Love it or hate it, social media is a big part of any business’s marketing strategy. It’s a powerful way to connect with people, build your brand, and boost your online presence.
But if you’re trying to improve your local search rankings, you might be wondering: Does social media affect local SEO? Well, the answer isn’t that simple.
Despite what many believe, Google doesn’t use social media as a direct ranking factor. In other words, your social media activity won’t directly influence where your website ranks on Google.
However, other search engines, like Bing, do consider social media when ranking content.
Even if social media doesn’t directly impact your Google rankings, it still plays an important role in local SEO. It can help increase your online visibility, drive traffic to your website, and improve brand awareness—all of which contribute to better search performance in the long run.
So, while social media might not be a direct ranking factor, it’s still a valuable tool for growing your local presence online.
How Does Social Media Impact Local SEO?
Does Social Media Affect Google Rankings?
Nope! Google doesn’t use social media activity to decide where a website or business listing should rank. That means your Instagram followers or Facebook likes won’t directly impact your local search ranking on Google.
This might sound a little confusing because you’ve probably seen claims that Google considers social signals (likes, shares, comments) when ranking websites. While there’s evidence that Google experimented with this in the past, it’s not a factor in their current ranking system.
Of course, Google is always testing new ranking factors, so social signals could become more important in the future. But for now, they don’t have a direct effect on rankings.
Does Bing Use Social Media as a Ranking Factor?
Unlike Google, Bing has confirmed that it considers social signals in its search algorithm. However, how much they matter is still unclear.
Bing mainly focuses on traditional ranking factors like content quality, relevance, and backlinks. So while things like social shares and likes might help a little, they’re not as important as good SEO practices.
What About Other Search Engines?
Google and Bing dominate the search market, making up over 95% of global searches. Smaller players like Yahoo and DuckDuckGo each hold around 1% market share.
Because these alternative search engines aren’t as widely used, it’s harder to say for sure if social media affects their rankings. However, since Yahoo and DuckDuckGo are powered by Bing, it’s likely that they also use social signals in some way.
Other search engines, like Yandex (Russia) and Baidu (China), may also factor in social media. In fact, leaked Yandex ranking data suggests that social signals do play a role in their search results.
What Should You Focus On?
Since Google is the king of search (with Bing as a distant second), your local SEO and social media efforts should focus primarily on ranking well for Google and Bing. Social media might not directly boost your rankings on Google, but it can still help in other ways—like driving traffic and increasing brand visibility.
Bottom line? Social media is valuable for online growth, even if it’s not a direct ranking factor!‘
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Possible Indirect Benefits of Social Media for Local SEO
Social Media Profiles Can Show Up on Google
Even though social media activity doesn’t directly impact rankings, your social media profiles can still show up in Google search results.
Ideally, your website and business listings should rank higher than your social media pages. But if someone finds your social profile first, that’s still a win—especially if it leads them to your website!
Social Media Can Drive Website Traffic
Every social media profile should include a link to your website—it’s a simple way to drive more traffic. And while Google doesn’t use website traffic as a direct ranking factor, there’s a strong connection between high engagement (like longer time spent on pages) and better rankings.
So, while more traffic doesn’t guarantee higher rankings, it certainly won’t hurt your SEO efforts!
A Great Way to Promote Content & Earn Backlinks
Content is one of the biggest ranking factors for Google. And guess what? Social media is the perfect place to share your content and get it in front of more people.
The more people see, share, and link back to your content, the better chance you have of earning backlinks—which do help improve search rankings by boosting your domain authority (DA).
Helps Keep Your Business Info Consistent (NAP Consistency)
For local SEO, keeping your business info consistent across the web is super important. That means your Name, Address, and Phone Number (NAP) should be the same everywhere—including social media.
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn count as business listings too, so making sure your NAP info is accurate can help your local SEO.
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What’s the Final Takeaway Regarding Social Media and Local SEO?
Google might be the biggest player in search, but it doesn’t use social media signals to rank websites. On the other hand, Bing has said that social signals do play a role in its rankings—though it’s unclear how much they actually matter.
That said, social media can still help your local SEO in other ways. Your social profiles can show up in search results, giving your business more visibility. Plus, social media helps drive website traffic, promote content, build backlinks, and keep your business info (NAP) consistent—all of which indirectly boost SEO.
Since search algorithms are always changing, social media’s role in SEO could evolve too. That’s why it’s important to stay updated and tweak your strategy when needed.
For now, the best approach is to combine social media with solid SEO tactics to get the best results and boost your local online presence.
