We all know we need to play nice with Google to have the favor returned in the online world.

There are two ways you can work to do that as you build your business on the web: SMO and SEO.

Today we’re going to tackle the basics of SMO, how it can help you and what to do about it!

SMO is Social Media Optimization.

Google tracks how many shares, comments, re-posts, clicks and link backs to your website/content are done across the web. High numbers establishes “social proof” that you are an expert in your field and thus Google recognizes this and rewards it with higher ranking. You can easily optimize this process by helping your content be visible and easily “re-purposed” across many social networks. You want to continually be feeding the Google Beast! Here’s how…

Steps to increase SMO:

  • Expert, expert, expert. Show that you either know what you are talking about or have great resources that point to others in your field that do. Hopefully a mixture of both! You want people to see your content, your website, or your blog as the one-stop-shop for information they might need relating to your industry topic.
  • Do some keyword homework, and use those same keywords across all social media sites. This brings consistency to your online presence, and helps Google present you to the right people.
  • Engage with your audience. Ask for comments, respond to comments, set up social share buttons on every post/page, and then ‘push’ these posts out to all your social media platforms. Make it EASY for your readers to engage. Just like the rest of us if your reader is more comfortable on LinkedIn then make sure you are sending your content there to be seen and commented on from the comfort of their own ‘home’.
  • The nitty gritty. Keep your title tags short and shareable, make it twitter friendly! And as we all have heard a thousand times… A picture is worth a thousand words. Use them!
  • A quick tip. Finally there is some research that states certain platforms are more optimization friendly, notably Google+ and LinkedIn. Both will show up very high in your search rankings. Make it a goal to define a presence on one or both of these platforms in the next few months of
    2014!

[Tweet “5 easy steps to increase your SMO, every time.”]

There you have it…SMO basics, pick one step to try this week and make it happen! Which one will you choose?

As always I’m here to help.

Want a free mini Social Media Diagnostic? I’m doing 10 this month! Email strategy@socialmediaandpr.com to apply.

Photo credit: Bob Massa on Flickr