Francis Skipper discusses how social signals from platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ can boost search rankings. While search engines have said social media is not a direct factor, there is strong correlation between social engagement and higher search results. The presentation outlines traditional and new ranking factors, including social signals like followers, shares, and authority of sharers. It recommends identifying "low-hanging fruit" content to share socially for quick rankings gains, as well as creating portable content around trends and questions. Case studies show how social keyword strategies led to increased search visibility and sales for Ruckus Sports and Pine Cone Hill brands.

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USING SOCIAL SIGNALS TO
BOOST YOUR SEARCH RANKINGS
Francis Skipper, EVP Digital Marketing, 451 Marketing

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FRANCIS SKIPPER
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EVP of Digital Marketing
@fskip // @451marketing
451marketing.com
Facebook.com/451Marketing
francis@451marketing.com
451 Marketing

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STATE OF SOCIAL & SEARCH

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DECEMBER 2010…
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“We do use Twitter and Facebook
links in ranking as we always have
in our web search rankings”
- Matt Cutts

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MARKETERS WERE ALL LIKE:
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LAST MONTH…
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“Sike! Suckers…”
- Matt Cutts

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IT WASN’T THE FIRST TIME…
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WE WERE ALL LIKE:

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BUT, WE’VE SEEN THE CORRELATION
BETWEEN SOCIAL ACTIVITY AND HIGHER
RANKINGS
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SO HAS MOZ…
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“Now in 2013, there's strong reason to suspect…that the relationship between
posting to Google+ and higher rankings goes beyond correlation into the territory of
actual causation.”

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AND SEARCHMETRICS
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“Social signals continue to correlate
very well with better rankings”
Social signals
Traditional ranking factors
SEO Ranking Factors – Rank Correlation 2013 for Google USA

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SO, WITH THIS IN MIND…
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“MUAHAHHAHAHA!!”
- Matt Cutts
SUCKERS!

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LET’S TALK ABOUT SOCIAL AND SEARCH

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EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL AND SEARCH
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Likes,
Shares,
Follows
Social
Media
Search
Traffic
Queries
Indirect
Social
Media
Search
Results
SEO
Direct
Social
Media
Page
Ranking
Social Signals
Pre-2010
2010
Today

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TRADITIONAL RANKING FACTORS “OL’ SKOOL”
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Technical
Content
Links
The 3 C’s
Code
Content
Connections

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NEW RANKING FACTORS
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Content Diversity, Depth &
Type
Keyword Research
& User Intent
Link
Building
Social

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SOCIAL RANKING FACTORS
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• How many social followers/fans you have
• How many re-tweets, likes, shares, +1s, YouTube embeds
• Who is sharing your content, their authority, their reputation
• Popularity and quality of content
• Timeliness and “trust” of content
• Patterns

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BUT SOCIAL ISN’T A SILVER BULLET
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“LOW-HANGING FRUIT” –
RESULTS FROM SOCIAL SIGNALS

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PageRanking
Level of Effort
“LOW-HANGING FRUIT”

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WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
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of searchers never scroll past the first page
of search results*
*Search Engine Journal

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PAGE ONE HAS REAL BIZ VALUE$$
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SO HOW DO WE LOOK FOR LOW HANGING
FRUIT?
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YOU CAN GO DEEPER TO LOOK AT EFFORT LEVEL
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*Optional – tag keywords as LHF and watch growth

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IDENTIFY “LOW-HANGING FRUIT”
Send these to
social!!

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ENCOURAGE USE OF SOCIAL KEYWORDS
#Homedecor tips on floor coverings from the experts – our
#8x8 #arearugs are a warm addition to any space!
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#Rugs
Make a space feel instantly cozy with an 8x8 rug
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#rugs #homedecor #smallspaces #arearugs
#8x8rugs
Check out how our signature 8x8 rugs
pull together a room in our latest blog
post http://bit.ly/3hQYj

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POSTS AND LIKES AREN’T END OF STORY

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FEEL FREE TO REWARDSOCIAL SHARING

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• Informational Queries
• Answers
• How to’s
• Top 5’s
PORTABLE CONTENT

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PORTABLE CONTENT
“Ride the News” –
Trending Topics
But be careful…

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Links to social properties on website
Share buttons with content
MAKING SHARING SILLY SIMPLE

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MINI CASE STUDIES

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RUCKUS SPORTS

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RUCKUS SPORTS - PITTSBURGH RACE
• Pittsburgh Race (new 2013)
• No rankings In May
• New Content on Brand website
• Encouraged social sharing around
Pittsburgh Ruckus Race
• Posted social content using
Pittsburgh + Keyword
• Rankings for “Pittsburgh” terms
increased leading up to and after
race day

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PINE CONE HILL

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PINECONE HILL – MATELASSÉ QUILTS
• Pine Cone Hill featured “matelassé” “quilts” in
content throughout early summer across multiple
social platforms
• Kwd -specific posts were promoted through mid-
August and resulted in social shares
• September 1st –keywords see an increase in
rankings
• Incremental Sales Increase during this period

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IN CLOSING…SOCIAL SIGNALS:
• We’ve all seen strong correlation
• Social keyword strategy should be a part of your overall SEO
content strategy
• Not a silver bullet
• Look at the data, not the hype
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QUESTIONS AND DISCUSSION
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EVP of Digital Marketing
@fskip // @451marketing
451marketing.com
Facebook.com/451Marketing
francis@451marketing.com
451 Marketing

39. #C3NY
USING SOCIAL SIGNALS TO
BOOST YOUR SEARCH RANKINGS
Francis Skipper, EVP Digital Marketing, 451 Marketing