SEO and Social Media

When establishing a presence on the internet, what is more important? Search engine optimization or social media?

When writing I try to keep in mind that not every understands the jargon, so by the way,

Search engine optimization - the science of having your site come up higher as a result when people search of terms related to you business. This is easy if your site is about “antique thimbles from the renaissance period” and harder if your site is about “sex”. Usually referred to as SEO or SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

Social media - the art of using networking tools on the internet to listen to and reach out to your current and potential customers. This includes blogging, microblogging, videos, photos, and social networking.

It is one of those huge questions: if you are trying to create a web presence, where do you start?

Do you start with the science or the art? Or do you do it on the cheap and mash it all together?

Jason Falls questions that method, telling “Why You Shouldn’t Trust Social Media to a SEO Consultant”

I understand his perspective that there’s a gap between the science and the art and those who get the science may not get the art and vice versa.

However, some took offense in the comments, saying that an SEO consultant may have the capacity to drive a social media campaign as well. I know that I plan on learning more about SEO myself in the future so I can be more useful on both sides of the fence.

Both are equally important, SEO gets your site seen by people looking for what you have to offer and there is so much competition on the internet that any edge is valuable, however social media gets you exposure in the industry and from customers who didn’t know you had what they wanted. It’s closer to traditional marketing but fused with networking and word of mouth.

There’s also SMO, or social media optimization, the idea that the word of mouth and publicity to social media will get you the links needed to move your site up the ranks, but many SEO consultants would say that it is not enough and doesn’t cover all that they could provide.

I suppose one takes a risk with choosing one over the other or mashing the two together, but at least you know your options.

Article source: http://sloan.ucr.edu