Algorithms aren’t the only way to get your content to the right people.
Social SEO allows your posts to appear in front of users who are actively searching for your products or services.
This is one of the biggest trends we identified in our research. 2024 Social Media Trends ReportYouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok all use features that mimic search engines like Google.
Here’s what social SEO means for your business and how you can use it to expand your social media reach.
Understanding social media SEO
Social SEO is the addition of searchable keywords to captions, alt text, closed captions, and profiles to increase visibility, discoverability, and engagement on social media platforms.
To understand social SEO, you need to understand the basics of traditional search engine optimization (SEO).
• Traditional SEO: Focus your SEO efforts on optimizing your website to rank higher in Google search results. Tactics such as keyword optimization, backlinks, and domain authority are used.
• Social media SEO: We focus on optimizing content on social media platforms to increase visibility and engagement within the platform.
While traditional SEO drives traffic to your website, social media SEO aims to increase your brand’s presence and engagement on social networks. Both strategies complement each other. A strong presence on social media can positively impact a website’s search engine rankings and vice versa.
Social media SEO will become even more important in 2024 due to changes in the behavior of younger generations such as Generation Z.
according to Recent PwC reports44% of Gen Z consumers globally use social media as their primary source of information when researching products to purchase.
If you don’t have a social SEO strategy in place, now is the time to make it a priority.
Key components of social media SEO
Social media profile optimization
Optimizing your profile for search is extremely important as it increases your online visibility on both social channels and search engines. A well-optimized profile can attract more followers, increase engagement, and increase brand credibility.
Here’s how to optimize your social media profiles for search.
• Facebook: Use your primary keywords in your page title, vanity URL, about section, and description.
• Instagram: Add keywords to your name, handle, bio, and location if relevant to your business.
• Tick-tock: Add keywords to your user profile profile.
• twitter: Use keywords related to your Twitter handle, name, and profile.
• Pinterest: Add your username and main keyword in the “About” section.
• LinkedIn: Optimize your LinkedIn page with the most relevant keywords in the about section and tagline.
Social media keyword research
Before you can improve your search visibility with social SEO, you need to know the keywords you want to rank for and the terms your target audience is using.
How to identify keywords related to your industry
• Start by understanding the specific language and terminology your target audience uses when discussing your industry.
• Analyze your competitors’ profiles on social media to see what keywords they use effectively in their posts and hashtags.
• Engage in social listening by monitoring industry-related conversations on social media and picking up frequently used terms and phrases.
• Leverage industry forums and online communities to gather insights on trending topics and related keywords.
Tools and techniques for effective keyword research
• Use tools like Google Keyword Planner, Keysearch, Answer The Public, and Ahrefs to find high-volume keywords in your industry.
• Use social media-specific tools like TikTok Free Keyword Insights Tooltrack the performance and popularity of searchable keywords on the platform.
• Conduct keyword research before planning your calendar and use SEO FAQs and keywords to inspire your upcoming Reels, TikTok, and YouTube videos.
Content optimization
Once your profile and keywords are ready, it’s time to optimize your social content for search.
Here’s how:
• Keyword bucket: Create a content bucket for your keywords. It makes it easier to decide what words and phrases to include in each post. For example, if you’re a solo female traveler, you can set keywords for specific posts related to solo travel tips, solo travel destinations, and safety tips for female travelers.
• Natural inclusions: Then, incorporate these keywords into your captions and descriptions in a natural and organic way. Avoid keyword stuffing. Captions should always read humanly and engage the reader.
• Evergreen keywords and content: Along with leveraging SEO keywords in your account profile and post captions, make sure your 2024 content strategy prioritizes evergreen content that answers common questions your customers are searching for on social media.
By following these two tips, your keywords will always be contextually relevant to your post, making your content valuable and searchable.
Use hashtags effectively
Effectively leveraging hashtags in social media SEO is essential to increasing the visibility of your content.
