Now that we are cruising into 2013, one of the newest dynamics in SEO is the arrival of Social SEO.  Social Media is now integrated into our daily lives more than ever and because of this Google has increased the power of “Social” into its algorithm.  Now while none of us will aspire to knowing the ins and outs of Google, what we can do is look at Ranking Factors which are working to increase the rank of WordPress Blogs.  Right now, what we are seeing is a huge boost being given to Social Media Signals, Links, and Shares in relation to Search Engine Rankings.

What we have found is Google is looking at both Passive and Active Social Media Signals.  Passive being Social Media Signals sent to Google behind the scenes via Meta Tagging, API’s, and Feeds.  Active being Social Media Signals sent via active in content links, Likes, Shares, Pins, +1’s, Retweets, etc.

There are several ways you can use this knowledge to your advantage.

First, you can add Social SEO implementations to your blog.  Social SEO is a relatively new phenomenon which allows us to use behind the scenes coding, Meta Tagging, and API implementations to passively send Social Media Signals to Google and other Search Engines.

Right now, the most commonly used Social SEO tools are Facebook Open Graph Meta Tagging (which includes connecting a Facebook APP and Facebook Insights to your WordPress Blog), Google Authorship and Publisher statuses, using Google Structured Data, and the use of Twitter Cards.

You can add these Social SEO tools to your blog and implement them easily using WordPress Plugins like our very own WP Social SEO Booster.  We also recommend coupling this with high quality SEO Plugins which integrate together with the SEO Booster like the WordPress SEO Plugin from Yoast.

Second, you can use Active methods to increase Social Sharing on your blog.  Adding Social Media buttons and links for sharing is a must for every site, but there are other ways to increase the volume of Social Sharing on your blog as well.  The use of Content Locking Plugins which encourage Social Sharing can be very effective in creating a huge amount of Viral Traffic to your blog.

Various techniques and implementations can be used to effectively encourage visitors on your site to share content, links, pictures, and videos.  You can offer exclusive content, memberships, Videos, Downloads, and more using plugins like our WP Social Traffic Blaster and FB Member Lock.  You can also use Advanced tools focused on multiple methods of sharing and linking with Social Media plugins like the FB Review Engine which shares anything you want Reviewed on your blog on multiple Social Media sites like Google Plus, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

By using plugins and advanced tools like we have shown here in both a Passive and Active manner you can not only increase your Social Media Signals on your blog, you can also massively increase the SEO Ranking and Website Traffic to it as well.  Implementing one of these methods will give you a boost, but using them all will take you a lot farther than you ever thought possible.