: Google says they don't use social media for ranking it and yet I get advice that it is important I've seen on multiple posts with many of the (very) experienced users on this site, saying

@Gonzalez347

Social is to SEO like pool table cushions are to billiards. The cushions don't make shots for you, they make shots possible by reflecting the shot.

SEO still revolves, in some fashion, around links. But links in social are often not spiderable (privacy settings), nor are they follow-able (i.e. <a href="..." rel="nofollow">). So they don't count directly towards your links. But social is a way to raise your profile and traffic. A good social campaign will keep users engaged with your brand. That, in turn, tends to mean that people will do things like talk about you online in non-social channels. And talking about you means links.

Google is also likely able to see your traffic

In billiards this is called a bank-shot.

SEO involves a lot of bank shots. That's why SEO is really a sub-set of marketing in general.

Search Engine Journal talked some about this last year.

Vote Up Vote Down