SEO That Looks A Lot Like SMI

Finally figured out what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is only to hear that Search Marketing Integration (SMI) is the cool, new ‘in-the-know’ marketing tool? Don’t worry, the mastery of commonly used SEO tactics is not a wasted venture. Rather, SEO knowledge is a great starting place when comprehending the bigger picture that is Search Marketing Integration.

SMI gives optimization a larger playing field. Integration turns a brand’s overall marketing strategy into the search engine’s pool of data through which to sieve and analyze. Relevance is key and Search Engine Results Page (SERP) spiders are delving deeper into your digital footprint before ranking your web pages. Branding contributions are measured including all indexed attempts at search engine marketing, influencer reach, social networking, visual automation and overall brand value.

Too Old Tactics

‘Out with the old and in with the new’ is what experts and critics alike will tell you when discussing the rapid rate of change for current online marketing models. Search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo etc.) use specific algorithms to scour the internet for spam, weak or irrelevant content and malicious activity. Yet now there is a greater emphasis on the engagement and social presence of a website.

The days of simply making a site’s content stronger are long gone. Some feel that there is no need to write a moving article if no one will ever find it unless they type in a specific keyword. However this is far from the case. Engaging content is ALWAYS necessary and will pay off once consumers do catch on to your attempts at virtual growth. Besides, SEO is not dead, it has just evolved. And SEO is nothing without content!

So, So Social

Search Marketing Integration’s strongest distinctive factors are its fixated analysis of more social network and Web 2.0 activity. Search engines are now present for the individual social sites in addition to the main search engines we web surfers use every day.

1.      Content Condition

Where content is concerned, engaging material is no longer all it takes to get your business not only approved by those pesky algorithm spiders, but to also positively influence your page ranking.  Content needs to incite response and be proven that it matters. Remember, your content is the air your brand needs to keep breathing.

• How does your content look throughout the various platforms? Attractiveness matters.
• Are there ample recurring submissions? Repetition breeds remembrance when it counts.
• Is your content inducing traffic to your website or desired macro conversion? SEO and other Business Analytics come into play to decipher this one!

2.      Social Searching

Major search engines view Social Signals as as a means to measure the online community’s reaction to the information present on your website and social media accounts. How many shares or likes reported speaks volumes to the quality and validity of your content; and overall online presence. Try incorporating practices such as:

• Social Bookmarking & Benchmarking
• Rapid responses to comments and reviews on your posts and even comments & reviews you’ve made
• Analyze the ‘branding by association’ done by others. (Retweets, Shares, re-pins…etc.)

3.      Pay For it – Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Get back tenfold what you put in. Studies show that the use of marketing on the actual search engines can be significantly beneficial. Campaigns that involve the use of these tactics improve traffic in most cases. Query auctions like Google AdWords can be quite fruitful if you grasp the basics of the strategic equation. Social Media Networks have their own versions of advertisement protocols like the following:

• Pay Per Click (PPC)
• Paid Searches
• Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)
• Cost Per Clicks (CPC)

4.      Good Old Fashioned MARKETING (Organic Marketing)

Don’t forget the importance of traditional marketing practices. Often times I have clients who will ignore organic marketing once they learn how beneficial digital marketing can be. This should never be the case in my opinion. These standard operating procedures will positively affect your digital presence in a multifaceted way! Like they say: There’s no school like the old school!

• Public Relations (Interviews & Press Releases…)
• Hardcopy & Physical Advertising Campaigns
• Word of Mouth (which crosses you back over into SMI)