It Used to be SEO or SMM, Now They are One in the Same – Are You Doing All That You Can?

Social media marketing and search engine optimization used to be separate entities with very little crossover besides the ability to build your brand and then drive your audience to your website with a click, but Google, true to Google, has decided that they not only want to control your internet searches and rank; they want a piece of your social media too. It isn’t Google’s fault really, the versatility of social media platforms and the powerful tools that they use to build brand awareness and loyalty necessarily had to combine forces with Google. Whether it is YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok, the content that you use and the keywords that you choose have to be carefully orchestrated and combined cohesively to achieve your big-picture ideals of growing your brand and expanding your bottom line! So, which does it best, SEO or SMM?

What are Keywords?

If you ask most business owners “What are keywords?” You would likely get an answer about how they relate to search engine rankings and organic searches. Not many people, however, understand the cross-over and relationship that content, and yes keywords, have as a very powerful tool for an all-encompassing strategic marketing and media plan to be visible everywhere that your audience is active. Keywords might originate with Google still, but they have far-reaching capabilities for your social media marketing too. That is, however, only if you know how to use them.

What is the Difference Between SEO and SEM? Can You Do One Without the Other?

SEO is search engine optimization. It is the way that you can increase your presence to gain organic and other traffic via search engine rankings. SEM differs because it involves using practices of SEO combined with paid advertising to increase your visibility. What we are seeing in the industry is a complete overhaul of the way that small businesses are able to achieve the coveted number-one ranking position. It isn’t about using creativity and new content only that provides businesses with their number one spot. In fact, although we don’t want to discourage our clients from using organic SEO tools and resources, Google has done about all that it can to lock down the coveted first positions unless you pay for them.

What About SEO or SMM?

Social media marketing is not a new tool, but the way that it is now in cahoots with Google has changed. The biggest shift in the industry was quite arguably when Google went from ranking according to desktop and PC searches to making mobile searches more critical. When they did that, apps necessarily got involved in the ranking games. Because searches now flow directly to apps such as YouTube, Amazon, Instagram, and others, the keywords that you use and the placement that you have on Google are even more critical. Google Maps, for all intents and purposes, is changing the rules. It is making website content take somewhat of a backseat to social media and other platform marketing.

Social SEO and Networking

People now use social networks to search for products and services in the same way they use an internet search. Therefore, it is very critical that you know how to use SEO in terms of social placement for when people actively search for their content rather than scrolling and hoping to organically come upon what they are looking for, want to know about, or see. Each social media platform uses networking and searching differently. Social SEO is now as critical as SEO in the internet space. If you can use keywords and phrases to target your audience on social media, then it translates to your SEO efforts online. Then, they all work together to pretty much be everywhere you need to be.

So, What is Most Important SEO or SMM?

The problem with marketing is that it starts simply and then it grows in complexity as more people are vying for the same piece of “space” and the internet and social space are no different. There are very few industries that can get by on website SEO alone. And, definitely not without some sort of paid advertising. SEO is not dead. Changing your content, and updating on-site page descriptions and titles, are all still important things, as is fresh content. It takes fresh content across SEO, SEM, and SMM, however, to vie for the top positioning. It can sometimes feel like a full-time job, and for many, it has become one.

SEO or SMM? Both, it Can be That Simple!

We often advertise that it can be simple, and it can. But it is only simple if you know what you are doing. Business owners necessarily have to focus on what they do best. They have to make sure the quality of their service or product is the best possible. That, however, leaves very little time for marketing. In a new age of having to be everywhere and anywhere all at once, it is becoming increasingly impossible for small businesses to keep pace with the demand for a successful marketing campaign. You can’t be everything to everyone. As any smart business owner understands, it’s important to do what you do best and delegate the rest.

What we offer at A is for Advertising that other marketing and advertising agencies don’t is the resources at your fingertips to combine your SEO, SEM, and SMM all in one agency. It doesn’t have to be your full-time job, it is ours. You shouldn’t have to choose SEO or SMM, with us, you can have the best of all worlds. Contact us today and let us take your marketing to the next level. That way, you can take your business there too.