Social Media Versus Search Engine Optimization

What is social media?

Social media is a collection of web based tools that allow groups to generate content and engage in peer-to-peer conversations and exchange of content (examples are YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace etc).

What is search engine optimization?

Search Engine Optimization, also known by the acronym SEO, is unlike the Internet marketing methods that involve paying for listings on search engines; Search Engine Optimization is a strategy that aims at increasing the Website’s performance on the search engines in organic, or natural, means.

Which is best for you?

Nowadays, ongoing SEO is pretty much based on good, relevant, link-worthy content so your authority and relevancy will build and you will rank highly in results. To do this right you need a considerable amount of time and effort. It feels really good to type “that” word and see your site finally coming up within the first results and even better when you get business from that.

However, at the end of the day, when you look at the time that all that took, you start thinking that spending time building a community and trust around your brand might pay off much more.

Search engines have began integrating “social search results”.  Where posts from Facebook and Twitter (among others) appear alongside both organic search and paid advertisements.  In the near future, everything you’ve been doing in social networks suddenly counts for “search”.

Here’s the thing: engaging in social networks, building a community and providing value is hard work and takes time, and not every business is willing to put in the time and effort to do it. Hiring an outside firm to handle you social media is one way to alleviate the effort, but social media marketing still takes time. For some companies, SEO will sound like a better alternative since all they have to do is pay someone to rank them better. In that case, time is the issue and not budget.

Real World Example:

Search Google.com and Bing.com for the prolific Blogger/ Silicon Valley venture capitalist “Guy Kawasaki”.  Note – Yahoo.com (the #3 search engine) has not yet integrated live social network results into its search.

Google.com lists Guy’s website first followed by his blog, then a live feed of his Twitter posts.
Bing.com lists Guy’s Twitter posts as the first restult, then his website followed by his blog.

The major search engines are putting your Social media content inline and sometimes in higher priority than your website itself. So what is best for you?  A blended approach of SEO and Social Media Marketing to capitalize on word of mouth marketing through social media, and SEO for search engine visibility.