If I only have the resources to pick one, should I focus more on search or social?
I read that search still drives about a third of all traffic to a website (still more than social). However, since I am just a one-woman operation trying to get my business idea started... Social seems easier for me to pick up. In the early stages of a startup with limited resources, is search or social going to make more of an impact on starting my business? Thanks in advance for all the advice. This community has been really helpful.
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Mar 22, 2016
Search is a lost cause for a new website -- this is something that many will disagree with, but the fact of the matter is that Google has created an atmosphere that makes it nearly impossible to run a new website entirely from search WITHOUT significant, repetitive PPC for brand awareness (since nobody will know you exist, unless you forcefully jump into the picture). In other words, if you can't piggyback on another established brand to help you get the word out about your site, then your ability to appear in Google organic for any kind of worthwhile keyword will be an exhausting struggle these days.
It's borderline insane to not focus all of your attention in social with any new website these days - the ability to gather a niche audience is far more attainable than it is in SERPs. Paid programs like Facebook Ads are more granular and far more affordable than AdWords.
Much of the journey in social is to decide which venues are best for you (Twitter, FB or YouTube -- all, or some) and what the focus will be for your entry into each of them. Look at what your more successful competitors are doing on these social sites, and take note of what seems to be working most successfully for them. This will help you shape your own campaign. Don't be afraid of the more ridiculous/simple methods like memes, they get shares...and attention.
Search (Google rankings) will come when links are naturally built to your site, not when you manufacture them yourself. One of the few ways that a brand new starter can hope to get these links is through others who have noticed them in social networks. If your content is interesting enough to your niche community, you'll get regular links coming in. The rest is all up to your site's internal SEO and now naturally it reads (no more keyword stuffing!)
Feb 17, 2016
Hello Erica,
It is hard to answer this without knowing more about your business in terms of its size, existing online presence and goals. When you add to the fact that SEO and Social Media have a very strong relationship it is really hard to just choose one.
When it comes to on-page SEO for smaller pages it can be hard to find more on-site technical SEO advantages than using various SEO plugins or following some basic direction. Link building or off site SEO is all about gaining great links back to your website and investing in social media will help with this.
Social media is something that in some shape or form I would suggest investing in. This is because it changes so often and seen as a rather simple world as anyone can use these platforms but actually social media marketing is a completely different skill set. It can be hard though for many small businesses to know what services are best for them when it comes to social media - too many times have I seen an agency try to up sell a service that isn't right for the business. Hiring someone in-house has it's own challenges though too - it is a big investment especially if you want someone that is highly skilled and experienced.
At the end of the day it really does depend on your business, your budget and goals - that will determine the best course of action for you.
Sorry it is not a straight forward answer but digital marketing is a complex world
Feb 11, 2016
Depends on your startup type. If it's something interesting for people (games, music, literature, etc), you'd better focus on social media, because... People like to discuss what they are interested in.
If your startup is more business-oriented (boring for the masses, but still provides services that people need), you'd pick search optimization.
Feb 11, 2016
I am studying Google Adwords and to be honest if you are just starting out I would get a blog and Install jetpack plugin, Claim your Google Business Page and work on your social for now - I hate to see people spend money they dont have to get a business started ( Im a straight shooter ( start with what you can do and grow as your biz grows.
Scott
Feb 10, 2016
Hi Erica, I would say that you at least do basic SEO on your website so that over time it will hopefully rank but use social to bring in actual traffic now. For social, the more content you can provide the better, do articles, post in different social platforms, answer questions about your topic in forums and if you have some money, run paid ads on facebook or some of the other social media platforms.
Feb 10, 2016
Given the stage of your business' development and target markets the short answer is Social Media, for now anyway.
Search is a quantitative platform: How much? Where? When? etc.
Social is a qualitative platform: Is it best? Do others like? etc.
If you absolutely must have a birchbox today, you'll use search. If you are interested in ideas regarding books, authors, etc., you'll see what other "like minded" folks think and you'll gravitate toward social.
Building a following on social takes time and multiple platforms. The key is "engagement" of your friends, followers, etc. You must capture their interest with compelling content that they will want to share with others outside of your immediate network. Then they become followers and your network grows.
Social is more than Facebook. Women dominate users on Pinterest. Instagram is more popular with young audiences vs. older ones. Snap Chat is big with millennials. Managing and touching each of these platforms can be overwhelming so you may want to check out a management system like HootSuite that will distribute your posts out to multiple platforms.
Nevertheless, you need a website and soon. Don't worry too much now on SEO. Do some keyword research for sure. Google's Keyword Planner is a great tool. Create your title tags (10-70 chars) and meta descriptions (70-160 chars) based on your keyword research. Take a shot at structured markup at schema.org. Your site doesn't need to be perfect from the start. In fact, it's best to edit, tweak, revise regularly. Search engines like it when you do that (fresh content).
Connect your blog (,more fresh content) and let your six months of effort get more attention. Seek out other blogs relevant to your product, target market, and post and/or repost from there. That will get you some relevant backlinks to your site over time and introduce you to like-minded folks.
Lots more could be, and probably has, been suggested. But hopefully this will give you some starting points. Good luck!
BTW...a client of ours is promoting a free online activity for kids in grades 2-5 to teach the four genres of creative writing. Could they be a resource for you and vice versa? We are redesigning their website now but you can get an idea of what they're all about at the old site ewritingforkids.org Let me know if you would like an introduction.
Feb 10, 2016
great question, Assuming your asking SEO vs Social media and I know you don't want to hear it, but you need both. Social Media Citation are becoming more and more an important factor when it comes to SEO. And to be honest, there is no reason why you can't do both.
They are plenty of free tools, one that I give to my clients, that you can use to post to social media channels that you can schedule out a head of time. Also if your website is built on Wordpress, you can post to your site and it can be sent to various social channels.
SEO will result (over time) in better ROI, but unless you know what you are doing, SEO is can take longer and is harder to get going. You have to deal with onpage SEO, inbound SEO, NAP, Social Media Citation and so much more.
So the question is, which would be easier for you to do? I still say with free tools, you can have and will need to do both.
Good luck if you need any other help please ask
Feb 10, 2016
Search might be better for building up numbers, social is better for long-term relationships.
Feb 10, 2016
Hi Erica. Well that's a tough one as both are intertwined and created to work in conjunction with one another. This read might be able to help you with your understanding of SEO and how it relates to social. SEO CRASH COURSE...http://www.socialmindmedia.com/socialmindmedia-social-minded-blog/2016/1/19/seo-crash-course-10-tips-for-beginners