Do Hashtags Affect My SEO?

Do hashtags affect my SEO?

So, this is a tricky subject because “no” they do not directly affect your SEO campaigns. However, by using them properly on social media, you are now able to drive long-term traffic while creating a steady referral system back to your website. They are very effective for getting your message across to a specific audience. Using hashtags correctly while posting on social media will give Google more opportunities to place your content in the Google search results. As a result, you will drive more traffic to your site based on the hashtags, or categories, which you would like your content to be displayed across. Therefore creating a target audience you would like Google to attract with their search results.

If you are new to social media, or just don’t get too involved with it, then you may be finding things to be very confusing.  Also, when I was a child, a “hashtag” was known as a pound sign (#). Now, they create short links to whatever content you place after the hashtag. However, they are an important piece to how we communicate online nowadays. Therefore, making it important to know how to use them.

On Twitter a pound sign, or hashtag as people call it today, turns any grouping of words (not separated by spaces) into a searchable link. Allowing people to create links which are organized based off the keyword. Also, allowing people to organize content and track discussions based off those keywords. So, if you wanted to post about getting your SEO work done by a team of experts, you would post something like “Got top tier #SEO work done by a team of experts at @LocalSEOCompany!!” or “Nobody does better quality #SEO work than @LocalSEOCompany!!”. You know, something casual like that. This way, allowing anyone who searches #SEO to see your post.

History Of The Hashtag

The use of the #hashtag first appeared when it was introduced on Twitter. However, it was quickly implemented throughout all social media platforms. Also, this idea was first declined by Twitter, but turned into a common use in 2007 thanks to #SanDiegoFire. After that, hashtagging became the latest and greatest thing. From important hashtags such as #LocalSEOCOmpanyIsAwesome to not so important ones like #JustBoughtACoke. Now, users and brands use hashtags to cover serious political and entertainment events. Hashtagging took off almost immediately once backed by Twitter.

#Hashtags are no longer just a method for discovering the latest trending topic, they now allow you to drive consistent traffic to your site through proper usage. Google has even begun to incorporate hashtags into results in a very unique way. You can now even search for hashtags on Google. It will provide you with a search result list of Google+ posts containing hashtags and links to other hashtag feeds such as Twitter and Twitter,

Can Your Business Use This To An Advantage?

So, can your business use this to its advantage? By incorporating proper hashtags into your social media you will receive more opportunities to show up in Google’s search results. Well placed hashtags in your blog titles, Facebook posts, Google+ posts, and/or Twitter posts will create that additional way to be found. It will provide your brand with more opportunities for exposure. For example, if you Google “Pepsi” it will show you results which link you to their website. However, if you search #Pepsi, you will receive results of Google+ posts which contain the hashtag, as well as multiple links to their social media pages.

As a result, finding information by searching for specific hashtags has become a new, and popular form of communication. Now more then ever people are using hashtags to search out new information. This is a relatively new way to search for information, however, it is a method which your brand will be able to take advantage of. It is very easy to know how to market to your audience when you can learn everything about them through a hashtag search.