Website Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has been around for years and in the intervening period has evolved into a science of its own. Companies devote considerable time and effort into establishing the best practices in SEO and are left in awe of its value in promoting a website’s standing in organic search listings. While SEO is powerful and a significant driving force it is being surpassed by a new offering - Social Media Optimization (SMO) - which is making a greater impact.

The Objectives

The underlying principle behind SMO is to introduce such changes to a website so it can be optimized. The point is to make it easier to link to. SMO’s objective is to increase a website’s visibility in social media searches through custom search engines, and to maximize its inclusion in related blog posts, podcasts, and vlogs.

Impressive Results

Ever since the new term SMO was coined it has been steadily evolving and has assumed an identity of its own, even though there are some marked similarities with SEO. SMO strategy is able to drive vast numbers of viewers to a website. It can also project whether a website, a startup or idea is going to be a winner or not. SMO drives traffic to the website using new channels, which have far surpassed the limited driving ability of search engines to garner big traffic and deflect it in the direction of a website.

Different Forms

Social media is a buzzword and a byword in today’s society. Social media may be described as an online tool or platform to share insights, opinions, perspectives, and experiences with one another. Social media assumes different forms such as images, text, audio, and video. Other popular forms are message boards, blogs, wikis, podcasts, and vlogs. Social media can also be called a rallying force and any medium which helps build a community. Arguably, the current best known examples of social media are Twitter and Facebook.

SMO Rules to Abide By

Here are 3 cardinal rules to keep in mind with Social Media Optimization:

• Increase linkability. Keep a website active and updated to optimize it for social media. Add content which makes it interesting.
• Make bookmarking and tagging easy.
• Reward inbound links. Inbound links are the benchmark of a website’s success. They are also critical to improving your rankings in search results. To encourage inbound links you need to provide a clear reward such as listing current linking blogs on your site to sites who link to you.

A Developing Landscape

This is a changing landscape. But it seems social media and concepts such as SMO are going to have an impact on this world and they already are.