Using Twitter for Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

The first step to using Twitter as an optimization tool is opening an account. While Twitter seems straightforward, having a username and writing a few tweets does not automatically bring a following. In order to maximize Twitter for SEO, you need to generate quality content and interact with other users. Social media is all about networking online. Making sure you are associating your brand with the best influencers is key to spreading content.

Twitter assists with SEO in several ways. First, having a Twitter account allows your brand to be exposed to millions of users. Second, having content retweeted creates more links for your company. Third, Twitter interaction establishes trust with your prospective customers and clients. You can see my Twitter feed for some examples of this.

Just as we do with blogs and web site content, using keywords in Twitter statuses can be very helpful when it comes to search engine optimization. Search engines like Google will quickly pick up the added links, and keywords will assist with categorization.

When creating a Twitter account, follow influencers who are relevant to your brand. If you specialize in home goods, following people who focus on interior design, kitchen products, and even homemakers can be good choices for influencers. These people can help you connect with followers who are already interested in what your company offers.

There are tools, like Twellow, which can help you find influencers. However, sometimes it takes some old fashioned research. Search for well-known brands and companies in your industry, then network with their social media. Creating these connections takes time: interact with other users, answer questions that offer insight into your expertise, and create customer incentives.

While a lot of brands that are new to social media shy away from contests and prizes, viewing these practices as “gimmicks”, this has become a staple of social media. In fact, running a contest that retweets your content in order to win a prize is one of the single most effective ways of generating legitimate links for search optimization while getting the word out about your brand.

Big companies, like Starbucks and Target, offer the opportunity to win a $10 gift card if you retweet the status. The tweet will usually say something like, “Frappuccino Happy Hour is back!  Retweet to win a $10 gift card!”. Also included will be a short link to information on Starbucks’ website about the Frappuccino Happy Hour. As you can see, this serves three purposes: growing your twitter audience, driving traffic to your website, and creating links for SEO.

In addition to providing contests, companies use their Twitter accounts for customer support. If a customer has an issue, they might tweet at the company. The company can then respond, in real time, with an answer to their question or a solution. Customers see this active assistance as a testament to the brand, and customers are more likely to trust and continue to buy from that company.

Since Twitter has 288 million active monthly users and has been growing at a tremendous rate, this platform should not be ignored in any social media outline. Twitter requires more posts than any other social network to get noticed, so make sure you familiarize yourself with HootSuite or Tweetdeck in order to most effectively manage content.