Search engine optimization has changed dramatically in recent years.
The shift is from one of Web page optimization and link-hounding to
content and engagement optimization. In short, search engine optimization and
social media are now undeniably intertwined. It has become extremely difficult
to achieve any measure of success for important keyword phrases without the use
of social media. (Of course, the flip side to that is organizations that take
advantage of social media can dominate, particularly within industries slow to
adapt.)
I’m not suggesting that Web page optimization and inbound links are no
longer important, they are, they just might not be enough anymore. It is rare
these days to do any kind of normal search that does not return results from
social media sites. Blog content dominates many questionrelated searches and
videos, audios, and images are routinely mixed in on page one searches on both
Google and Yahoo.
What this means for the typical small business is that you must add a
blog and podcast to the mix, upload, tag, and thoroughly describe images on
sites like Flickr. Create
customer testimonial videos housed on YouTube. Write articles and press releases to submit to EzineArticles and PitchEngine. Create and brand optimize
profiles on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Maps, and industry-related social networking sites. And, get very
proactive about generating positive reviews on sites such as Yelp, Google Maps, and Insider Pages, or you’re not really
online anymore.
Any attempt to garner positive search results for your primary website
must be accompanied by a strategy to optimize your entire Web presence through
the effective use of social media. We can have another conversation altogether
about the effective use of social media for engagement, but the first step is
getting immersed in the content creation and optimization game.
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