tl;dr They don’t. While is possible to grow a brand via social media and via that avenue increase branded search, the positive impact is limited – unless there is an enormous amount of branded search, delivering a lot of authority to the site. While its possible, speaking in SEO terms and how SEOs build links and do internet marketing – there’s simply no benefit from Social Media Links or linking. Yes – pages “could” be found via social media but with low authority domains and low engagement social media – its just highly unlikely

As much as 65% of social posts aren’t even going to get crawled. Then, these pages dont have a lot of internal links and no external links. Thats before you take into account the nofollow tag.

Google’s Stance on Social Media Links

Google has repeatedly clarified that social media links are not a direct ranking factor in its algorithm. In 2016, John Mueller, Google’s Search Advocate, confirmed that social signals (likes, shares) and social media backlinks do not influence rankings. This aligns with Google’s broader policy of deprioritizing manipulative link-building tactics, as social platforms are vulnerable to spam and low-quality content.

For example, a 2020 study analyzing 1 million pages found no correlation between social shares and higher search rankings. Similarly, internal Google documentation leaked in 2023 revealed that social media links are categorized as low-tier signals due to their susceptibility to automation and lack of editorial rigor.

Google: Again, Social Signals Do Not Influence Your Ranking

https://www.seroundtable.com/google-social-signals-ranking-20803.html

The Role of Nofollow Attributes

Most social media platforms automatically apply the rel="nofollow" attribute to user-generated links, instructing search engines to ignore them for ranking purposes. Even if a platform like Reddit occasionally allows dofollow links in high-engagement posts, these are exceptions rather than the rule. Google’s crawlers prioritize links from editorially vetted sources (e.g., news sites, blogs) over social media due to:

1. Lack of Context: Social posts rarely provide in-depth context about the linked content, making it harder for algorithms to assess relevance.

2. Temporary Visibility: Social content has a short lifespan, reducing its long-term SEO value.

3. Spam Risk: Platforms like X and Reddit are frequent targets for bot-driven link spam, leading Google to discount their authority.

Case Study: Reddit Links and SEO

Reddit, often cited as a potential source of “organic” backlinks, illustrates why social media links hold minimal SEO weight. While Reddit has a Domain Authority (DA) of 93, most user-generated links are nofollow7. Even if a post goes viral, Google’s crawlers assign little value to these links because:

• High Bounce Rates: Reddit users often click links but spend minimal time engaging with off-site content

• Community Bias: Subreddits like r/SEO emphasize that Reddit links drive referral traffic, not rankings

• Algorithmic Filtering: Google’s indexing tiers prioritize links from “high-quality” sources (e.g., .edu sites) over social platforms

Mythical SEO Benefits of Social Media

While social media backlinks lack direct SEO value, they contribute to broader ranking strategies:

Accelerated Indexing

Sharing content on social media helps Google discover and index pages faster: Only if that account is highly trusted and frequently crawled by Google – for example, a news page with a log of inbound links.