By Corey Hinde 
This guest post was written by Corey Hinde, an experienced SEO consultant and founder of Good Oil Marketing.
It wasn’t that long ago when doing a Google search meant you’d be served a simple list of blue links—mostly blog articles and websites.
Fast forward to today, and Google’s search results (SERPs) look nothing like that.
Now, it’s a visual playground: You’ll see videos, social media posts, AI-generated summaries, image carousels, FAQs, local business profiles, and more—all competing for that valuable attention.
So where does social media fit into all this?
Can your social media activity actually help your SEO?
The short answer: Yes. But probably not in the way you think.
How Social Media Influences SEO (Indirectly)
Let’s clear up a common myth: Social media signals (likes, shares, comments) are not a direct Google ranking factor.
Google has said this multiple times. Well, that’s the official line anyway, but as an experienced SEO, I’d add a “wink wink” to that – I’m not sure it’s NOT, but lets focus on what we know is almost undisputable.
But – (and it’s a big but) – social media absolutely can influence your SEO indirectly by:
- Driving more visibility to your content.
A blog post shared widely on LinkedIn or Facebook can get in front of more eyeballs, increasing traffic and the chances of other websites linking to it. Those backlinks do directly help your SEO. - Building brand presence across platforms.
Google’s results now pull in brand mentions and profiles from platforms like YouTube, Reddit, X (Twitter), and even TikTok. If you’re active on these platforms, you’re increasing your digital footprint, making it easier for Google to associate your brand with certain topics. - Enhancing user engagement signals.
The more people engage with your brand across different platforms, the more credibility you build. This builds trust with users (and indirectly, with Google), especially if your content gets shared or discussed in authoritative spaces.
SERPs Have Evolved – It’s Not Just About Blog URLs Anymore
Search for any topic today, and you’re just as likely to see:
- YouTube videos
- Reddit threads
- Twitter/X posts
- AI-powered summaries (Search Generative Experience)
- Product listings and images
- Google Business Profile snippets
This is key: Google now rewards businesses that “show up” across multiple content formats.
A well-written blog is still valuable, but a helpful YouTube video, a trending LinkedIn post, or even a popular Reddit answer can claim SERP real estate that used to belong to blogs.
As an example, look at popular Kiwi Business Advisor Helen Laidlaw.
Her old “SEO” strategy was blog posts. Her new strategy includes a lot more social media posts that are varied in length, as she’s noted that they themselves can show up on Google searches, as well as the other benefit of people simply finding her on those platforms, and connecting, without even going to her website.
If you’re ignoring social media, you’re potentially leaving valuable SERP space for competitors to take.
Social Signals & AI Search – The New Layer
AI-driven search is another reason to take social media seriously.
As AI search tools (like Google’s AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, and ChatGPT search) summarize answers for users, they pull information from multiple sources—not just blogs.
Social signals like trending discussions, viral videos, and user-generated content are increasingly part of the content pool these AI systems draw from.
If your business is active, visible, and engaged on social platforms, you’re feeding the AI ecosystem fresh, relevant signals that can improve your chances of being featured in AI summaries and responses.
The Takeaway
Social media isn’t a direct SEO ranking factor, but it does impact how much visibility and traction your content gets across the web.
And in today’s search landscape—where SERPs are a blend of blogs, videos, social posts, and AI snippets—that visibility can be the difference between being found or forgotten.
The game isn’t just “rank on Google” anymore. It’s “show up everywhere Google looks.”
In our agency, as “online search” consultants, our approach has certainly come full circle in the last 12 months to include far more social content as part of an overall strategy, and we are also finding that helps other types of search too, for example AI search like chatGPT.
Jodine McIntyre