Posted by Gary Hyman
Being ranked well by Google is always a good thing. Twitter provides an opportunity for your website, blog or even your Twitter profile to be ranked with authority by Google.
Let’s now explore, with the following 8 items, how to optimize your Twitter account. By doing so, it will in effect, boost your Google rankings.
It
makes sense that Google gives more weight to a retweet than a tweet.
Based on the assumption that others find your content worthy of sending
to their followers, Google says “Hey you must be important content and
I’m going to give you a few points for authority”. Obviously, we don’t
know if this is entirely the way Google flags a retweet, but it makes
sense to me and many others, at least.
There are many ways to get retweeted. As a foundation you need to be noticed by others in order to be followed. To be noticed by others your profile needs to be found, and completing your profile correctly is a fundamental thing that needs to be done for others to find you with relative ease. If you do not complete it correctly and completely then your profile will just be lost in the list of the many other Twitterers.
Keep in mind your Twitter profile will probably evolve, and change over time – the text and the links. The image below-left represents a more recent version of my Twitter profile, while the image below-right is an earlier version.
You’ll notice my keywords in the more recent version are: Social Media, Marketing, Business, Strategy. Although the hashtag is not important for ranking purposes, it does provide my audience the ability to view tweets that are specific to topics of (strategic) interest.
There are also two links in my Twitter profile (new and old version), where at least one of them points to giveaway product that resides on my blog.
For illustrative purposes, my profile picture filename is: Social Media Business Strategy.jpg. Clearly it contains 3/4 of my primary keywords.
You should also customize the Twitter Header Image (i.e. The Background), but as far as I understand the background has no bearing on your Google Rankings. It is conceivable though that Google places a weight on how professional your page looks. In order to be safe just make sure you do not use the default background.
Within the list description area, you should be as descriptive as possible, and using your primary keyword. Please remember, when using your keywords within the list to write for your viewers and not search engines.
Even though you may have a very good reason to flag your list as “Private”, it is a good idea from a Google ranking perspective to have your lists flagged as “Public”. Google can only index what it can get access too.
I would also suspect that Google puts weight to a list that is being subscribed too. The more subscribers the higher the weight. The higher the weight, the better the rankings. Therefore, it makes sense to have ‘good’ people subscribe to your lists. Get to know people in your domain, and have them subscribe to your lists.
For illustrative purposes, you’ll notice the keywords “Social Media Strategy” is
sprinkled throughout one of my list names and it’s description. It is
also written for the viewer community, and not a search engine.
You can use hashtags for various reasons. A primary reasons is to get the attention of other Twitterers so they can follow you. When they do follow then you go into retweet mode, as mentioned above. When your message is retweeted, Google recognizes this, and you gain Twitter authority with Google.
As a secondary reason, I have also noticed that Google indexes
Twitter #hashtags, so you could therefore structure your hashtags with
your primary keywords. For illustrative purposes a Google search for one
of my #hashtags produced the following #hashtag search result on
Google. This no longer seems to be the case as of the update of this article.
To get statistics and trends on your specific #hashtag please visit www.hashtags.org and search for the #hashtag.
By submitting your Twitter account, you’re not only bringing in prospects to follow your Twitter page, you’re also creating a link back to your site. If the Twitter directory that you use is deemed as high authority by Google, then it may have an impact on your rankings.
Below are active Twitter directories that I recommend. Keep in mind that directories are a moving target so what is good today my be out tomorrow. Just like all directories you need to constantly review their effectiveness:
Just take it one step at a time. Every suggestion will have a positive Google reaction!
Being ranked well by Google is always a good thing. Twitter provides an opportunity for your website, blog or even your Twitter profile to be ranked with authority by Google.
Even though the Google ranking formulas are
closely guarded by Google, by implementing a few fundamental items on
your Twitter account, will in all probability, raise your Google
authority and thus your Google rankings. When you have completed this
process then you can take a look at the 3rd party Twitter tools that will help you towards finding your target market leads within Twitter.
I do however want to make it clear that it
is exceptionally important not to try trick any of the search engines,
especially Google, into getting increased Google rankings.
The following tips I’m about to suggest are
fundamental things that you should do in order to place you on an even
ground with other Twitter users who have configured their account
correctly. Regardless of the following tips, always keep your readers in
mind, to build your content, tweets, etc. for your viewers and not the
search engines.
Google seems to have placed higher authority on various social
signals such as followers, tweets, retweets, links within tweets, and
links back to your Twitter profile. As I mentioned before, these are all
closely guarded secrets by Google, and my information is derived from
extensive research from many credible Search Engine Optimization
specialists.Let’s now explore, with the following 8 items, how to optimize your Twitter account. By doing so, it will in effect, boost your Google rankings.
1. Increase Tweet and Retweet volume
Increasing the tweet volume is straight forward – just tweet.What to tweet and when to tweet is an entirely different topic, but it is important to tweet. It’s my understanding that Google starts to pay attention to you (within an authority category) when you reach you reach 5,000 tweets. If this is the case, then just keep tweeting. Be consistent, and tweet good content to your viewers.2. Retweet. Retweet. Retweet.
