Social Media and SEO: Boost Rankings with Social Media SEO

How SEO and Social Media Work Together to Improve Your Rankings

Can your social media activity really help your SEO? It’s a fair question, and one that businesses are finally starting to take seriously.

In this article, we’ll break down the real relationship between social media and SEO, and how your social presence can influence your rankings in search engines.

You’ll learn how to create a solid social media SEO strategy, why your social media content matters, and how social signals might impact your performance - even if Google doesn’t take social media directly into account.

If you're doing digital marketing and not connecting SEO and social, you're probably leaving traffic on the table.

Article Outline

1. Does social media affect SEO rankings or not?

2. Why use social media if Google doesn’t count it directly?

3. How to align your SEO and social media strategies

4. What are social signals and do they still matter?

5. Using social media to amplify SEO content

6. How to optimise your social profiles for SEO

7. The role of social media engagement in driving SEO performance

8. How search engines and social media platforms interact

9. Tips to improve your SEO with better social media strategies

10. Common mistakes when combining social media and SEO

1. Does social media affect SEO rankings or not?

Let’s clear this up: Google doesn’t take social media as a direct ranking factor. That’s confirmed. However, that doesn’t mean social media and SEO aren’t connected.

Social media indirectly influences SEO rankings by increasing brand awareness, attracting backlinks, and boosting the visibility of your content.

Pages that perform well on social media often get more traffic, more social shares, and more chances of being linked to from other websites.

So, while social media isn’t part of the search engine’s algorithm, the outcomes of a strong social campaign can absolutely help you rank higher.

2. Why use social media if Google doesn’t count it directly?

If Google use social isn’t part of their algorithm, why bother?

Because social channels are where your audience lives. Use social media to build authority, grow traffic, and send indirect ranking signals.

Think about it:

• A blog post shared 500 times on LinkedIn and X is likely to catch the attention of other website owners.

• A popular tweet or Instagram post linking to your guide might earn you media coverage or backlinks.

These effects contribute to higher search engine visibility. So while social media can’t directly lift your ranking, it fuels the conditions that do.

3. How to align your SEO and social media strategies

SEO and social media shouldn’t be running on separate tracks. To boost your SEO efforts, both should work in sync.

Start by planning content that serves both purposes:

• Keyword-rich blogs that are easy to share on social media

• Eye-catching graphics that support your articles

• Snippets or quotes that are ideal for social media posts

You should also build workflows that let your social media managers know what content is in the SEO pipeline. That way, they can plan social posts around it.

This alignment improves content visibility and ensures both teams are working toward the same goals.

4. What are social signals and do they still matter?

Social signals refer to likes, shares, comments, and general activity around your content on social media.

At one point, Google stated that social signals were considered in rankings, but that’s no longer officially the case.

Still, these signals carry weight.

If a piece of content goes viral, it increases your traffic, gets you links, and builds credibility - all of which do impact search engine results pages.

Social signals are also a good indicator of content for social that resonates. Use that data to inform your SEO strategies moving forward.

5. Using social media to amplify SEO content

Creating great content isn’t enough - you’ve got to promote it. Share your content on social consistently to get the most from it.

Here’s a simple workflow:

1. Publish your blog with clear keywords.

2. Turn key points into tweets, carousels, or reels.

3. Post variations across all top social media channels.

4. Engage with responses and repost comments.

5. Track which platform drives the most search engine traffic over time.

This process boosts reach and increases your chances of earning inbound links, a major SEO ranking signal.

6. How to optimise your social profiles for SEO

When people search your business name, your social media profiles are often among the top results. That makes them a part of your SEO whether you like it or not.

To optimise your social profiles:

• Include relevant keywords in your bio or description.

• Use your business name consistently across all social media pages.

• Link back to your site.

• Keep your profile info updated.

• Add your location and contact details where relevant.

This builds trust and helps search engines and social media work together to confirm your brand’s credibility.

7. The role of social media engagement in driving SEO performance

Social media engagement - likes, comments, shares, and discussions - can drive real results.

Here’s how:

• High engagement boosts your visibility in social media apps, increasing referral traffic.

• Engaged users are more likely to link to your site or mention it in forums.

• When your brand on social media gets talked about, it sends relevance signals to search engines.

It’s not magic. It’s about building content that earns interaction and using it to support your SEO work.

8. How search engines and social media platforms interact

While engines and social media platforms operate independently, their paths cross more than you think.

Search engines crawl some social media sites, including X, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. This means your social content can appear in search results.

Also, searches for your brand may surface social media pages, making it part of your search engine optimisation whether you’re focused on it or not.

And then there’s the matter of user behaviour - if your brand on social looks inactive, that can hurt trust. Even if the SEO is sound.

9. Tips to improve your SEO with better social media strategies

Here’s how to tie it all together:

• Use SEO keyword research to guide your social media content topics.

• Repurpose top-performing blogs into videos or image posts.

• Post consistently - social media activity signals credibility.

• Add social sharing buttons to your site to encourage amplification.

• Regularly monitor reviews on social media to spot link-building opportunities.

These actions build a strong connection between your social media strategies and your SEO efforts.

10. Common mistakes when combining social media and SEO

Getting this wrong is easier than you think. Watch out for these:

• Treating social media and SEO like separate departments.

• Posting low-effort content with no connection to your SEO keywords.

• Focusing only on follower count instead of engagement.

• Ignoring your social media presence between campaigns.

• Forgetting to track traffic from social channels in your analytics.

One more? Don’t assume media can be a powerful tool just because you’re active. It’s what you do with that activity that counts.

Summary: How to Make SEO and Social Media Work Together

• Social media doesn’t directly affect SEO, but it influences it heavily.

• Use social media to amplify visibility, attract backlinks, and boost trust.

• Align your content creation and promotion workflows.

• Keep your social profiles optimised and consistent.

• Engagement matters more than follower count.

• Social media can improve how your brand is perceived and how much your content is shared.

• Keep your SEO strategies and social media strategies connected through regular planning.

• Avoid treating them as separate silos - they perform best together.

Need help making it all work? Start by checking if your current social content supports your keywords and gives your site a real chance to rise in the rankings.

Would you like help building a social-SEO workflow tailored to your site? Contact SEOJet today!