There is no question that influencer marketing can do wonders for a brand’s conversion rate, but if you’re a savvy marketer, you may be wondering: can it boost SEO? If this question was a Facebook relationship status it would read, “It’s complicated.” This is because there are different kinds of influencers, which means there are different methods of endorsing your brand. Thus, there are also a variety of effects on SEO. Really, what it comes down to is how influencers send traffic to your site. Ask yourself these three questions:
- Is traffic coming from direct search?
- Is traffic come from a social media link?
- Did you earn a backlink?
Traffic from Direct Search
What good is a website if no one is visiting it? Whether you’re strictly ecommerce or have a physical storefront, you want high traffic on your pages. After all, by 2021, it’s estimated that 15.5% of global retail will be strictly ecommerce, according to Statista. That will be a staggering 33.62% increase from 2018! Trust us, you’re going to want a piece of the action. But does that additional traffic from influencer campaigns increase SEO? Indeed it does. According to Moz, traffic and usage signals could account for up to 8.58% of weighting in Google’s ranking factors. This is huge considering increased page authority is directly correlated with higher click through rate (CTR), which in turn is a strong indicator of increased sales. In fact, Search Engine Land found that the tenth spot on the first pages has a meager CTR of 8.3% while the number one spot is over 43%!
Is Traffic Coming from Social Media Links?
Here is the cold hard truth about social media links: they’re NoFollows. This means that, while Google and other search engines do crawl and index social media posts, any hyperlinks included in the content are omitted as a direct metric for increased ranking value. However, there is an upside. Social media links do provide an indirect benefit to SEO. For one, influencer marketing is the new word of mouth marketing (WOMM), meaning people are going to search for your site of their own volition. As stated above, direct search traffic will count toward your search ranking. It should be noted that WOMM is arguably the most effective advertising method in marketing. In fact, a recent 2015 report from Nielsen found that 83% of consumers trust recommendations from other people (i.e. influencer endorsements) while only 56% trust a branded promotional email. But the benefits don’t stop there. According to research by the co-founder of Moz, Rand Fishkin, the “Time on Site” could also be an major element of Google’s search algorithm. This becomes exceptionally important when you consider that influencers already help you target a specific demographic—a.k.a. the kind of people who are looking to spend time on your site, and more importantly, to shop on it.
Fashion Bloggers and Boosted SEO
Great fashion bloggers can be a brand’s secret weapon. Not only do they write up a comprehensive piece about why your product and/or service is great, but oftentimes, they include a backlink to your site somewhere throughout their article. Research from Moz suggests a staggering 19.15% of Google’s algorithm is based off of page-level link features. But it’s not just about the link, these bloggers have to be really good. The reason for this is that an estimated 9.8% of page ranking comes from page-level, keyword-agnostic features such as readability, uniqueness, and length. This is to say, if your link is on a poorly written blog, the backlink could actually hurt your ranking. Therefore, it’s critical that you find an influencer marketing agency with vetted influencers.
The Answer is Yes
Although social media links are indexed as NoFollows—meaning they don’t increase search ranking—there are other direct and indirect SEO benefits that come from influencer marketing. When influencers intrigue your customers to perform a direct search, that increase in traffic bolsters your site’s authority. Moreover, if those potential customers interact with your site at length, that time will also send a signal to Google to raise your ranking. Lastly, if you’re influencer is a wordsmith, that’s a good indicator of elevated SEO potential. A solid backlink on a high-quality blog directed at your online store can boost your website up several pages in search results depending on the source. On the other hand, a bad blog can do damage to both your SEO and to your brand. Luckily for you, ApexDroponly works with the best influencers in the space that are handpicked, rigorously vetted, and well-seasoned. ApexDrop has helped thousands of authentic micro-influencers connect with quality brands through contextual product gifting (also known as trade collaborations). Imagine having an affordable and easy way to get your products featured by hundreds of influencers immediately on Instagram, but without all the extra work. ApexDrop offers an unparalleled service in campaign management from start to finish and can assure that clients receive quality posts and authenticity. For more information, schedule a call with an ApexDrop Influencer Specialist today www.apexdrop.com/contact.
Keeping it Authentic
At ApexDrop, we use a private network of the highest-quality and employ the most engaging micro-influencers in the industry. Moreover, we contextually match these rigorously vetted micro-influencers to ensure brands are reaching their target demographic. ApexDrop is one of the few influencer marketing agencies that verifies the offline presence of our influencers to not only determine legitimacy, but also to understand exactly why they’re so popular online and ensure it’s for a positive reason. All too often, brands align with influencers who are either a letdown, or worse: produce offensive content. For instance, TIME Magazine recently reported that Disney cut commercial ties with YouTube sensation, PewDiePie, over anti-semitic videos. This can be a PR nightmare for businesses. If you’re ready to try influencer marketing, be sure to pair with an agency that hand-picks their influencers. Too frequently, brands rely on massive influencer networks and databases to represent their products and services. This is financially burdensome, risky, and extremely time consuming. To learn how ApexDrop separates itself from other micro-influencer marketing agencies, click here to schedule a quick demo.
ApexDrop has helped thousands of authentic micro-influencers connect with quality brands through contextual product gifting (also known as trade collaborations). Imagine having an affordable and easy way to get your products featured by hundreds of influencers immediately on Instagram, but without all the extra work. ApexDrop offers an unparalleled service in campaign management from start to finish and can assure that clients receive quality posts and authenticity. For more information, schedule a call with an ApexDrop Influencer Specialist today www.apexdrop.com/contact.
