A new branch of Search Engine Optimization is taking shape in what is being called "SMO" or Search Marketing Optimization, according to Search Engine RoundTable. You can read a thread on what SMO is all about and how it differs from SEO here. In fact, one comment on SearchEngineWatch was:
"Partly addressing this, Rohit Bhargava of Ogilvy Public Relations did a posting trying to define "Social Media Optimization (SMO)" :
"While I believe in the power of SEO, there is a new offering we have started providing to clients which we call Social Media Optimization (SMO). The concept behind SMO is simple: implement changes to optimize a site so that it is more easily linked to, more highly visible in social media searches on custom search engines (such as Technorati), and more frequently included in relevant posts on blogs, podcasts and vlogs"
Rohit set forth to declare 5 Rules of SMO:
- Increase your linkability (Rohit’s Rules 1-5)
- Make tagging and bookmarking easy
- Reward inbound links
- Help your content travel
- Encourage the mashup
Most of the conferences I have attended this year have been "buzzing" with talk of Social Media, letting your consumers control the conversation, etc. I think we’re beginning to see that SEO also needs to take Social Media and merge it with Search Optimization and Search Marketing.
I’ll be keeping my eyes open for more information about SMO as it becomes available.
