What is SMO for??And how to optimize a site on the WordPress platform for social networks Facebook, Twitter, and G +??As you know, social networks are a good source of traffic for any site.?The popularity of any blogger directly depends on the number of visitors to its platform.

Work on SMO (Social Media Optimization) is to prepare the site for interaction with users from social networks.?A feature of optimization in social media is the creation and distribution of quality content, its uniqueness, and the interaction of readers with it (the number of likes, comments).?The focus is on clickability, accessibility of content, and ease of bookmarking (i.e. the ability to use tags).

Consider the key optimization methods and how to apply them in practice.

The Main Stages of SMO (Social Media Optimization):

Step 1. Install plugins to optimize your blog on the WordPress social media platform.

Blogs on WordPress are well adapted for search engines – they have a well-developed site map and are configured to automatically optimize content.?However, to work with links distributed via social networks, it is better to immediately install the SEO by Yoast plugin.?Features of working with this tool are discussed in the article??Website Optimization Using the SEO by Yoast Plugin?

Social Networks Optimization: Yoast SEO

Consider the capabilities of the plugin in three social networks:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+

Blog Optimization for Facebook Publishing

Facebook is the most widespread social network in the world.?This means one of the largest sources of traffic to the site.?Therefore, it is important to optimize posts for platform requests.

Social Networks Optimization: Facebook Page

In the SEO by Yoast plugin, the main data is automatically populated from the profile of your blog. Specify the following data:

  • content type
  • location
  • provide a direct link URL to the page
  • site name and specific page
  • what is the page about
  • pictures to be displayed on a post on Facebook
  • add links to your profiles on social networks

Scheme of work: 

Once you have installed the plugin, you should determine for yourself on whose behalf you will post your links: from your profile or the public profile of your site. Accordingly, in the plug-in settings, open the ?Social Networks? tab, then in the ?Facebook? tab add a link to the page on the social network that will be associated with all posts that you publish.

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Then set the quality image and the required description to the default. Take time and ?polish? the text about yourself and the picture, which should be at least 200 x 200 pix.

In the WordPress settings (Click on the name in the upper right corner) add a link to your profile.

All these operations will take you just a few minutes.

Blog Optimization for Twitter Publications

The optimization functionality for Twitter is generally similar to the settings for Facebook. See the following options:

  • content type
  • picture
  • description
  • account of a site or publisher of content
  • author account
  • The domain name that appears on Twitter.

Google+ post optimization

Fill out your profile in G + and make sure that the link goes to the G + page of the blog.

Step 2. Work with the content on the blog.

  1. Build an expert reputation

From the very first steps you should work on the reputation of an expert in a certain niche. Post original high-quality and diverse content, for example, studies or reviews on your topic.

Track statistics on the popularity of posts: by the number of reads, likes, comments. You can view the data in the blog console on WordPress. Write more posts on topics that are really interesting to users.

  1. Increase engagement

Actively engage the audience in communication. Give her the opportunity to comment, link to your post, leave likes or make reposts. Add calls to action for each post. They are still working. You can organize contests with prizes for the most active readers.

  1. Get a posting schedule

Accustom users to a specific posting schedule. They will definitely know that at this time of the day you have already published a fresh post on your blog and therefore it is worth visiting your page.

Find a convenient timeline for updating blog entries. On the one hand, it?s not too rare (once a month), otherwise users will forget about your resource, on the other hand, it?s not too often (more than 3 times a day) so that you are not considered intrusive and unsubscribed from you.

Analyze the time of publication of posts. Look at what day of the week and time you have peaks on your site. Focusing on these data, adjust the schedule of exit posts.

  1. Organize quality dissemination of information

It is important to be present where your target users are. Find and focus on these platforms, communities, groups.

Participate in discussions in communities and groups, share links with participants to your publications, photos, videos. It?s better to rewrite some text so that the introductory content differs a little from what is posted on the site. For example, you can share one of the facts, and invite others to read on your blog. And, of course, do not forget that posts on social networks should refer to the source – your blog.

