Learn how to use Twitter in your search engine optimisation campaigns with our details getting started guide

The Twitter Basics To Get You Started

If you’re logging on to Twitter for the first time, the usual hard-and-fast social media rules still apply so you’ll need to brush up on social media rules of engagement for SEO usage. Committing a social media faux pas will undermine a fledgling campaign before it’s even off the ground, so tread carefully and wait until you’re confident of making a good impression before starting to post.

Twitter has its own specific language and tone, so spend some time learning what it means to Tweet. You can access Twitter in myriad ways, from your Blackberry and iPhone through desktop applications, SMS, and the website itself which makes it an easy to use site for SEO campaigns large and small.  You can also follow other users in numerous ways, so it’s also easy to do your research before diving in feet first and then to start building relationships that can be leveraged for off page optimisation further down the line.

Setting up an account and making your first post are the work of minutes. Click on the ‘get started’ link on Twitter and follow the few steps needed to create an account. Don’t forget to complete the profile section as this will allow your friends, clients, and potential clients to find you easily. The profile section, like the rest of Twitter, is micro-sized so there is little space to go wrong.

When your profile is done, you can search through the profiles of others to find ‘friends’ to follow. These may be users in the same industry, with similar interests, brands you know, or simply people in the same city as yourself. Any users you wish to follow (receive updates from) are added to the list of people you are following. Anyone following you gets added to your own list of followers.

The Syntax of Posting Tweets

Twitter can seem complicated as it has its own micro-language of commands. These commands will become second nature particualry if you’re used to using several social media marketing sites as part of your SEO work but they can be somewhat confusing initially so perservere. The messages you post on Twitter are restricted to just 140 characters. When posting a message, you can choose to post a general update available to anyone clicking on to view your Twitter updates (provided you don’t protect your updates), send a public message to another user, or send a private direct message to a friend (someone you follow and who follows you).

To post a general update, simply write your message and click update. To send a public message to another user, put @ plus their username before you start your message. To send a direct message from the Twitter site, click on the direct messages icon and then choose the user from the drop-down. So far, so simple!

When posting, you may wish to mark your update as related to a particular subject or topic. These are known as trending topics and will become important when you begin to use Twitter at a more advanced level.

Getting Strategic WIth Twitter and Search Engine Optimisation

As Twitter is a social network, using it to promote your business or service is fraught with pitfalls. The easiest mistake to make is to forget your reasons for posting and become caught up in the interactive, social element of Twitter. The allure of quick-fire updates and multiple conversations with newfound friends can easily obscure the branding and optimization goals that led you to open a Twitter account in the first place.

Before you begin to use your new Twitter account, refine the keywords being used in any SEO project and keep them in mind when posting updates. You can use these words and phrase in conjunction with the hashtags function to increase your visibility on the platform for your desired key terms. A number of search engines have also started the process of including Twitter updates in their results pages, making keyword use just as important on Twitter as in any other form of blog or search engine optimisation.