“If it is not searchable, it is not relevant.” That seems to be the mantra of every other marketer out there. But, the game changed.
It is one thing to be on the web, and it is quite another to be searchable.
However, what the game-changer is whether your content – whatever it is – is not only searchable but also “findable.” SEO or “search engine optimization” is a fancy term signifying how high your content ranks depending on the keyword (or words).
SEO isn’t just relegated to the sphere of websites or blogs. Social media sites – very much including Twitter – rely on SEO-rich data in order to drive clicks, ranks and relevancy.
SEO is dependent on rich keywords. Whatever you’re doing on Twitter needs to at least, help people find you.
1. Great Name
In business, we all know, a great name is half the battle – whether it’s a company or product name.
Twitter is the same game. Instead of talking about your username, this juicy SEO tidbit is all about your name-name. This moniker pops up in a search related to your Twitter site that works alongside your username.
So, for example, a Twitter username for a business may be @jsmithxyzcompany but the name associated with that account may be your marketing manager, John Smith. The name is, in some cases, more important than the user page.
The proper name pops up higher in search engines than the Twitter handle. Even if you have a generic Twitter page for your site, ensure that there’s a name tied to it – whoever it is.
To update the name of your Twitter account, go to the setting page on Twitter and select name rather than username.
2. Great Biography
Those Twitter folks love to shorten everything, and in keeping with their concise content requirements, they have limited the number of characters in the biography. What this means is that your biography needs to be snappy, relevant to your company, mission and products as well be keyword dense.
Instead of writing a bio that includes silliness like, “Coca-Cola loves to take long walks on the beach,” write something memorable.
Twitter biographies are searchable whether it’s through the site proper or through search engines, and your presence needs to be striking.
Include a handful of keywords that are company, product, service or mission specific.
3. Great Beginnings
“Call me Ishmael.”
Herman Melville knew it. So, do the millions of successful Tweeters. The beginning of any variant of content needs to be amazing.
For Twitter, especially, you only have a handful of characters to get across the point of your Tweet. If you’re beginning is lacking, and then no one will read it.
Beyond great writing common sense, Twitter is SEO-dense. If the first handful of words you Tweet aren’t keyword sensitive, then your Tweet will never lodge into the collective Twittersphere minds or register on anyone’s search.
4. Great Content
Consider this your creative reminder. Great content is, well, great. And, highly searchable.
5. Great ReTweets
ReTweeting comments, links or even multimedia postings is a fantastic way to increase your searchability, especially if the original Tweet is keyword dense (and relevant). Not only do you ride the coattails of the writer, you get to reap the benefits of any search for that Tweet, content or keywords.
But, be smart about it. Just because Britney Spears Tweeted something ridiculous (unless it is about the debt ceiling, naturally), then don’t automatically repost it on your site just because it has the top trending topics in entertainment.
This tactic will only boost your SEO credibility if you’re ReTweeting an interesting comment from a customer or an industry white paper.
This is a guest post from SimplyCast.com. SimplyCast is an all-in-one marketing solution to help anyone simplify and centralize the management of multi-channel marketing campaigns. SimplyCast’s Twitter marketing service is free to use and will help automate, manage and track all of your Twitter campaigns.
