By Dave Burnett, SEO Specialist — Last updated:
TL;DR
Social signals—metrics like likes, shares, and comments—do not directly influence Google’s search rankings but are factored into Microsoft’s Bing algorithm Bing Webmaster Guidelines. Instead, social media boosts SEO indirectly by increasing content discovery, earning backlinks, improving brand searches, and enhancing site engagement.
Correlation vs. causation: Do social signals cause better rankings?
Key Takeaways:
- High correlation exists between social popularity and top search positions, but sharing does not directly cause rankings.
- Backlinks and content quality drive rankings; social shares often accompany—but do not create—ranking success.
SEO studies repeatedly show that pages with high social engagement often rank near the top of Google results. However, correlation does not equal causation. Backlinks, relevance, and authoritative content are the direct ranking drivers, not the act of sharing itself Ahrefs Blog.
For example, an Ahrefs case study found that an article with thousands of Twitter shares failed to achieve a high Google ranking. Despite strong social buzz, lacking quality backlinks and satisfied user intent meant it did not rank well Ahrefs Blog.
How can social media indirectly benefit SEO?
Key Takeaways:
- Social media amplifies content distribution, increasing backlinks and faster indexing.
- Strong brand presence boosts branded search queries and E-E-A-T factors.
- Social traffic improves on-site engagement, user signals, and visibility on feeds like Google Discover.
Content discovery: Sharing new articles on social platforms exposes your content to a wider audience. When bloggers, journalists, or webmasters see your posts, they may link to your site, generating powerful backlinks that directly boost Google rankings Shopify Blog.
Brand awareness: Frequent mentions and interactions build your brand’s authority. As users search for your brand name more often, branded queries signal trust and popularity to search engines, enhancing your Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T) profile Google Quality Rater Guidelines.
On-site engagement: Visitors from social media may spend more time on your pages, reducing bounce rates and increasing conversions. These user behavior signals can indirectly support better SEO performance SEMrush Blog.
Visibility in feeds: Content trending on social networks can appear in Google Discover and Google News, driving organic traffic spikes even if social metrics are not direct ranking factors Google Discover Documentation.
Pros vs. Cons of leveraging social media for SEO
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Increases content distribution and backlinks | Time-consuming to maintain active profiles |
| Boosts brand awareness and branded searches | Social metrics are not guaranteed to convert directly into rankings |
| Enhances user engagement and potential referrals | Requires consistent, high-quality content creation |
Recent updates and 2025 outlook on social signals and SEO
Key Takeaways:
- Google’s core algorithm updates through early 2025 did not introduce social signals as ranking factors.
- Bing maintains social engagement as a ranking input, with steady usage since the early 2010s.
- Indirect effects of social buzz on authority and trust may grow over time.
Google’s 2022, 2023, and early 2025 core updates continue focusing on content quality, user experience, and backlinks—social metrics remain excluded from direct ranking formulas Google Search Blog.
Bing’s algorithm still factors social engagement, and Yahoo Search (powered by Bing) follows suit. There is no indication that real-time social trends have been integrated into Bing’s AI chat features as of 2025 Bing Blogs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do likes and shares improve my Google rankings?
No. Google does not use social media engagement metrics like likes or shares as part of its ranking algorithm.
Can social media help my content get indexed faster?
Yes. Widespread sharing increases the chance that search engine crawlers will discover and index new content more quickly.
Does social media increase my site’s E-E-A-T?
Indirectly. A strong social presence can signal trust and authority to both users and Google’s Quality Raters, supporting your site’s Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.
Glossary
- Engagement metrics from social media platforms, such as likes, shares, and comments.
- Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T)
- Criteria used by Google to assess content quality and website credibility.
- nofollow
- An HTML attribute that instructs search engines not to pass PageRank through a link.
- Google Discover
- A personalized content feed on Android and iOS that surfaces trending and relevant articles.
About The Author
