Tweet Time: The SEO Value of Twitter

If you have a Twitter account attached to your company, you probably want to know the best way to use SEO in order to get traffic for your account. When professional SEO services are asked about Twitter, they are usually able to offer several tips for companies and even individuals who are looking for more followers and more engaging tweets. Here are ten tips from professional SEO services that you can use to make your company shine on Twitter.

1. Start Simple! – Starting small with some basics is the first step in any great venture. When it comes to Twitter, your username counts, so make sure it reflects your company in a positive way. Though you can always change it later, this can be confusing to your followers. You should also have a short bio which should tell your followers what the company is about. Don’t forget to add your website to your profile as well.
2. Optimise SEO from the Start – Each tweet can only be 160 characters, so you need to make an impact with SEO quickly. Have your most important keywords in the first 40 characters of your tweets. The rest is for secondary information.
3. Build a Reputation – Your Twitter account will be more successful if people know you have a Twitter account. Just like you put an e-mail address on business cards or business communications, add your Twitter handle as well. It should also be on your website.
4. Hashtags Count – If you do nothing else on Twitter, learn how to use hashtags in order to optimise SEO keywords. In fact, hashtags are keywords in your tweets and you should give them a lot of weight as you write. All hashtags are searchable which can lead to re-tweets.
5. Re-Tweets are Free Advertising – If you are successful with your hashtags, your company will benefit from re-tweets when your tweets are discovered by others. This is a great way to get free advertising and to even further optimise SEO through Twitter. If you are looking for re-tweets, keep your original tweet less than 120 characters.
6. Mind Your Links – Some of the platforms out there for Twitter will have automatic link shortening, but if they don’t, make sure you are using a good link shortening program in order to fit more keyword rich tweets.
7. Give Them What They Want – Twitter users are people who want to know the information they crave immediately. If you can give them the information before anyone else, you will have an engaged follower.
8. Don't Forget Your Followers – One thing that people often forget about in Twitter is how important their followers are. Your followers are with you for a reason and it is vital that you communicate with them if they are communicating with you. You wouldn't ignore potential customers in real life - don't do so virtually either!
9. Watch What’s Trending – If you can find a way to combine trending topics with keyword rich tweets, you will be able to effectively use SEO on Twitter to get more followers and more business.
10. Always Adapt – Twitter is a platform that changes in an instant. Any of the professional SEO services will tell you that to be successful on Twitter, you must be able to adapt with it, which includes keeping up with the latest in SEO optimisation.

Social media has become on of the prime SEO marketing forums. If you want to maximize your SEO efforts be sure to include Twitter and the other popular social sites in your strategies.