Social Online Marketing (SOM) and Search engine marketing (SEM) are forms of Internet marketing that seek to promote websites by increasing their search engine ranking to have the websites displayed on the first page of the search results. According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization, SEM methods include: search engine optimization (SEO), paid placement of websites, and paid inclusion of websites in search results. Social Online Marketing is a method of signing up or enrolling with Social News sites ("Digg", "Reddit", etc.) and Social Booking sites ("StumbleUpon", "Del.icio.us", etc.) to promote and broadcast your content to the World Wide Web and make your website found by more people.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) includes (a) Google AdWord, (b) Yahoo! Search Marketing and (c) Microsoft adCenter. Social Online Marketing (SOM) is all about Website content management, and posting to the Social Media sites to broadcast that content across the web to be seen by more people.
SEM and SOM are becoming more critical for the success of business marketing plans. Companies are continuing to compete for customers, and need to be recognized by search engines and ranked well, in order to be found by more customers. Customers will find your website if you plan your Social Online Marketing campaign around the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques of (a) providing great, relevant content, (b) having incoming links, (c) having a relevant website title (d) using headers (e) using Anchor Text for pictures and graphics, and (f) using Keywords. All these things are evaluated by Search Engines to determine the authority of your website and hence, it’s ranking.
Why is it important to establish Authority, PageRank, Links with the popular Search Engines?
Social Marketing is learning where to blog and how to pick the relevant social news, social bookings, and social networking sites that best target consumers in your market segments. It is also leaning how to establish Linking Authority, Incoming Links, and PageRank with the popular Search Engines. These are important Web 2.0 activities that need to be addressed in order to be successful with SEM and SOM campaigns.
Understanding Web 2.0 is critical to your online marketing success.
Web 2.0 is a term used to describe changing trends in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aim to enhance the (a) creativity, (b) secure information sharing, (c) collaboration, and (d) functionality of the web. The term became notable after the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 Conference in 2004. Although the term suggests a new version of the World Wide Web, it does not refer to an update to any technical specifications, but to changes in the ways software developers and end-users utilize the Web. According to Tim O'Reilly, “Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused by the move to the Internet as a [marketing] platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new platform”. Web 2.0 concepts have led to the development of web-based communities and their hosted services, such as, social-networking sites, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies [sic].
Why should I be concerned about serious website traffic?
It is all about your business making money. You need to be profitable so that your life style is what you want it to be. You need to pay your bills, keep your employee's happy, and continue growing your business. If you don't get control of the traffic in your marketing segment, your competition will – and they will enjoy the financial benefits. It is all so important to secure your place in your market segment with search engines.
How does your site "Rank" with Search Engines?
Without good "Rank", or where your site is listed in the results return by a Search Engine, you will not be found by customers searching for products/services in your category. Consumers are doing millions of searches every month on key words and even long-tailed keywords. Are your keywords, and unique keywords (long-tailed keywords) ranking well with search engines so that your site is being found?
Building linking authority from key sites will increase the relevance of your website with search engines and deliver the increased traffic you desire. Getting control over link authority is a key to understanding the Web 2.0 and its impact on your web presence and the amount of traffic you get. You want to control and manage search engine spiders so that they view your web presence more often and more deeply. Search Engine spiders are the programs they use to provide up-to-date data for displaying search results.
Why is "Content" being stress so much?
Content, good content, will drive traffic to your website. Consumers want to be educated and receive information that will improve their lives and their choices. Search engines rank, rate, and determine the relevance of your website for your market segment, based on the content you place on your website
Providing good and relevant content will establish your web presence as an authority site which will position you for the future and determine your position on the World Wide Web.
Search Engine Marketing and Social Online Marketing are the new paradigm shifts in “advertising” to your consumers. If you don't come to an understanding of these new ways to reach your audience, you will not be reaching new consumers.
Think about it: if the younger Generation X & Y groups are online, and no longer paying attention to TV, radio, or magazine adds, how will you reach new consumers of your products and services? The new generation virtual is online, and it is critical to your success to understand, or pay someone who understands, to help you plan your social online marketing strategy to get found by these younger customers in your market segment.