Social media has been seen as a beneficial marketing tool for quite some time now. The millions upon millions of people using websites such as Facebook and Twitter makes it an incredible place to increase brand awareness for those who can use it correctly. While social media marketing is a challenge of its own, it is becoming even more popular as evidence of social media having an impact on SEO rankings is increasing. Why does this online marketing tool have an impact on search engine optimization rankings? Let's take a look.

First off, I want to talk about link building. Links back to a website have been considered a positive SEO component for quite some time. While this aspect of SEO has changed a little bit due to sketchy practices, it is still very valuable when done right. Why does Google even care about these links though? Google and other search engines care about links because they are formed by someone wanting to share another website for one reason or another. If someone has found a website interesting enough to share somewhere else, Google considers this a positive signal of a quality website with relevant and entertaining info. The more positive signals they receive, the more they value that website since so many have shown their approval through linking to it.

So why did we start off the topic of social media impacting SEO with this explanation of why link building is important? Well, because Google is looking at social signals and using it the exact same way.

Brands that have good social interaction must be interesting enough for people to interact with right? That is mostly true and is why search engines are starting to value social media as a ranking factor. If a brand is getting a good amount of shares and likes from their social profiles, these are a positive signal that their audience approves of and enjoys the content that they are providing. Search engines are constantly trying to find ways to provide the most interesting and beneficial websites to their users and this is why they look for these types of positive signals.

Social media seems to definitely have a growing impact on SEO rankings. This does not mean that it is everything. The many other elements of SEO are still incredibly important. Social media does deserve some extra attention though since it has become more important than ever.