110+ Best Social Networking Sites​ List for Backlinks (Download)

Examples of social network sites are Facebook (3 billion users to connect with family/friends), LinkedIn (900 million users to connect with professionals), Instagram (2 billion users to share photos/video content), Twitter/X (550 million users to share real-time updates), Tik Tok (1 billion users to share short videos), Pinterest (450 million users to discover visually), YouTube (2.5 billion users to watch video content), Reddit (1.7 billion users to discuss topics with others), Snapchat (750 million users to share content), and WhatsApp They have varied purposes and audiences.

Facebook (3B users), YouTube (2.5B), Instagram (2B), WhatsApp (2B), Tik Tok (1B), WeChat (1.3B), LinkedIn (900M), Reddit (1.7B), Snapchat (750M), Twitter/X (550M) are the most popular social network sites around the world. The popularity depends on the region - WeChat and WhatsApp are the most popular in China and India/Europe, and Facebook is the most popular in the USA and the developing markets. Select platforms according to the places YOUR target audience spends their time and not the overall number of users.

The free social networking platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, LinkedIn (basic), Pinterest, Tik Tok, Reddit, YouTube, Snapchat, Discord, Tumblr, Medium, Quora, and 100 and more where there is no fee to create an account and all the basic features are included.

The majority of the platforms apply the freemium-based models - free basic features, paid premium features.

You will be allowed to create a large presence even with completely free features. Paid upgrade is usually provided with advertising, analytics or more exposure, but it is not obligatory to most users/businesses as they are just getting into the business.

One of the biggest drawbacks of social networking sites is the privacy and data safety of information- social networks gather enormous amounts of personal information, sell it to advertisers, and there is a high level of data leaks that expose users to potential attacks.

Other notable drawbacks are mental health effects (anxiety, depression due to comparison), time wastage causing loss of productivity, exposure to misinformation and fake news, cyberbullying and harassment, addiction to validation (likes/comments), loss of social skills in real life, insomnia due to late night scrolling, potential professional reputation due to bad postings, and FOMO (fear of missing out) as a source of unceasing stress.

Advantages of social networking sites in SEO are the high-authority backlinks due to profile linking (LinkedIn DA 98, Facebook DA 96), faster content indexing since most search engines crawl social sites more regularly, increased traffic signaling when social content results in visits to the websites, enhanced brand search volume through social presence, content amplification resulting in natural editorial backlinks, social signals (shares, engagement) that indicate content quality, local SEO through location-based services, competitive advantage as most businesses underuse social platforms in their efforts to improve search results, and long-term asset building through These indirect benefits are not the ranking factors but they have a great influence on the overall SEO performance.

Social bookmarking platforms are devoted to saving and sharing LINKS to outer material (such as Pinterest, Reddit, Mix) - users save and organize materials so that they can find them.

Social networking sites are concerned with establishing RELATIONSHIPS among individuals (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) - users communicate, connect and create unique content. Bookmarking = curation of content with nomadic form; Networking = people relationships with elaborate form.

To accomplish SEO: bookmarking generates direct backlinks and traffic to a particular piece of content; networking helps to create brand awareness, authority, and audience. Smart strategy involves the use of - network on Facebook/LinkedIn to create an audience, bookmark on Pinterest/Reddit to direct traffic to particular pages.

Social networks are critical to business growth in that they give direct access to customers via 2.5 hours daily time, allows two-way communication to receive feedback and support, offers low cost marketing relative to traditional advertising (0 to start vs. thousands in ad spending), are able to segment audiences/demographics/interests/behaviors, humanizes brands through behind-the-scenes content and company culture, offers competitive intelligence on what works in your business, are scalable and build compounding growth over time, allows influencer partnerships to reach more people, offers real-time market insights into customer needs, Companies that are offline social media are unnoticed by a large percentage of the prospective market.

The best social networking platforms to optimize on include LinkedIn (DA 98, highest authority backlink), YouTube (DA 100, video SEO engine and ranked in Google), Pinterest (DA 94, massively drives traffic and niche targeting), Facebook (DA 96, large reach and engagement), Medium (DA 94, publishing engine, massively ranked in Google), Reddit (DA 91, community traffic and niche targeting), Twitter/X (DA 94, fast indexing and real-time presence), Instagram (DA 94, brand awareness Ability to target on 3-5 platforms where you are likely to get the highest engagement than being spread thinly across all.

In India, social networking sites encompass both global sites (Facebook India 350M users, WhatsApp 500M, Instagram 250M, YouTube 450M, LinkedIn 100M) and India-related sites (ShareChat 180M users and 15 Indian languages, Moj 160M short-video app, Josh 115M post-TikTok ban, Koo 50M microblogging platform, Chingari 100M video hosting).

The Indian platforms are the best in the regional language, cultural suitability, local payment inclusion (UPI), and the knowledge about Indian festivals/traditions.

In the case of businesses that have the Indian market, use both global platforms (reach larger markets) and India specific (local presence and language variety).

Findings in social networking sites are inconsistent depending on objectives. Brand awareness: Within 1-3 months of regular posting, there should be initial traction.

Traffic creation: 3-6 months to develop follower base that will be clicking through on a regular basis.

SEO advantage Backlinks and authority to rankings take 6-12 months. Sales/leads:3-6 months based on sales cycle and targeting. Viral success: untenable (it may occur at once or never). Key factor: CONSISTENCY.

Publishing 3-5 times per week over 6 months is better than the occasional bursts.

The majority of businesses give up at 2-3 months just before the results are manifested. Make minimum 6 months dedication prior to determining effectiveness.

No, do not spread yourself out on all the social networking sites. The presence on 3-5 platforms with quality is better than the presence on 20. The decision should be determined by: where your target audience spends (B2B = LinkedIn, visual brands = Instagram/Pinterest), your content creation capability (video = YouTube/Tik Tok, writing = Medium/Twitter), time (reasonable posting schedule), platform advantage towards your objectives. Select 3 platforms and perfect them within 6 months, you can always add more platforms after that, assuming you have bandwidth. It is better to be outstanding in Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook and not fail in 15 platforms at once.

Track ROI on social networking with: site traffic (google analytics > acquisition > social), social site conversions/sales (use UTM parameters), customer generated leads (form submissions, email signups), Engagement rate (likes), comments, and even shares per post, growth rate (followers per month), Reach and Impression rates (platform analytics), Backlinks (ahrefs, semrush), and mentions and sentiments of brand, customer acquisition cost (per social), customer lifetime value (per social Customer). Compare Revenue/value generated vs time money invested. Tools: Google Analytics, native analytics of every platform, social media management software (Hootsuite, Buffer), CRM to monitor the source of leads. Divide: (Value Generated/Investment)/Investment =ROI%.

No, social networking sites are supportive but not substitutable of SEO. They are used to achieve various objectives: Social media gives us direct access, community, and interaction; SEO gives long-term sustainable traffic, which becomes compounded with time. Social posts do not last long (hours to days); SEO content lasts months/years. Social is reached out to people who are passively interested, whereas SEO is reached to people who are actively seeking solutions. Suggestion: Combine both strategies - social will boost your SEO content, start the first traffic and backlinks, and SEO will give you the ground of the evergreen content that will keep on working. Social is fast; the SEO is long distance. Making investments is a strategic undertaking with successful businesses.