Nowadays, companies are using various Search Engine Optimization (SEO) methods to stay on top of search engine result pages (SERPs). From being a simple trick to boost online traffic, SEO is now an essential tool to establish a business’ web presence.
In line with the growth of the Internet, search engines are no longer just focusing on keywords and link building strategies alone. They are also considering social signals to their algorithm, giving birth to Social Media Optimization (SMO).
What is Social Media Optimization?
Also known as Social SEO, SMO deals with using a company’s social media asset to attract unique visitors to its Web content. This is made to boost a brand’s online presence, consumer interaction and sales. The only difference between the two is that SEO draws traffic from search engine activities, while SMO directly promotes your content to your social media followers.
Applying SMO to Your Business
There are two ways to conduct SMO for a business’ Web content. One is through social media promotion, while the other is by adding social media tools or devices on the content itself.
The first one is akin to SEO, as it deals with promoting a brand’s Web content through various social media channels, blogs and forums. Just like in search engine, SMO practitioners are working on various strategies to spread their content on social media websites so that many people can find it. The second method simply involves adding Facebook’s “Like” button, Google+’s “+1” button, or Twitter’s “Tweet” button to the content, which makes it easy for readers to share and promote the page to their friends or contacts.
Challenges of Implementing SMO
Similar with SEO, implementing SMO can be a daunting task. A business owner must allot ample time to stay active on his or her company’s various social media channels, handle customer service, conduct reputation management, keep up with the company’s social media initiatives, and measure tangible return of investment (ROI).
Good thing, there are applicable SEO tricks that can help a brand to adapt to social media marketing. In fact, the key for success in SMO is building a strategy that can socialize a company’s web content, which results to generating leads.
Just like SEO, SMO also deals with an engaging content that‘s easy to share and promote across a business’ social network. Hence, it should also be part of a company’s online marketing strategy to maintain its Internet presence.
