Social Media Optimization, or SMO is becoming increasingly popular. Many argue that "SEO is dead" and SMO is the more effective way to get traffic. This may be true to some extent. Although, SEO is no doubt effective, a relatively small number of websites are optimized due to a general lack of knowledge and a high price tag for most professional services. In addition to the cost, SEO is ignored by some because it is difficult to produce immediate results, and real growth in search traffic takes time. SMO on the other hand, seems to be more straightforward and often produces faster results. However, results are only as good as they are sustainable. Please share your thouhgts on this matter...
You are right about traffic quality. I came across this comparative analysis: http://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/seo-vs-smo-traffic-quality-test.html
In SMO you are going after the people, whereas in SEO the people are going after you. The quality of traffic, conversation rates, and ROI speak for themselves. If i had to rely on SMO to give me sales i would have closed our online stores after day 1. SMO is highly effective at creating a buzz (launching a new product, a new service), and generating brand recognition/awarness. That's why an increasing number of major & well know offline businesses use SMO, while you don't see them do so well with SEO.
This is a great thread and I'm surprised more have not contributed. I think you all nailed it right on the head. From a managed services perspective, SEO has to be either part of a complete solution (as a value-added service perhaps) or approached long-term (as in an SLA contract or long-term project). Like many have said throughout the forums and in many professional publications, SEO is not quite tangible or measurable (not completely true but, from the client's perspective, it may seem this way). On the flip side, SMO is the "new" direction for online marketing. We're seeing less of a focus on content that search engines can readily recognize, categorize, and archive and more multimedia presentations. This is not necessarily a bad thing but it's also nothing ground-breaking. The reality is that SMO really should be treated as a facet of SEO and, by extension, online marketing simple because it generates extra traffic. Traditional marketing still remains entrenched with methods that have low yields. Old money companies are fine with investing big budget dollars and aiming for a 1% turn-around. That sets the bar rather low for online marketers because even the least aggressive SEO approaches will give you much more "bang for your buck". There are many "angles" and nuances to consider here. First, you really want to be pulling more than you are pushing with marketing efforts. Push and interrupt marketing may be pervasive but today's consumer has learned how to tune it out. This is where SMO can be a big win: create content that is memorable and makes people want to share what you are doing/about rather than being intrusive and "sales-pitchy". This is the basis for viral, buzz, and WOM marketing alike. Second, marketing efforts have to be completely internalized to maintain a business or entity's integrity and authenticity. When a business outsources or departmentalizes marketing efforts, there tends to be a disconnect, a gap, where actualities and reputation do not align well with projected image. As such, marketing efforts need to be part of daily operational and strategic efforts alike. Any business that trusts a service provider enough to have them manage their brand and identity should look to do the little things to keep everything consistent. Third (and this goes back to the first item), all business efforts should be scalable and organic. Scalability hinges upon your ability to take a process and repeat it consistently and adjust it for increased efficiency and output, whereas your supply meets the demand, so to speak. This is difficult when solutions require much manual intervention and, thus, introduce too much human element. On the flip side, organic processes should feel human and maintain "warmth". More importantly, there should be a natural escalation and growth to things. If you feel like your business is always a grind, you're probably working too hard rather than working smart, as they say. Last but not least, SEO, SMO, and other modern marketing techniques are not cut-and-dry processes. You can campaign to reach certain goals, find best practices, and do what usually works but, really, it all boils down to trial-by-fire and being able to adjust to constantly changing markets. In this aspect, SMO is an easier sell than SEO but the latter is certainly a greater value in the long-run. For me, Harry Beckwith and Seth Godin are two of the best marketing experts of our time. They understand the importance of "selling the invisible" and spreading ideas like viruses in a very natural, organic way. Beckwith's material is a little more dated but still relevant to the current competititve landscape. Ultimately, I think that "going after customers" only works in this day and age when you are making real contacts and taking the time to interact with customer before, during, and after the "deal" is complete". When I mentioned warmth earlier, what I refer to is making your business seem personal, approachable, and trustworthy. There are many faceless companies out there and the trend continues to go into a downward spiral, mainly because people are outsourcing customer service and other client-facing facets, essentially destroying their credibility and the customer's feeling of being valued. Again, this is where SMO comes in handy: you're not being sold anything per se. With the right high-impact multimedia contact, people will naturally check out what you have and share it; eventually, people will wonder where the things originated from and check out the organizations/parties behind them. With all that in mind, I'd always focus my personal business efforts on SEO first and foremost. It's important to do the things that can gain momentum even when you're not "behind the steering wheel". I recommend checking out "Unleashing the Idea Virus" by Seth Godin. That book puts all of this into some useful, practical framework.
