The Role of Influencers In Shaping Social SEO & Searchability

Written By: Angie Bolotin, Vice President of Influencer Marketing & Client Services

Social SEO refers to optimizing social media profiles and posts in order to expand reach and better attract customers through search. It involves leveraging social signals, such as engagement, shares, and interactions, to boost organic rankings and visibility.

While algorithms and audiences determine your reach, influencers have the power to hack the system and boost your searchability at a much faster pace.

Comparing Digital & Social SEO

Digital SEO

Digital SEO focuses on websites, blogs, and other digital content to improve visibility on search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Performance depends on factors like backlinks, keyword optimization, on-page seo (e.g., meta tags, content quality), and technical aspects (site speed, mobile-friendliness).

Social SEO

With Social SEO, content is optimized for social media platforms like Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, enhancing discoverability and engagement within those platforms.

Social SEO meets the audience where they are, providing more effective resources than standard online searches and reviews. It relies on engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments), follower growth, and social signals (mentions, hashtags), and has evolved from exclusively focusing on brand hashtags and captions on owned channels to holistic content keyword integration strategies and influencer support. 

Developing an Influencer Strategy for Social SEO

Influencers have a long-term effect on social SEO by playing a crucial role in shaping consumer discovery and supporting overarching brand visibility. Influencer content can contribute to an increase in backlinks, a key factor in SEO performance, and help establish video recognition in search engine results pages (SERPs), which can significantly enhance a brand’s online presence. By consistently endorsing a brand, influencers improve brand authority and trust among their audiences. This not only boosts credibility but also leads to increased, long-lasting visibility for partnership content, creating sustained benefits for SEO over time.

These are the core components of a solid influencer-led Social SEO approach:

• Keywords: Narrow list of keywords used in multiple places throughout influencer content
• Volume & Time: High volumes of quality influencer content posted over a long period of time 
• Linking: Influencer shares links in bio, stories and in DMs
• Performance: Influencer content prioritized for quality engagements, like shares

Developing a Keyword Strategy

• Understand audience search intent
• Analyze competitor content
• Use trending hashtags & keywords
• Optimize for platform specific algorithms 

Implementing Keywords

• Captions
• Subtitles
• Voiceovers
• Text overlays

Ongoing Optimization

Following these steps for ongoing optimization will improve chances of ranking higher in social search results & reach a broader audience:

• Review analytics from partnerships & social listening
• Stay agile and adapt content based on these metrics
• Adjust tactics & create better briefs to optimize influencer content

Linking Strategies

• Ensure Posts Have a Strong CTA
• Encourage Contextual Linking
• Use a Comment Strategy
• Encourage Varied, Relevant, Anchor Text
• Feature Links in Influencer Bios

Metrics That Matter

• Long-Term Discoverability: How long does the content stay discoverable?
• Engagement & Interaction: What’s the volume of likes, comments, shares  & saves?
• Click-Through Rate: Is content driving external traffic?
• Search Rankings: Where does the content appear in platform search?

Key Takeaways

1. Invest In Quality Influencers to Support Social SEO: Partner with influencers to create authentic, engaging content that drives long-term visibility and improved rankings in social search results.
2. Conduct Regular Digital Listening to Optimize Keywords: Use social listening and trending data to create a targeted keyword list, then regularly assess partner’s performance and identify new keywords through ongoing digital listening.
3. Implement a Social SEO Approach that Goes Beyond Captions: Integrate keywords throughout each influencer’s video via text overlays, voiceovers, and subtitles  to boost searchability.
4. Prioritize Social Signals Over Vanity Metrics: Develop content that drives shares and comments. When reporting, assess which content drives more engagement and encourages brand mentions for increased searchability.

Influencer marketing is more than just a trend. It’s a powerful strategy for enhancing social SEO and boosting brand discoverability. By partnering with the right creators, brands can drive meaningful engagement, build authority, and secure long-term visibility across search and social platforms. Ready to elevate your SEO strategy? Explore our expert influencer marketing services to see how we can help your brand grow.