Hashtags, Keywords or Both?
What is the most effective SEO practice?
With the popularity and ever increasing influence of social media, content marketers are eager to embrace the right hashtags for their social media posts. If you only start with one tool to increase visibility, it would be the hashtag. However keywords have their own place as well for SEO (search engine optimization).
Hashtags allow you to be aggregated with others on the same topic so searches can find you and you can capitalize on what’ trending. Keywords on the other hand help describe you and your services in greater detail. (though you can hashtag your keywords for even more success!)
Top 5 reasons to Use Hashtags
1. Hashtags Are Now Everywhere (and hopefully on your sites too!)
While hashtags started on Twitter which at one time was the only place where it was seen, most other social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram) have adopted them to organize categories, and find relevant content. One message with a hashtag can now easily expand your reach on multiple platforms.
2. The Whole Hashtag Bag
Performing a hashtag search will provide all content with those tags so that you can find specific content on social media platforms. When you tag your content, it shows up when others search to maximize the reach of your message. This broadens your audience and puts you in front of people who may not already know you.
3. The Hashtag Connection
Hashtags are a great way to find patients and like-minded people. A hashtag search for your business keywords or interests can lead you people with whom you’d like to interact and follow or whose questions you may be have a solution for. It also enables you to see what your colleagues and competition is doing so that you can adopt the practices and techniques that are a good fit for you.
Money Tip: You can hashtag your own profile information on Twitter. This is a great way to be found!
4. Hashtag Analytics
You can easily analyze and quantify the results of a social media campaign with hashtags. Incorporate a unique hashtag and ask anyone who participates to use the hashtag or providing a hashtag for people to use at offline events. This enables you to quantify how many people participated while expanding your reach. Social media sites are time stamped so you can determine the effects of a campaign over a specific time frame.
5. Hashtags Put You on Stage
Following trending topics is a quick and easy way to get involved in breaking news. This affords you the opportunity to join active conversations and get in front of a wider audience. Two things to remember here though. First, make sure that you are not spamming the trending topic with irrelevant messages. The second is to make sure that you are not only relevant to the trending topic but to your own services as well. You must be in sync with the services that you provide and be true to your brand.
Have you been using hashtags? Now is certainly the time to start if you haven’t and watch the results. Share your experiences in the comment box below.
