CAT | Social Media
24
Is Social SEO the Future of Internet Marketing?
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Social Media, Twitter
The idea of social SEO, or indeed an SEO social, has little or nothing today with gaggles of optimisers discussing the latest techniques. It instead reflects the convergence of two Internet superpowers, search engines and social media, in an online marketing mêlée.
Whilst search engines benefit from a longstanding tradition and user familiarity, social media represents a surging market and unique real-time capabilities. To some, the two are chalk and cheese, to others the differences are becoming increasingly blurred.
Search engine optimisation has always been the loaded term assigned to anybody looking to improve their rankings. Whilst the term SEO may need updating, its effectiveness has certainly not diminished. Despite the rise of alternative resources, social media being a prime candidate, the search engines have always maintained unrivalled traffic potential. This has made it essential for any self-respecting website to obtain a decent ranking within them; thus continuing to validate SEO as a practise and an industry.
During the past decade, a small groundswell of interest in social media, perpetrated by the likes of Friends Reunited, has grown into a global phenomenon. Once the sole preserve of Ivy League students and old schoolmates, it has grown into a worldwide conversation. A constant stream of consciousness from all corners of the earth offering everything from the bizarre to the banal.
Search Engines V Social Media
There was always a reasonable distance between the two. You used social media to talk to your friends and share photos, whilst you visited Google to do your homework or find a new CD; simple, chalk and cheese. However, just as SEOs found a way to improve their clients’ visibility using search engines, so online marketers soon discovered how to tap into the social media discussion to get their message across.
Whilst defending the practise of SEO in a recent blog post [Is SEO Essential or an Outmoded Scam Touted by Charlatans? Part III] I suggested that the difference between SEO and social media might be more negligible than previously suggested. This was in direct response to a claim that SEO was spammy and that social media offered a more succinct solution; a flagrant fallacy.
Whether you’re using Facebook and Twitter or Yahoo and Google, the fundamental rule for any marketer is to get noticed by the right people. That is arguably where the similarities currently end. Because whilst social media is all about creating a community of like-minded individuals who will be interested in what you have to say or offer, SEO is just about getting to the top.
Optimisation can be done right throughout a website. It involves building links, writing content and implementing Meta, whilst continuing to maintain a site that is user-friendly. Not always an easy balancing act, which is why SEO professionals are still very much in demand – sorry, just returning to my SEO defence again.
Long-term V Real-time
Whilst a high ranking on Google takes time to obtain but can have significant results over the long-term, social media drives traffic in real-time. This means you can tweet about something you’ve seen, read or done and people will know instantly. They can also follow any links you provide there and then, providing an excellent flow of short-term traffic. Unfortunately, the one key issue of social media though is in its sustainability.
Internet marketers want results. They want targeted traffic and tangible improvements to see just how much a website is developing. SEO will get you rankings and the traffic that goes with it, whilst social media can involve you in the industry, get you noticed and, dare I say, popular. Social is very much about offering something to the wider conversation, allowing customers, clients and bystanders to interact with you directly. SEO is very much about the selfish bottom line.
So what’s better, faceless long-term SEO gains or short-term traffic boosts through social media interaction? Well, search engines are engrained within the consumers’ psyche. They have become the way in which many of us navigate the Internet and its many facets. This means that, for as long as search engines maintain this position, SEO will always be a hugely beneficial process; there can’t be too many arguments about that.
But there are also positives about the social side of things too. Obviously there is traffic to be plundered, that’s a given, but you can also create an identity and use it almost as a customer service portal. If someone says something bad about your business, you’re in the ideal position to formulate a reply. It can be used as an online community notice board, with you ready to step in and answer questions that relate to your field.
Harmonising SEO & Social Media
So in many ways social media is the perfect foil for SEO. Whilst your search engine ranking remains the most important aspect, a little social media marketing on the side won’t damage you. This is likely to become more in evidence over the coming months as both Bing and Google incorporate Twitter updates [Google and Microsoft Complete Twitter Deal to Herald Real-time Search Era]. Which brings us neatly to the question of SEO becoming social.
Well, SEO is what it is, a process for getting websites to appear higher on SERPs. However, the whole Internet marketing model is shifting. Just as search engines are looking into real-time, so SEOs are integrating more social aspects into their work. Where there is visibility, there is traffic; where there are links, there is popularity. Abandoning SEO would be a huge mistake, but so would ignoring social media.
Real-time search will be played out on search engines; so whilst it will be good to see your tweets appearing on a few search terms, nothing can beat the enduring appeal of a Google endorsement. That Google endorsement can only come by way of a dominant ranking. The industry is changing and will continue to change; this doesn’t necessitate an overhaul, merely the wherewithal to adjust. This is how SEO will become social.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
24
Should Social Media Users Observe a Two Minute Silence for Armistice Day?
