How to Use Google Search To Boost Your Twitter Presence

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Google expanded Twitter into desktop search results. This feature was available for mobile devices since May 2015. And now Tweets also appear on Google desktop search results. This update was announced in the official blog of Google and on Social Media accounts of these companies on August 21, 2015.

Now when you’re searching on the computer desktop, Google app or any browser on your phone or tablet, you will see real-time content from Twitter right in the search results. Tweets from companies with active Twitter accounts are showing up in a carousel unit. Here is an example of a search for Social Media Week on Google:

Twitter isn’t required for users to see the tweets; those who click through while not being signed onto Twitter will be taken to the network’s logged out experience. There’s no advertising component to showing Tweets in the organic results.

This update gives businesses, brands and marketers another way in. Every Social Media Marketer wants more exposure for the Twitter account. With certain SEO tactics, you can increase the visibility of a Twitter account in both Twitter and Google search.

Here are 5 techniques to boost your Twitter posts for Google search.

1. Make sure user name and handle match your brand name

Consistent branding across all of your channels (company name, website, Social Media accounts) is your best way to be easily found by your target audience. Your handle is also included in your unique Twitter URL (for example, https://twitter.com/smwrotterdam).

2. Optimize your bio, photo and link for SEO

Your profile bio is the place where you describe what your organization is doing, why people should follow you and what kind of the valuable content you share in your tweets. Twitter indexes your bio regularly, so any changes affect your relevancy score in search. You can use maximum 160 characters in your bio section, so try to use them wisely. A successful profile photo (avatar) is:

• Good quality and high resolution. The size should be 200 x 200 pixels for optimal loading speed.
• If you are a big brand you use a logo
• A header photo is an image that represents your brand

Your link is the biggest call to action for your Twitter account. To make it more trackable and user-friendly you can shorten your URL with one of these free shortening services: Google URL Shortener and Bitly Link Shortener.

3. Share a link to your Twitter account on all channels

The more places that link to your Twitter account, the more credible a source it will appear to search engines like Google. And it also gives your account more authority and gets you more traffic and followers. Add your Twitter account link to your blog and all of your Social Media Pages: Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and email newsletters. Submit your Twitter profile to popular Twitter directories, such as About.me and Twitaholic.

4. Insert Google’s markup code to your website

Google gives you an opportunity to embed code in your website to specify your social accounts to include in search results. Add all you active Social Media pages: Twitter, Google+, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Myspace, and Tumblr.  To do so, take a code from the Google Developers site and drop it onto your website. Take a look how Google’s social profiles are shown in these search results.

5. Use keywords in your Tweets

Create a keyword list with the words that are relevant to your business, keywords that you are using in the metadata of your website. You can also include the names of events that your company is participating in. Use those keywords in your tweets or as hashtags.

Make sure you’re constantly updating the keyword list and testing your content. Twitter analytics is a very good tool to know which keywords and hashtags are working best for your audience. Always monitor your engagement, link clicks and reach, and adjust your future tweets accordingly.

New Twitter Update
Recently, Twitter has increased its 140-character limit in direct messages up to 10,000 characters. If is a very useful update for business accounts.  Marketing, Sales, Customer Service can write detailed messages to their customers in one piece instead of sending multiple DMs.

Do you use Twitter Marketing for your business? Are you coming to Social Media Week on September 14 – 18, 2015 to learn more about Online Marketing? What other tactics do you apply to boost your Twitter posts for Google search? Please share your tips with Social Media Week’s Community in the comments below.

Resource: https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2015/09/boost-twitter-posts-google-search/