Social media has really helped business owners increase traffic to their business websites and you can use it as an SEO tool. Business owners are using Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to promote their brands and drive traffic to their online and offline stores.

You can install a simple social media plug-in on your website, or create a company profile on the popular social media platforms to improve your Google ranking, boost your market positioning and eventually increase your profit margins. Social media has become part of the daily activities of many people, and most these users are also your target customers.

If you want to be found online, start using social media but you need to know how to use social media for SEO purposes.  That way you will get the best results for your efforts.

Here are some SEO tips for social media purposes:

Optimize the titles
When people are searching the internet, it is the title of your article or website that will appear. One of the rules of SEO is that you choose the right keywords for your titles and headings. Every article you post on your page should have the most relevant search words. Having a simple but unique keyword will improve your ranking and drive traffic to your business website or page on social networks. For example, give a keyword rich tip, followed by a link to where your readers can obtain more information.

Tag photos appropriately
Make sure that all the photographs uploaded on your social media site have tags. These tags should be optimized for easier searching. Ask yourself which keywords you would type in the search box if you were looking for the products you are promoting. Use both primary and secondary keywords as photo tags and people will always land on your homepage every time they search using any of those keywords. Many experts advise us to include your brand name in photo tags.

Include the keywords when creating back links
Sites such as twitter and LinkedIn are very useful for back linking. When sharing content from your website, do not use the automated summary and description. Always create a unique description that is keyword rich. Remember that your customers search for specific key terms and so you need to write a catchy description which incorporates those terms and that will bring more people to your website.

Assign each photo an appropriate caption
Whether the photos are on your official website or on your fan page, make sure they have captions. Don’t use captions to jsut to describe what is happening, but also to draw the attention of your readers. Remember that your photo captions have the potential to generate traffic for you. Use the most appropriate keywords to improve your page ranking in the search engine.

Be keen when writing content for your profile and about sections.
Your profile text or about sections introduce you to your readers. This is where you need to show your personality but also include keywords. It can be hard to condense all of that information into just a few words but remember that you have limited space on your social media profile pages.  If you can do it and sound natural, try to include your main keyword early in the text.

That should give you something to think about but I can’t end without reminding you that your writing should be natural.  Don’t just fill it with keywords because, while the search engines might find you quickly, your readers will take one look and head for the hills.  SEO will work for you if you don’t overdo it.