SEO Manifesto - There is Such Thing As Social Media Optimization
Todd has been on a roll lately with one good post after another. One of the posts that really caught my attention was the SEO Marketing Manifesto. All 10 of the points Todd lays out are great but I wanted to bring special attention to #7.
7. Social media can be optimized
Optimization does not mean manipulation. Optimization is examining the rules of the game and using them to your advantage. Social media increases both exposure - as well as the level of public scrutiny. People appreciate when bias is disclosed, and conversation is HUMAN.
The other day I came across this other post from Brian Oberkirch, where he says there’s no such thing as Social Media Optimization. I obviously disagree with Brian and have been wanting to post a reply for a couple days now. Once I saw Todd’s post I figured I would just quote what he said because I don’t think I can say it any better myself.
I don’t think Brian understands the concept of SMO, just like he doesn’t understand SEO.
You drag that bullshit practice of SEO into the social media world
I realize a lot of people hate SEOs and it’s obviously the few bad eggs that we can blame for this. But the people making the accusations are also to blame because they don’t do the research to understand what they are really talking about. SEO is by no means a “bullshit practice”, in my opinion you’re a “bullshit marketer” if you really think that and ignore search.
When we say that we optimize sites for social media that doesn’t mean we spam it. It just means we fine tune it. That can mean something as simple as improving usability or something such as creating viral content.
Cameron Olthuis is the Founder of
Cameron: thanks for weighing in. I’m not buying the SMO term, but I am taking you up on learning more from leading search thinkers. Obviously, search is the lion’s share of where our social media action is coming from. So, be interesting to see who people suggest I should read.
I focus almost exclusively on developing presence on the web, which is largely SEO and SMO.
I could care less if people think SMO is not real, that just leaves more room for me to dominate the space.
Brian - Fair Enough.
Justin - Good point! Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut
I think that the majority of animosity shown towards SEOs can be characterized by either ignorance or jealousy. Either they don’t get it, at which point they should shut their mouths, or they are simply jealous of the success of others.
For a “marketing consultant focused on social media” to opine that you “drag that bullshit practice of SEO into the social media world” would be hilarious if he were not actually charging clients for his services. What kind of job is he doing for them?
I guess he’s telling them, “Hey just build really really good content, and the rest will just like take care of itself man. You don’t need to optimize your content, people will just be naturally drawn to your wholesome goodness. Thanks, now that’ll be 10 grand.”
It is kind of like making Apple out to be the good guy in comparison to Microsoft. At the end of the day, they are both doing everything they can to mint money.
You can’t have social media without traffic.