SEO vs. SMO – Differentiating between Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Optimization

People use online marketing only for awareness and visibility of their services and others context. People find your small business online in one of three ways:
•    Your company comes up early in search engine results through organic search,
•    You’re mentioned or recommended by another person or website they visit, or
•    Either they heard about your company and direct contact you.

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a set of strategies with the broad goal of bringing more people to your website the first way, by improving your search engine rankings. Social media optimization (SMO) can be one part of SEO—but it also contributes to all three ways people find you online.

What is Social Media Optimization?

Obviously, SMO has to do with social networks and their growing importance to the business. This aspect of optimization deals with enhancing your company’s presence and online reputation through interactive communities—not just Facebook and Twitter, but also blogs, forums, and anywhere your business is mentioned or linked to socially.
Working with SMO can help you strengthen your brand and boost visibility, as well as generate leads and increase sales. Optimizing your social media builds both familiarity with and trust for your business because consumers will see you not only mentioned but recommended by others.

What is the difference?

If you’re looking to improve your SMO, it’s important to keep in mind that having huge numbers of links to your website scattered across social networks is not optimization. Joining every Facebook industry page, Google+ Community, and the LinkedIn group just to seed links to your content is actually counterproductive, to both SMO and SEO.
Social shares carry a lot more weight when they’re coming from someone else. In addition, indiscriminate link-spreading without engagement and participation will get you unfollowed in your social networks—which in turn drives down your authority.
In order to improve SMO for your small business, you should focus on engaging with relevant social audiences, contributing to conversations, and posting your own shares of authoritative content for your industry.