How many social networking services are you a member of? There’s a lot of people out there who are on one or more of the “Big Four” (Facebook, GooglePlus, LinkedIn, and Twitter), but there are also opportunities to be even more connected thanks to LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, ad nauseum (Random thought: wouldn’t Ad Nauseum make for a great social networking name? Admit it. It would!).
One common characteristic of all these sites is the profile. This tells people who (or what) you are, and removes a bit of the creepy Internet stranger syndrome (unless, of course, your profile is deliberately creepy, in which case you’re on your own). If you think about it, all of those social profiles taken together constitute a brand, and that brand is you!
Up to date, linked social media profiles means more people taking a closer look at your website
If you have a blog, a full-blown website, or a business with an online element to it (or any combination of the three), then it’s imperative that you become the Lord and Master of the Google search. You need to be at the top of the page. Here’s how you get easily found on searches by means of linked profiles. You don’t have to be a big-time Las Vegas entrepreneur like Andrew Sasson to build your own brand and use it to increase your business. Even a solitary writer working all by themselves as a freelancer can benefit from linking profiles.
What The Heck Is Linking Profiles?
It’s actually fairly simple and straightforward. Linking your profiles means that you place your website URL (blog, web page, etc) to all of the profiles you have on the social sites that you’re a member of. Sometimes, you can even add that URL to your signature or comments. There. That’s what linking profiles is all about.
How Does Linking Profiles Make Me A SERP Rock Star?
There’s a bunch of reasons why linking profiles makes you master the Search Engine Results Page. For instance:
- Authority And Trust. There are a lot of sleazy scammers out on the Internet, and you don’t want to be lumped in with them. By linking your profiles you show people that you’re not a spambot or some other type of automated/black-hat SEO trick; you’re a real, actual person who is vested in the online community. This builds trust.
- Increased Exposure. Stop and think of how many people trip over your profile when they’re checking out Facebook or GooglePlus. Or perhaps they find you when doing some research on the professional side of things via LinkedIn. In any case, this means that every time someone checks one of your profiles, they get a passive advertisement about your site! And there you have it: increased exposure!
- The More Mentions, The Higher The Rank. The more your website is mentioned, the more likely its rank will be higher in searches. By seeding all of your profiles with your website links, you increase the likelihood of your site being mentioned, so in turn you are legitimately increasing the likelihood of a higher SERP. With your URL in all of those profiles, visitors will be exposed to that link and that increases the chances people will click on it.
- More Visits Means More Sales. If you’re running a business and you use your website to generate interest and sales, then by following the above-mentioned steps you increase traffic, which means more potential conversions into sales.
So How Do I Do This Linking Thing?
Here’s a few handy strategies for pulling off a good profile linking.
- Link to your profiles in the “About” section of your blog.
- In turn, use those nifty icon links (like the “F” for Facebook, for instance) on your website’s front page, to send visitors to your bio information on the various social networking sites.
- If you are a guest contributor on other blogs, put a link back to your site on the “Authors Bio” section.
- Take advantage of profile links fields offered on various social sites. Some social networking sites let you add URLs of other sites that you’re a member of. Do this. As a for instance, my GooglePlus About page has links back to my YouTube and Facebook profiles.
Keep the information accurate and updated. Just like a garden requires constant tending in order for it to thrive, you need to spend time on your personal information, making sure that it’s not only current, but that it’s consistent across all social networking profiles.
Tying This All Together
What you’re trying to do with all of this is to present the average web surfer with a clear, consistent image of who you are; your brand, in other words, and have it appear high on search results due to high volume of traffic. You’re selling yourself, just not in that sketchy way that gets you arrested by vice squads.
