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Social Media Optimization - A Priority For Your SEO Campaign
By Julie Ann Ross (c) 2009

Social media optimization (SMO) is an imperative ingredient
of your SEO campaigns. In the past, social networking sites
were little more than an oddity. Today, several have
received enormous ranking authority from top search
engines. If you are not leveraging these sites to increase
your exposure and communicate with your niche market, your
search engine positions are vulnerable to your competitors.
In this article, we will describe the influence that
social media optimization is currently having on search
marketing. We'll also give you the rules of engagement for
executing an effective SMO campaign. We'll explain what SEO
social media is, and the advantage of hiring an experienced
SEO consultant to spearhead your social media optimization
efforts.

The Influence Of Social Media Optimization On Search
Marketing

Search marketing has always relied upon exposure in the
search engines to drive targeted traffic. For years,
gaining that exposure was based solely upon the development
of your site and generating links pointing to your site.
Both are still important today. However, social media
optimization has shifted the landscape of search engine
marketing.

Google once maintained several disparate search platforms
for blogs, videos, news, and similar types of "social"
content. Each functioned as a separate search engine with
its own set of natural listings. A few years ago, Google
blended the listings from each platform into a system
called Universal Search. Yahoo and Bing have since
incorporated similar systems. Universal Search is now used
as the primary index. That means blogs, videos, and news
have been incorporated into the natural listings, pushing
many sites off the first page. This is one of the reasons
social media optimization has become a critical piece of
search.

Another factor that has influenced search marketing is the
increased ranking authority given to Facebook, Myspace,
Twitter, and similar sites. These too, have quickly gained
control of a significant amount of search territory.

Social media optimization preserves your current natural
listings while helping you to gain even more search
exposure. By using blogs, videos, and social media sites
such as Twitter and Facebook, you can capture a greater
number of organic positions.

Your Social Media Optimization Campaign: Rules of Engagement

There are several rules of engagement for launching and
executing a social media optimization campaign. If you
ignore them, your SMO efforts will be far less effective
than otherwise.

First, you should do everything possible to encourage your
audience to link to your site. Integrating a blog is
valuable because your content can be updated over time,
attracting loyal readers. Encourage readers to bookmark,
tag and "Tweet" your blog posts by installing a button
plug-in.

Second, link liberally as a resource for your visitors.
Social media optimization is heavily dependent on helping
others accomplish what they're trying to do. Once you
engage your audience, help them find the resources they
need by linking to them. Eventually, your site will become
regarded as a resource hub, which will help you attract
inbound links. That's a vital component of SEO.

Third, you must be able to identify your market. Social
media optimization relies upon the connections you
establish with niche communities. You need to target them
properly in order to generate content and engage them. This
is true whether you're engaging them through YouTube,
Twitter, LinkedIn, or your blog.

Fourth, integrate tracking tools to measure and monitor the
success of your social media optimization campaign. Track
mentions of your site and company. Watch your site's
progress in the natural listings for your main keywords.
Generate linking reports showing inbound links pointing to
your domain and specific pages. Tracking your metrics is
critical in order to determine whether your SMO campaign is
effective.

SEO Social Media Optimization Explained

Each of the elements of a social media optimization
campaign that we have described thus far dovetail
seamlessly with SEO. The ongoing content creation, tagging
and bookmarking, attracting inbound links by being a
resource for your audience - these are essential for
pushing your website higher in the search engines'
listings. SEO social media optimization leverages a new set
of tools to accomplish the same goal as SEO: more exposure
for your site on Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The challenge is
knowing how to use those tools effectively.

The days of launching a basic SEO campaign within a
competitive space and watching your site rise in the search
engines' results are long gone. SEO has become far more
complex than it was a few short years ago. This is why many
companies have made the decision to hire an SEO consultant.
Social media optimization has transformed SEO from a
relatively straightforward strategy into a complicated
science. Having an experienced hand at the wheel helps to
navigate the uncertain terrain.

If you want to boost your exposure in the search engines'
listings, consider social media optimization a priority.
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With 20 years in marketing, advertising and 10 years in
internet marketing, Rostin Reagor Smith is on the cutting
edge. Combining Social Media Optimization with more
traditional SEO and SEM methods, RRS is a
consulting firm specializing in enhancing clients' online
presence and managing their public relations online. SEO,
SEM and ORM, Online Reputation Management, are combined in
this successful formula. http://www.RostinReagorSmith.com
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