Steven Wyer Shares Twitter Tips & Tricks for Troubled Tweeters
If you are struggling to manage your personal online reputation, Steven Wyer of Nashville’s Third Coast Interactive digital marketing agency has a few suggestions to utilize Twitter to boost your ranking.
Q: Why is Twitter such a valuable resource in the world of online reputation management?
Steven Wyer: As of Q1 2017, Twitter had 328 million active users each month. This makes it a very visible site in the eyes of Google and other search engines.
Q: Can you offer an example of a company effectively using Twitter in its SEO campaign?
Steven Wyer: There are many but one that comes to mind is Coca-Cola. A quick Google search of the company name lists the official website first followed by its @CocaCola Twitter profile.
Q: Is your Twitter handle important?
Steven Wyer: It is, very much so. Having a Twitter handle as close to your actual name or company name makes it more relevant to search queries.
Q: What if my ideal name configuration isn’t available?
Steven Wyer: As Twitter continues to grow, that’s becoming a common problem, even for those with uncommon names. Try to stick with as close of a variation as possible without drastically changing the spelling. For instance if your name is Dylan Smith and @DylanSmith is not available, don’t substitute with @DillonSmyth. Despite the phonetic similarities, the misspelling likely won’t register to Google as a variation of your moniker.
Q: My name is more than 15 characters. What can I do to make my Twitter handle more search engine friendly?
Steven Wyer: You can abbreviate your name by leaving out certain vowels.
Q: What are your thoughts on cutesy Twitter handles?
Steven Wyer: From an SEO standpoint, it is always best to use a name that is as close to your actual name as possible. While you may come up with a clever name to describe your business or personal interests, this will not help boost your ranking.
Q: Should individuals and businesses include emojis in their username to add visual interest?
Steven Wyer: No, because the addition of special characters can make your name less relevant.
Q: Should I use an underscore mark to show a space in my name?
Steven Wyer: Again, no. Underscores are not looked at by Google in the same way as a (.) or blank space and may damage your search results.
Q: Aside from my username, what are some Twitter features I can utilize to increase my odds of appearing on page one?
Steven Wyer: Add an accurate description of yourself, including your full name.
Q: Can I bombard my Twitter feed to improve my rankings?
Steven Wyer: Twitter has a number of spam filters that may prohibit you from posting multiple times per day. However, even if you manage to constantly tweet, Google may ultimately lower the trustworthiness and value of your tweet pages if you overdo it. That’s not to say you should not tweet frequently, but perhaps not hourly.