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Collaborate with other bloggers, experts, subscribe to their updates, involve their communication, exchange of posts and ideas.

Tools to Optimize Your Website For Social Networks:

Set widgets and buttons for social networks for the blog so that users can conveniently share information and leave comments on their favorite posts.

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  1. Share Buttons

Install the ?Share? buttons from social networks under the text of each post. Readers will be able to share the post in 1 click. See that when you click on the button, the user will not only have a link to your page, but also a picture, as well as the opportunity to write a few words from yourself. Additionally, you can provide the ability to send the link to a friend via email.

  1. Like buttons

At the end of each entry on the site, place a Like button. In general, users like to show their loyalty by leaving likes to posts that attracted their attention. Each time you click on the button, a message appears on his personal page on social networks with a link to the marked content. This post will be seen by friends of the reader who may be interested in the content and follow the link. Thus, you will provide yourself with additional traffic.

Please note that users can leave general likes (for example, to your page on social networks) and private (markings of specific posts).

  1. Comment widgets

Install ready-made comment widgets from social networks to get users’ opinions on articles. They are usually placed at the end of texts. These widgets themselves are already informative and attract attention. In addition, they cause more confidence, because You can always see the profile of the one who left a comment. Do not forget to respond to comments, especially since comments are published in the user feed.

  1. Subscribe Buttons

Place widgets in a prominent place and tell readers what social networks you are in. Give the opportunity to join your group or subscribe to updates directly on the blog.

  1. RSS feed button

Add your blog to rss aggregators. This will allow the site to be indexed faster in search engines. Place the subscribe button via RSS in the block on the right side.

  1. Advanced snippets (Rich snippets)
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This tool summarizes the content of each page.?For optimization in WordPress, the?SEO by Yoast plugin?is ideal?.

  1. Popular block

Add a block to the side column of the site with links to the best or latest blog articles. Users love to read popular articles. This will help keep readers on the site longer.

Benefits of Social Media Optimization

  1. Reader orientation.  These are user-friendly sites with interesting texts, adapted to the needs of real people, not search robots.
  2. Virus promotion. Users help promote the site (by leaving likes or making reposts on their social networks). Accordingly, the more people from social networks find out about your blog, the faster it spins.
  3. Multilevel promotion.  In addition to traffic from social networks to your page, you get additional user clicks from search engines. Search robots track traffic from social media and, as it grows, improve the site?s position in search engines.
  4. Target quality traffic. Visitors attracted through social networks, as a rule, have similar characteristics by interests or lifestyle.

Disadvantages of Optimization in Social Networks

  1. Little information available . Promotion in social networks began to develop quite recently, and so far there is little knowledge about the effectiveness of methods. This does not allow you to get the maximum effect from SMO.
  2. Big investment of time. Optimization in social media takes a lot of time: searching for suitable groups, promoting your pages, etc.
  3. Continuous activity support.  Each group created in a social network needs constant administration, updating of content and, of course, promotion.

Finally?

As you can see, approaching blog optimization for social networks is a must. Install a useful plugin, work with content, add buttons and widgets to the site.

Your task is to increase activity around your posts, which serve as beacons of “popularity” for search robots. If users interact with your content, then search engines, with appropriate queries, begin to more often display your blog in search engines.

Please note that ?zero? indicators are more likely to scare readers away. Therefore, actively encourage readers to take specific actions: like or share a post.

Developers of social networks, such as Facebook, VKontakte, Twitter, G +, are constantly working to improve the presentation of content and user interaction with it. Periodically, it is better to update your images and descriptions in accordance with new requirements.

What methods of optimization in social networks do you already use??Which ones do you find most effective??Share your experience in the comments.

You can also read: How to Make Money on Social Networks? 6 Tips for Beginners

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