It
makes sense that Google gives more weight to a retweet than a tweet.
Based on the assumption that others find your content worthy of sending
to their followers, Google says “Hey you must be important content and
I’m going to give you a few points for authority”. Obviously, we don’t
know if this is entirely the way Google flags a retweet, but it makes
sense to me and many others, at least.There are many ways to get retweeted. As a foundation you need to be noticed by others in order to be followed. To be noticed by others your profile needs to be found, and completing your profile correctly is a fundamental thing that needs to be done for others to find you with relative ease. If you do not complete it correctly and completely then your profile will just be lost in the list of the many other Twitterers.
3. Enhance your Twitter Bio
Google looks at your bio thru the lenses of its Meta-Description. This means your bio must incorporate keywords, be both crisp and interesting and be informative. Your word usage must be effective and used wisely as you only are allowed the use of 160 characters. Make sure also that your Twitter profile is linked to your website by incorporating its URL (The specific URL landing page is another topic by itself), and use your primary keywords within your bio description.Keep in mind your Twitter profile will probably evolve, and change over time – the text and the links. The image below-left represents a more recent version of my Twitter profile, while the image below-right is an earlier version.
You’ll notice my keywords in the more recent version are: Social Media, Marketing, Business, Strategy. Although the hashtag is not important for ranking purposes, it does provide my audience the ability to view tweets that are specific to topics of (strategic) interest.
There are also two links in my Twitter profile (new and old version), where at least one of them points to giveaway product that resides on my blog.
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4. Optimize Header, Background, Profile Picture
Prior to uploading your profile picture make sure you use keywords within the picture filename. The filename will be used in the ALT tag, which Google recognizes for indexing purposes.For illustrative purposes, my profile picture filename is: Social Media Business Strategy.jpg. Clearly it contains 3/4 of my primary keywords.
You should also customize the Twitter Header Image (i.e. The Background), but as far as I understand the background has no bearing on your Google Rankings. It is conceivable though that Google places a weight on how professional your page looks. In order to be safe just make sure you do not use the default background.
5. Optimize Your Twitter Lists
It’s important to make sure your lists are structured correctly for Google to recognize them as authority lists. The higher the authority the better Google rankings you will have. For starters make sure the list name contains your primary keywords. You only have 25 characters to work with, so depending on how many primary keywords you have, you may need to be selective as to which keywords you use for a specific list.Within the list description area, you should be as descriptive as possible, and using your primary keyword. Please remember, when using your keywords within the list to write for your viewers and not search engines.
Even though you may have a very good reason to flag your list as “Private”, it is a good idea from a Google ranking perspective to have your lists flagged as “Public”. Google can only index what it can get access too.
I would also suspect that Google puts weight to a list that is being subscribed too. The more subscribers the higher the weight. The higher the weight, the better the rankings. Therefore, it makes sense to have ‘good’ people subscribe to your lists. Get to know people in your domain, and have them subscribe to your lists.
6. Improve visibility of yourself and business with #hashtags
In addition to keywords, include #hashtags in your tweets. Once again, we are not privy to the Google Ranking formulas, but it makes sense to use keyword rich #hashtags, but definitely do not follow any of the black-hat tactics using #hashtags for ranking purposes. The results could be disastrous – shut down accounts, Google bans, etc. Play it safe.You can use hashtags for various reasons. A primary reasons is to get the attention of other Twitterers so they can follow you. When they do follow then you go into retweet mode, as mentioned above. When your message is retweeted, Google recognizes this, and you gain Twitter authority with Google.
7. Submit Your Twitter Account to Twitter Directory
There are many Twitter Directories are on the Internet. Pick and choose wisely. Do not submit links in bulk to Twitter directories. Instead do them one at a time. That way you can be sure you in full control of which directory your Twitter account has been submitted too.By submitting your Twitter account, you’re not only bringing in prospects to follow your Twitter page, you’re also creating a link back to your site. If the Twitter directory that you use is deemed as high authority by Google, then it may have an impact on your rankings.
Below are active Twitter directories that I recommend. Keep in mind that directories are a moving target so what is good today my be out tomorrow. Just like all directories you need to constantly review their effectiveness:
- JustTweetIt
- WeFollow
- Twibs
- Local Tweeps
- Tweet Find
- Twellow
8. 3rd Party Applications – Links to your Profile
Linking back to your profile can also be done via 3rd party applications. For example you can use Facebook, Linkedin, Google+ and Pinterest. Within the profile of each of these 3rd party applications make sure you have a link that points back to your Twitter account. Obviously, the account that has the originating link will need activity to gain authority with Google. Once authority is established then your Twitter account should start moving up the Google Rankings.Take Away
Optimizing your Twitter account, providing authoritative backlinks to your profile, tweeting, and getting retweeted will benefit your Google Rankings.Just take it one step at a time. Every suggestion will have a positive Google reaction!
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