...On a completely different note, I like your Leon the Professional avatar, Cossio! Hope we see more contributions on this thread. It seems there are redundant posts out there but I like what I've seen in here thus far. 8)
I don't think so, SMO is a part of SEO, and it will be the same, only SMO cant make you high in SERP!
Another interesting aspect is how does SMO affect SEO (if any). Does a successful SMO campaigh have a direct effect on SERPs? Does SMO have any influence on Google PR? Does anyone have experience they would want to share?
Hello SEO and SMO are both different.SMO is a part of SEO. for any time type of service in SEO you can contact us at(//http://www.decols.com). Thanks
Well, Google and other search engines are not as transparent in their ranking methods as people would like (which is why many of us are in business) but there is certainly a trend right now moving towards more object-oriented rankings and categorizations. Just look at Google SERPs today. Just a few years ago, Google focused on plain-text results, providing lightning-fast searches that were easy to go through on almost any computer. Now, results are littered with multimedia whether you want it or not. I feel Google would benefit from retooling their SERPs a bit. Instead of having an "Everything" filter, there should be a plain text filter which focuses more on rich content without all the flash and fluff. For most purposes, social media should be seen as something to add value but not an isolated/sole effort. Certainly, videos (and video blogs) are gaining ground quickly but there is a huge marketplace in smartphones and smaller Internet tablets that would stand to benefit from sites that offer text-only experiences or allow you to trim down on the clutter and "piz-azz". I'm not saying that compelling text/articles and rich multimedia (presentations) are mutually exclusive endeavors but, rather, that you should have more of the foremost than the latter in most cases. As others have mentioned, it also depends on your audience and whether you are more on the side of focusing on attracting new visitors/unique hits or increasing return visits/retention. With that in mind, SEO and SMO are not inherently "better" on their own but, certainly, one cannot dismiss that SMO is merely a more focused "sub-category" of SEO and the overall Internet marketing approach. To be clear, there is definitely no doubt that SMO is being accommodated by search engines but you have to consider the accuracy of relevancy algorithms and the fuzzy logic thereof. Before SMO can truly be powerful, there needs to be more of a bridge between text and other media. Take, for instance, the brilliant social networking and marketing methods employed by StumbleUpon but even that site falls short. Keywords, tags, directories, and categories work well but imagine if there was more fuzzy logic at work. Think about how major online stores provide "related items" and "customers that bought this also bought" views/filters. This is where a more end-to-end approach to Internet marketing triumphs, rather than focusing on the facet that is hot right now or just appeals to you the most. I imagine we will see more powerful search and relational tools in the near future, whereas search results come up with better hits and a customizable experience rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Really, all search engines should provide a text-only experience by default which you can change by being logged in and/or setting a cookie. From there, a simple text block can show you other results that may appeal to you, complete with relevancy and popularity indexes.
Well, the discussion has clearly evolved into something more. I think the various SMO vs. SEO threads have already established that there is too much overlap to really contrast the two. I feel that SMO is part of SEO so it's a moot point.. Still, it's always refreshing to see what makes people passionate about their specific takes on Internet marketing and social networking alike. 8)
SEO has its own value, but SMO is a great source to get instant traffic, especially for new websites.
Well, if you are doing proper SEO, you are doing SMO in the background anyways. So in that case, you can't have one without the other. However, if you are doing SMO only, good luck.
SMO is long term marketing process and don't get results over night. Some of guys quit and which continue reap the benefits.
seo Search Engine Optimisation, or SEO for short, is a way of improving a website or web pages visibility within the search engines through natural/organic search results. and smo Social Media Optimisation, or SMO for short, is a way of marketing your business through a number of different online portals. In the last five years, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have rocketed into our lives and are now a huge part of our online experience
I am not sure if SMO is the right term. When compared to SEO, it is less of an optimization and more a set of typical e-marketing activities. Therefore, I think the right term is SMM (social media marketing).
Good SMO takes time and commitment. It is more of a relationship builder than anything else. It's a shame that there has been so many automated tools that will spam social media sites to the point that it will eventually be omitted as a barometer of a site's SERP worthiness. The only true testimony in the future for SERP purposes will likely be, 20% on-page SEO and 80% off-page backlinks. The backlinks part of the algorithms will continue to be refined to the point where pertinence and relevance will play a major role and outright unrelated spam will incur major penalties. For my money SEO all the way. Careful SEO.