via Twitter you’ve established that you like their content, you’ve got great content that you want to share, and you’re an active and engaged fan/follower.
The Shout-Out
Not only is mentioning a link-building partner a great way to keep your messages short & sweet and allows you to communicate effectively and socially, it also provides instant and important information. Take the tweet above, for example, it tells you three things about @SampleBrand: (1) we have a blog, (2) we have content that is relevant to the Twitter account that tweeted the message (3) we are can be contacted directly via Twitter. Sending an @reply like this is a quick way to plug someone’s brand to your followers, which can help start a friendly conversation about link/content sharing. It’s a win-win situation!