Social Media and SEO: Publishers Turn to Search Engines Again

You've probably heard about a recent algorithm change on one of the largest social platforms that will promote content from "friends and family" above commercial posts produced by social media professionals. The move will make it much more difficult for brands to compete for users' attention in news feeds.

If you're interested in more details, check out our piece where we discuss what these changes could mean for businesses.

Until now, many companies have not relied on social networks such as Facebook as a reliable source of quality traffic, preferring to pay for advertising campaigns or look for alternative ways to attract audiences. But for web publishers, Facebook has long been an important channel, bringing in a significant amount of traffic through which they can direct visitors to their sites.

Now, with the latest update, Facebook is effectively shutting down this channel, and publishers are starting to look for other ways to restore traffic flow. Is it possible that they will return to SEO to make up for lost traffic? Let's look at how changes to the platform could impact the importance of search engines to publishers.

Reshuffle: Search engines come first again

If you look at current trends, referral traffic from social platforms, in particular Facebook, is no longer so great. Research shows that the share of traffic provided by the social network to publishers has dropped significantly, while search engines, particularly Google, have increased their share. Now Google is again becoming the main source of traffic, significantly ahead of Facebook.

Interestingly, Google services such as Accelerated Mobile Pages are also starting to generate more traffic than their Facebook counterparts. All of this is happening before Facebook's new algorithm update was announced.

When Facebook once overtook Google in referral traffic, it was perceived as the beginning of a new era where social networks began to replace traditional search engines. However, the situation is changing, and Google is once again returning to the first place among traffic sources.

The cyclical relationship between Google and Facebook

The competition between Google and Facebook has been going on for years, and each update to their algorithms can be seen as another step in the never-ending battle for traffic and content dominance.

Google, which has been experimenting with social networks for years, and Facebook, which has been trying to introduce search elements, continue their struggle, each time trying to achieve a dominant position in the world of mobile Internet and online content.

Recent changes at Facebook once again show that social media can return to its roots, where connecting with friends and family over commercial content becomes the top priority. At the same time, updates from Google indicate its return to traditional content and search engine.

Returning the value of information reliability

After multiple accusations of spreading fake news, both Google and Facebook have come under scrutiny. Over time, both platforms have taken steps to improve the quality of content and prevent the spread of fake news.

Google will now likely distance itself from publishers and continue to develop methods to combat misinformation. At the same time, the search engine is strengthening its support for paid content, which is an important step in restoring trust.

If Google continues to improve the quality of search results and avoid the appearance of unreliable news, we can expect search engines to regain their leadership position without compromising their relationships with publishers.

Thus, there is a need for publishers to rethink their strategies in the changing media and SEO landscape. SEO and search engine marketing may once again play a critical role in driving successful growth.

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