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Social Media, Twitter
Not all that long ago I wrote about the interchangeable roles of social media and traditional interaction [see: Is Social Networking Actually Harming Social Interaction?]. For many, social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook have become a part of their day to day communication, for others it has all but replaced it.
Today, at 11 o’clock there will be a two minute silence in honour of those who have fought and died in conflicts since World War I. With troops still in frontline action today, serving in Afghanistan and Iraq, this Armistice Day – or Remembrance Day – will no doubt be keenly observed in streets, offices and homes across the country. However, should that silence spread online?
The two minutes are a time for silence and reflection, which many would argue should spread on to the Twitter boards and Facebook walls. However, does Internet communication constitute real interaction and should it therefore does it need to conform to the same principles as offline communication?
It’s a murky area, and not one that is often discussed. However it will be interesting to see if there are any movements to prompt a silence, at least amongst UK and Commonwealth nations. For me at least, silence covers all forms of communication, texting, tweeting and talking alike; however that may just represent my personal views.
So, with that in mind, what do you think about a two minute social media silence at 11 o’clock? Should it be as socially enforceable and encouraged as it is in day to day real life situations, or is that too far? Should Internet ‘noise’ be categorised along with real world conversations or are the two completely separate?
Source: Should Social Media Users Observe a Two Minute Silence for Armistice Day?
23
Using PR to Compliment your Website’s SEO
0 Comments | Posted by andy in Articles, Copywriting, Link Building, Search Engine Marketing, Social Media, Twitter
If you’ve got a website, or indeed have a client who has a website to be proud of then you want to show it off. SEO is the best way of getting the attention of the search engines, and those who use them, but there’s much more you can be doing besides.
Any PR specialist will tell you that anything can be promoted; it’s just about knowing where and how to do it. With PR fundamentally centred on generating buzz, the Internet is the perfect forum for getting the message out there loud and clear.
Online PR is by no means a detached process from your general search engine marketing processes. It can incorporate elements of SEO and link building, whilst of course spreading the word about your latest innovation, newest products or achievements. Any successful PR strategy just needs an angle; something that will make you stand out and unique from the competition.
Creating Buzz through a Unique Perspective
Finding that angle isn’t always straightforward though; how can you persuade someone who may only have a passing interest in what you’re offering to visit your site? Well, that’s the skill of PR.
Search engines are still the most consistent sources of traffic. There are very few sites that have succeeded in spite of Google, Yahoo and Microsoft; we use them to search for almost everything, which is why SEO still has to come first. But if you’re in a position to diversify and want to explore new channels, PR is the way forward.
Modern PR isn’t simply about creating press releases and sending them off to the local paper or releasing it through the newswire. Today, that same press release can be submitted to a site like PRWeb and within hours showing on journalists’ screens as well as search engine results pages across the world. It’s a far more dynamic system that provides opportunities for distribution that would not have been possible even in the last decade.
Of course, the modern digital press release has another major bonus, HTML coding. That’s right, most sites will allow you to include embedded links within the copy before distribution. Therefore, once it’s out there on the Internet your site is gaining SEO strength as well as providing an interesting news story that could well get picked up.
Promoting a site can take on many forms though. For example, once you’ve created a press release that links to your website, you can then go and promote the release itself. This can be done in many ways, but the most popular currently is social media. Sites like Twitter allow quickfire messages with short links, providing the perfect opportunity to talk up your own press release. Social bookmarking is another fantastic way to increase exposure; just get on Digg or your own site of choice and flag it up, you’d be surprised how many extra reads your press release can achieve.
It might sound a little complicated, promoting a promotional press release, but the truth is it can get results. PR today is about finding ways to utilise the resources available to their optimum. If you’ve spent a few hours writing a release, you want to make sure that it’s read, so why not spend the same amount of time promoting it? The same of course is true of most things, including blog posts and news stories within a site; by channelling visitors through intermediary content, you can get better results than providing a direct link.
An example of how to market a press release
Online users seek authority in the information that they read. For most, spam is still a major turn-off, so avoiding this online PR disaster – i.e. using inappropriate hashtags in Twitter promotions – is just as key to success. Provide people with something interesting, informative, eye-catching, captivating, intriguing – however you wish to term it – is a fantastic way of helping boost site traffic and profile.
Don’t let your hard on-site work go to waste. If you’ve got it, flaunt it; show the world what you’re all about through the search engines and innovative online PR.
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Published by SEO Prof Andy
