So you’ve been doing some SEO research for your business and wondered… what’s the difference between hashtags/keywords and how can using these benefit my business?
Firstly, keywords – be it hashed or otherwise – remain super important for businesses to this day. It helps create a bridge to what people want to search for (such as trending topics) and what content you should be creating to fill that void.
By understanding what important keywords you should be using to target your intended audience, this will then help determine how much traffic your website will get and therefore what your ranking on Google will be. Such as, if you’re creating a piece of content about a topic that isn’t widely spoken about, this may increase your chances of getting more page hits, as the topic isn’t as saturated. Keyword relevancy refers to how relevant, or important, certain keywords or phrases are to each page of your website.
Google uses keyword relevancy to rank your website and determine what page your site will be placed on. For example, let’s say you have a Reusable Cup business in Melbourne called ‘Coffee Me’ sold at a reasonable price. Potential visitors may type in ‘affordable reusable coffee cups’ and your website could pop up within the top search results. This is because Google is able to identify where your business stands and what matches are suitable for those who are googling for a product you’re providing.
Reaching a Larger Audience
On the other hand, a hashtag is a word or phrase preceded by a hash sign (#). This is used on social media websites/ apps, to identify messages on a specific topic.
Using hashtags on Instagram is a great way to reach a larger pool of individuals. This can help you promote your product/website and expand your content reach. By doing this, you can then strengthen your brand, target your market, get your business found online, and improve your SEO by receiving more website traffic.
By gaining more exposure on other platforms, such as Instagram/Facebook, you’re allowing more people to find your business/ brand easier. It is noted that 60% of instagram users learn about new products through Instagram. By being active on every platform, this allows more users to find you and in turn, purchase your products via your website. Apart from utilizing the website link in your bio, Instagram will not directly help your SEO.
According to Business Insider, 72% of Instagram users have purchased a product that they’ve seen on the app. Since more people are becoming aware of your business and what you offer, they are also more likely to click through to your website if they want to know more details about what you offer.Â
Hashtags are widely popular on Twitter, where many users go and tweet about topics that are currently trending. These are great as it combines a collection of opinions and thoughts which are grouped up within a #. For example, Coca Cola created a marketing campaign around #ShareACoke where customers were able to go out and purchase a bottle of Coke with their name written on the bottle. This also created a personal connection with the customer, as they were encouraged to #ShareACoke and a memory with friends/family.
Using the same Coffee Me example, you should target hashtags that are easily accessible and related to your business, such as #CoffeeMeCups or #ReusableCoffeeMeCups.
Connection Between Hashtags and SEO Rankings
The main connection between hashtags and SEO rankings is that when your content gets amplified and seen by more people on social media, it is likely to be shared around with a link to your business, which is important on Google. In an SEO campaign run by Woodward, it showed when their company created a blog post about the ‘World’s Unhealthiest Foods.’ After it was shared on Facebook thousands of times (with the added help of a celebrity also sharing it). It impacted extremely positively on their SEO rankings, and is still the 2nd position on Google for ‘Unhealthiest Food’.
Apart from choosing a topic that isn’t too saturated, any articles written must be researched well and in depth. The content produced has to be good enough to be in the top three search results on Google.
No Generic Hashtags
When adding hashtags to your Instagram posts, remember to always think from a customer’s point of view. What they would search for when trying to find a brand/ product like yours? This doesn’t mean hash tagging generic popular tags such as #coffee. These hashtags are way too popular and your post won’t be able to stand out from the 800,000 other images being posted with the same hashtag, at the exact same time.
Going back to the Coffee Me example, by thinking in a more narrow strategic way, you could use #ReusableCoffeeCup, #EnvironmentallyFriendly or #WarOnWaste to attract a real audience with the same values which aligns to your brand, not a bot. By doing this, you’re able to generate a real-life and authentic following. Ensuring that your brand is always visible on social media, you should then start connecting it with your website/ posts that relate to your brand/campaign and boost your website views by reaching an engaged audience that share similar interests.
Keywords on the other hand, especially long-tailed keywords are super helpful when trying to get your business out there on Google. By being more specific to what your niche is, you’re able to target the right audience, without having your post/ website getting lost in a sea of articles exactly the same as your own. E.g. if you’re selling ‘coffee cups’, be more specific and use ‘environmentally friendly reusable coffee cups’ instead.
Call to Action Strategy
Using a ‘Call to Action’ strategy is also a great way to grow your account and keep your audience engaged. You should ask yourself, why would people want to follow your instagram account or read the content you’re producing? What would they get out of it? For instagram, this could be promoting discounts/ sales. It is shown that 41% of instagrammers would follow purely just to take advantage of any promotions going on. Always remember to follow up posts with a clickable/tracked link in your bio at all times to gain maximum exposure!
Choosing relevant keywords related to your business can also be a tricky one. These are certain words or phrases that should link back to your website/ company. By including the most relevant keywords, this can help determine what ranking you are on the Google search. E.g. For Coffee Me, this could be: Reusable coffee cups, reusable cups, environmentally friendly cups, and eco friendly coffee cups.
Social media may not have direct impact on website rankings, however they are a great and powerful tool to use when leveraging your SEO. Using social media to amplify your content distribution can help attract a larger audience and increase your visibility on both social media accounts and your actual website. This is done through social likes and shares. If you would like help with your social media marketing, or anything and everything SEO-related, find us at SEO Company Melbourne – experts in providing professional and proven SEO results
