As social media becomes more prevalent than ever, it is crucial for businesses to a have a social media presence. Not only can it help you reach more potential customers, it’s great for your SEO (search engine optimization). SEO is how high your website ranks when people search for keywords related to your business. Ranking high in search engines, especially organically (without paid ads), can be the difference between getting your website in front of potential customers and falling behind the competition. Being active on social media helps boost your SEO ranking because it drives organic traffic to your website.

What is organic traffic and why is it important?

Organic traffic is the traffic that comes to your website without the use of paid ads. It boosts your SEO because it increases your website’s trust, an important factor in SEO ranking. Organic traffic provides a free, ongoing stream of traffic that will help to place your website in front of potential customers that are searching for businesses. 

What are some benefits of organic traffic?

Organic traffic brings more engaged website visitors. If your website is ranking high for a relevant keyword, you will get regular traffic to your site. This traffic will get you in front of the eyes of your ideal customers. The caveat is, your content needs to be engaging to convert leads. When your potential clients are invested in your content, they’re going to keep coming back for more. Make sure to keep both your social media and website content intentional and relevant. 

Organic traffic builds trust and credibility. When your website is one of the first search results, without using paid ads, it is seen as trustworthy and credible. Paid ads that put your business at the top of the search results are not inherently bad. They have their place and can be useful. However, people can be wary of clicking on ads, so ranking high organically is still extremely important. 

Organic traffic gives you the competitive advantage. Think about what you do when you search for keywords on Google. How often do you click on the first website that’s listed? Probably pretty often, if not all the time. That’s what high ranking organic traffic can do for your website. If someone is searching for relevant keywords and your website is the first one listed on the results, it’s probably going to get clicked. Even if you don’t convert the sale right away, you are still building your brand awareness. 

Why does social media boost organic traffic?

Social media boosts organic traffic by increasing your brand’s awareness and building your online reputation. While Google says social media profiles don’t have a direct effect on SEO rankings, your social media presence can still can still boost your brand exposure, in turn, boosting “branded” searches. There are over 3.6 billion people on social media today and it’s projected to get to 4.4 billion by 2025. Let that sink in. Use social media to your advantage. Build your brand awareness and reach a wide audience of people.

How can your business use social media to boost organic traffic?

Make your content relevant. Think about what your current and future clients want to see or read about. If your business is in the hospitality industry, posting about a breakthrough in modern medicine probably isn’t something your customers want to read about. On the other hand, posting content relating to tourism or Mardi Gras might get your followers excited.

Give value with your posts. Often times businesses are tempted to sell, sell, sell with their social media posts. More often than not this content does not do well and can actually hurt your organic reach. In order to keep your followers engaged and excited about your business, make sure your posts provide value. What does that mean? Give your followers content they enjoy, content that is useful, and content that is relevant to your business.

Keep your followers engaged. There are so many ways to engage your social media followers. You can create a poll or ask questions in your posts. For example, if your business is a restaurant, you can create a poll and let your followers choose what new dish will be added to the menu next month. 

Is your business ready to take the leap to build brand awareness on social media and boost your organic traffic and rankings? Are you stuck and not sure where to start? Reach out to us; we are here for you. Our team of experts uses content marketing strategies to help your business get seen on social media and boost your organic web traffic.