Social media optimization (SMO) is a fast growing trend online. More and more of inbound traffic to websites is coming from social media channels. This marketing tool is steadily becoming one of the most important assets traffic-wise. All of this means that your content needs to be socially optimized so that your website doesn’t miss out on potential traffic. That being said, much like SEO, there are some common mistakes you need to avoid to maximize your success.
Forgetting to include social sharing buttons/badges on your website
This one seems like a no brainer, but you would be surprised by how many websites don’t have social share buttons and badges on their websites. This is one of the easiest ways of driving traffic to your website, assuming your content is interesting. Make life easy for your users and they will repay the favor!
Not sharing other people’s content
Another mistake that some people make is refusing to share content other than their own. The whole point of social media is the sharing of ideas between different users. No one likes that one person who only talks about themselves all the time. One of the easiest ways to build engagement with other users is by sharing their content. They’ll inevitably look at who retweeted their post, and check out your profile, and then hopefully your website. Not only that, but sharing other people’s content will also make them more inclined to share yours. SMO is about driving engagement, and actively sharing interesting content is one of the best ways to accomplish that.
Not being active on SEO/SMO friendly platforms like G+
Ignore G+ at your own peril. It may not be the most powerful social media network on the planet, but it offers some great SEO/SMO benefits that other social media networks don’t. Make sure to post your content to G+ and stay ahead of the curve! Your SEO and SMO will take a noticeable jump over time.