Your Brand Needs Integrated Marketing: SEO + Social Media = Success

For too long, we’ve treated search engine optimisation (SEO) and social media marketing like two completely separate universes. SEO experts focus on keyword research, on-page optimisation, and link building, while social media managers dedicate resources to content calendars, community engagement, and platform analytics.

But here’s the thing that our pros at the Make Me Social team know: the game has changed. We’re seeing undeniable proof that when these two niches team up, brands grow exponentially.

Social media can catalyse SEO by boosting website traffic and brand searches, while SEO principles can inform more discoverable and targeted social content. Together, they form a cohesive strategy that enhances visibility at every stage of the customer journey. Let’s explore how this combination works together!

Understanding Social Signals and SEO

What Are Social Signals?

Social signals (likes, shares, comments, and clicks) represent direct measures of user engagement on social platforms. Now, Google and Bing will tell you these aren’t direct ranking factors – and technically, they’re right. But here’s where it gets interesting: search engines are smart. When they see a sudden surge in traffic to your site or a spike in people searching for your brand name, they interpret that as a huge sign of popularity and relevance.

For example, a well-shared blog post on LinkedIn can drive significant referral traffic, prompting search engines to re-evaluate its authority.

Indirect Influence on Rankings

So, while social signals do not appear explicitly in algorithmic disclosures, they indirectly influence SEO in some powerful ways:

1. Referral Traffic Boost: When a piece of content gains traction on social media, all those clicks heading to your website send a clear message to search engines that your site is offering serious value.
2. Brand Awareness and Branded Searches: A consistent, engaging social media presence builds serious brand recognition. And what happens when people recognise your brand? They search for it by name! More branded searches are a massive green light to Google, signalling you’re a fresh, authoritative player in your space.
3. Content Distribution: Social sharing isn’t just about reaching your existing followers. It pushes your content out to new audiences, dramatically increasing the chances of earning those coveted natural backlinks from other bloggers, journalists, and industry influencers.

How Social Media Influences SEO

Amplifying Content Reach

Here’s a stat that should make you sit up: A study found that articles with the most social shares saw an average 22% boost in their SEO results during testing. That’s huge! It really drives home the power of social distribution in complementing your search performance. The trick? Don’t post mindlessly without studying your audience and your platforms; tailor your content. When you speak the platform’s language, you maximise engagement and keep those website visits coming.

Generating Backlinks

We all know high-quality backlinks are the bedrock of strong SEO. But did you know social media is a discovery channel too? When your content truly resonates on platforms, journalists and industry bloggers often pick it up. Imagine your insightful LinkedIn article getting cited by a major sector publication – boom, instant valuable do-follow link! Research has consistently shown that social signals like shares and comments aren’t just vanity metrics; they reflect credibility, which can absolutely influence the algorithms that decide a link’s true value.

Keyword Insights from Social Conversations

Look no further than social media for your SEO strategies. Monitoring conversations gives you real-time insights into what’s trending, what questions people are asking, and the exact language your audience is using. You can literally adapt your SEO keyword strategy on the fly based on emerging hashtags, popular queries, and the content formats users are loving. Integrating these social-driven keywords into your website copy isn’t just smart; it ensures you’re perfectly aligned with what people are actually searching for.

SEO’s Impact on Social Media

Optimising Social Profiles

Think of your social media profiles as mini websites. Applying core SEO practices to them can dramatically improve their discoverability, both within the platforms themselves and on search engines.

By strategically placing primary keywords in your profile descriptions, custom URLs, and even your post copy, you significantly boost your chances of showing up in relevant searches. For instance, a well-optimised Facebook ‘About’ section could easily pop up when someone searches for “[your brand name] services London” on Google. It’s about making sure you’re found, no matter where people are looking.

Driving Subscription and Follower Growth

This is where the magic happens: leverage your SEO-optimised landing pages to naturally guide organic search visitors into becoming loyal social followers. This would look like: someone lands on your blog post about “latest trends in [ABC industry] 2025” from a Google search. That page can include clear calls-to-action (CTAs) encouraging them to subscribe to your LinkedIn updates or follow you on Instagram.

You’re not just getting a one-time visit; you’re cultivating an engaged audience that will amplify your future content, creating a powerful, self-sustaining loop.

Demographics and Audience: UK Social Media Landscape

Let’s talk numbers, specifically for the UK. The social media advertising market here is set to hit a whopping £9.95 billion by 2025, with 79% of the population (that’s 54.8 million people!) actively using social platforms as of January 2025.

But it’s not just about the big picture. Understanding who is where is crucial:

• 18 – 24-year-olds: They’re spending an average of 6 hours and 1 minute online daily, with TikTok and Instagram being their absolute go-to platforms.
• 65+ year olds: While they average 3 hours and 10 minutes online, their preference leans heavily towards Facebook and YouTube.

Knowing exactly where your target audience spends time – and what kind of content truly grabs their attention – is the key to perfectly aligning your keywords and content across both your SEO and social campaigns. It’s about being where your customers are, with content they actually care about.

Best Practices for Integration

Ready to make this happen? Here are our top tips for seamlessly blending your SEO and social strategies:

1. Unified Content Calendar

Stop working in silos! Get your SEO and social teams on the same page with a shared content calendar. This means coordinating blog publications, nailing down keyword targets, and planning social campaigns all at once. When that new “guide to navigating [industry challenge] in 2025” blog post drops, it should immediately be promoted across X, TikTok, and LinkedIn, each with content tailored for that specific platform.

2. Cross-Channel Keyword Use

Don’t just keep your high-value SEO keywords locked away on your website. Weave them into your social posts’ copy and hashtags. For example, an Instagram post about “van hire tips” can use #VanHireLondon right alongside your branded hashtags, subtly reinforcing your keyword relevance to both users and algorithms.

3. Link-Building via Social Outreach

Your social channels are powerful tools for link building. Use them to directly pitch your awesome content to influencers, journalists, and bloggers. A personalised message on X or LinkedIn about your latest data-driven report can open doors and facilitate natural backlink acquisition. It’s networking, but for your SEO.

4. Analytics Alignment

This is kind of a non-negotiable rule. Always use Google Analytics UTM parameters on your social links. Why? So, you can accurately track referral traffic and see exactly how users are engaging with your content once they land on your site. Then, compare these metrics against your organic search traffic to truly understand the lift social is giving your SEO goals. Data doesn’t lie!

5. Repurposed Content

Work smarter, not harder. Take those long-form SEO articles and slice them into bite-sized, engaging social content. Consider making eye-catching infographics, quick-hit videos, or scroll-stopping carousel posts. The goal? To hook users on social, then drive them back to your full article for the deeper insights. It’s a win-win.

Sync up social media and SEO – Or let Make Me Social handle it for you!

Do you want to harness this incredible SEO-social media synergy?

Are you looking to propel your brand to the top of both search results and social feeds?

• By sharing insights, aligning content strategies, and leveraging analytics, you can have enhanced visibility, stronger authority, and accelerated growth.
• By weaving SEO-driven keywords into social content, amplifying blog posts through social distribution, and using social platforms to generate backlinks, you create a seamless ecosystem where each channel feeds the other.

Reach out to our friendly Make Me Social team on 0800 772 0022 or hello@makemesocial.co.uk for a free consultation. We can craft an integrated strategy along with our sister company, Make Me Local, to unlock benefits that go way beyond the sum of their parts.