The video starts at 11 minutes 30 seconds. You’ll hear John talk about this.
I have been talking about this for a few years now. “Does Google use social media as a ranking signal?”
HELL NO! Why? Well as a marketer I can just pay for Likes. Should a Facebook page be based off the number of Likes? Nope! A Facebook fan page is no different than any other web page on the internet. If it’s a popular page and there are links to it, then it may rank. But if you go to Fiverr, you can buy Likes there for $5. OR you can use Facebook Ads to “buy” Likes.
As silly as this may seem, think about this. What if Google said, “The more followers you have, the more authority you have”. Look at Twitter. How many spammy profiles follow you? For my account @franciscocmeza, I have many. I don’t know how they found me or why they follow, but they are there. Yes there are real followers, and I even engage with my friends, but spam profiles are there too.
For Social Signals to Work in Your Favor, Your Participation in Relevant Social Platforms Must be Real
Ideally, you should aim to gain reference from social accounts that have good reputations. Here, having a well regarded social presence as well as reputation plays a critical role. So you should endeavor to participate on the social platforms that are most relevant to your brand in a real, authentic manner. Would you add content to your business website in a disinterested manner? Or behave like a zombie with customers in an offline setting? So, you perhaps understand the relevance of real participation in the most important social platforms related to your niche. Participate in social sharing sites that can spread your content.
