I often get asked how social media and search engine rankings can be used together. For the most part I can tell you that most SEO professionals use social media mainly as a channel to help people discover content and link to it as well as for brand management and online reputation management initiatives.

But what about just getting your profiles listed in Google?

In a recent interview, Dana Todd of Newsforce and also a SEMPO board member talked about how social media frequently accounts for up to half of the top ten search results on Google for any given query

That said, ensuring your social media profiles are optimized will increase the likeliness that they will appear within the search engines results pages. Optimizing your social media profiles is no different than optimizing a website. At the end of the day SEO is really all about keywords, quality content, and links.

Learn more in my upcoming webinar: SEO & SEM for Recruiters: An Introductory Guide to Improve Your Online Visibility

Tips for Optimizing Facebook, LinkedIn & Twitter Profiles

Facebook SEO Tips

• Use a vanity URL if possible – read FAQ’s Here
• Fill out all your information as complete as possible (basic info, personal info, contact info)
• Join groups and participate in their discussions
• Become a fan of pages – Become a fan or Arbita
• Ensure your profile Picture is up to date
• Use the Facebook notes section for posting blog posts
• Use the shout box for sharing links and tips
• Use the links box to share important links to your website other profiles
• Under Privacy > Search settings select “create a public listing for search engines”

Twitter SEO Tips

• In your Twitter Settings update your name to read “First Name, Last Name” IE: Nicole Bodem - No one searches for “Nicole_Bodem” or “NicoleBodem”
• Optimize your twitter bio line – it appears in the search results. Use keywords that you want to be found for. If you are comfortable talking about yourself in the third person, your name will be bolded within the search results. IE: Nicole Bodem is a Global Search Marketing Strategist
• Build followers – Twitter will internally link your followers to your profile. This means that search engines will see your followers as “links” to your profile. Links of course help with search engine visibility. Additionally, if you tweet high quality content you’ll naturally pick up additional outside links.
• Link to your twitter profile using your name as anchor text, IE: "follow Nicole Bodem on Twitter"

LinkedIn SEO Tips

• When completing your LinkedIn profile remember to use words and phrases that you hope will be picked up by those searching for people in your field. Your goal is to have a profile 100% complete.
• Get a vanity URL – your name if possible & make sure your profile is “public”
• Your past work history should go back 10 years . Explain what you did at each company.
• Fill out the summary section, add substance consider it your “elevator pitch”.
• Write/Get Recommendations & Ask/Answer questions
• Continually build on your connections
• Comment on the LinkedIn blog and link back to your LinkedIn profile

Don’t forget the additional information section – When adding websites, click on the “other” section. You can name your website and that will act as anchor text for the link.

I'll be demonstrating this and much more in my upcoming webinar: SEO & SEM for Recruiters: An Introductory Guide to Improve Your Online Visibility