Link your content to specific topics, trends, and conversations to help your audience find your posts.
Best practices for using hashtags on different platforms
- Instagram: Use a combination of popular, niche, and brand-specific hashtags in your caption or first comment. Instagram allows you to use up to 30 hashtags per post, but it’s best to use around 6-10.
- Tick-tock: Hashtags on TikTok are important for trends. Use trending hashtags and specific hashtags that describe your video and industry. But don’t get carried away. Use only 1-3 relevant hashtags on TikTok.
- Pinterest: Make sure your hashtags are searchable and relevant. Use 2-5 hashtags that complement your main keywords.
- X/Twitter: Include 1-2 hashtags per tweet. The platform has a limited number of characters, so you should only use hashtags that are relevant to what people are searching for and support your tweets.
- Create a branded hashtag to increase visibility
Branded hashtags play an important role in social media SEO by creating a unique identifier for your brand or campaign.
These help aggregate all the content related to your brand, making it easier for users to find and engage with your posts.
When users use branded hashtags, they increase the reach of your content and help build a community around your brand. This user-generated content acts as social proof and increases your credibility and visibility on social media platforms.
Social media and search engine integration
Search engines like Google index social media content and make it discoverable through search queries.
As Google continues to serve social media posts as search results for your queries, social SEO will have a huge impact on your rankings and visibility.
So how can you ensure that Google indexes your social media posts?
easy.
Use the same traditional SEO strategies, such as:
• Use hashtags and keywords that are relevant to your business.
• Create a bio with important information about your brand.
• Link back to your website.
Tools and analytics for social media SEO
Do you know what people are searching for online?
Back up your intuition with data.
Here are some tools to help you determine how people search for content online and which terms will attract your target audience.
google analytics: Adding this to your website allows you to track which keywords are sending traffic to specific pages. These keywords may vary depending on your social content, but it’s a great place to understand what issues drive your audience to search.
answer to the public: Type a word or phrase into this free tool and Google will show you a list of questions related to the topic you’re searching for. Great for generating lists of FAQ-style content ideas.
Google Trends: This is another free tool for digging into specific search terms and their popularity. Enter a keyword and see if its search traffic is increasing or decreasing, as well as a list of related topics and queries.
Search bar: Sometimes the best research is done within the app. Open your social media platform, type in your keywords, and see what pops up in the search bar. You’ll see a list of autocomplete suggestions and options for potential hashtags.
Keyword insights: For TikTok, nothing beats Keyword Insights in the Creative Center. See trending script keywords and drill down to see changes in popularity of phrases, views, likes, shares, and comments.
Case Study: TBH Skin Care
The Australian beauty brand TBH Skincare team nailed this SEO approach with an engaging and informative TikTok video about benzoyl peroxide, an SEO keyword related to acne-prone customers.
TBH uses one of its signature products to answer a common question from our average audience: “Will spot treatments bleach my towels and sheets?”
Not only did the video reach more than 1 million viewers, it was also saved nearly 2,000 times.
@tbhskincare Ever thought that our acne hack spot treatment could turn your towel into a tie-dye bleach masterpiece? We couldn’t resist putting her to the ultimate test. I did👩🔬✨ #tbhskincare #acnehackspottreatment #bleachtest #benzoylperoxyde ♬ Original song – tbhskincare
Summary: The future of social media SEO
Traditionally, social SEO has primarily focused on keywords. While inserting keywords into well-optimized bios and post captions is still recommended, we predict that social SEO will evolve in 2024 with a broader focus on brand-wide content strategies. Masu.
What does that mean?
SEO keywords, FAQs, and trending topics should inform the evergreen content you’re creating on your social media channels.
In 2024, social SEO best practices will evolve beyond simply peppering captions with keywords, encouraging brands to create content that is relevant to their audience’s search intent (i.e., engaging and entertaining). ).
Download the 2024 Social Media Trends to Watch Report Then, discover how to adapt your strategy to increase reach, engagement, and sales.
