SEO vs Social Media — Which Is Better For Your Blog Traffic?
SEO vs social media — which is your favorite method to use for generating blogging traffic? Have you ever thought about where you should spend your time getting traffic to your website?
I joked a few years ago with Robert Caruso from Fandola on Twitter as some would say “Social is the New SEO”, but is it really?
Have you thought about the differences between SEO vs. social media to drive traffic to your blog or website?
In the beginning (back around 2010) I focused on SEO only for the retail website I used to manage. Then I got started with tweets and RT’s and social media became the focus as sales were coming from both.
Once the SEO was done, it was done, right?
Well, Google began to work at a much faster pace with changes as time went on. So then the focus shifts to SEO to clean it up to Google’s liking. Then, I wondered, “ Should the focus go back to SEO vs social media?”
Knowing when to change lanes is key on any business highway.
When one searches online for something they are ready to purchase or read about something. If they find what they are looking for you are golden, right?
That’s what you want when you build a website or blog. Have people search and find your stuff. That’s the perfect scenario.
SEO lasts much longer online. Remember the time frames of a tweet or a Facebook post? (24 minutes for a Twitter post and 5 hours for a Facebook post.)
Well, a great post or website will last much longer than those social posts any day hands down. Your website will last as long as you own the domain name and continue to host the website.
Even Google likes to see your domain name registered for 10 years vs just one or two years. They want to be sure you will be a staple online, not just a fly-by-the-night type of website.
When Google recommends you, you will be found!
9 Reasons Why Is SEO Hard!
- It takes a lot of time and patience.
- SEO takes testing and researching, and re-testing, over and over.
- It must be consistent — you have to continue to build quality content and links. You cannot do it once and forget about it. If you do, Google will forget about you too!
- You must read up on the latest SEO techniques and changes via Google and other search engines. What worked last year may not work this year. Check out bloggers’ passion posts about where to learn more about the ever-changing SEO landscape today.
- Then, you need to analyze stats often and re-adjust SEO techniques.
- Once you learn, you must re-learn it and re-do it.
- It’s like housework, it is NEVER done.
- SEO can be a real downer when your stats sink and they can sink fast. You must not get discouraged.
- Finally, SEO can be expensive. If you do PPC ads you will quickly run through hundreds of dollars.
Why Is SEO Great For Your Blog or Website?
SEO improves your blog or website’s visibility in search engine results, driving more organic traffic. By optimizing your content with relevant keywords and high-quality backlinks, you can attract more potential visitors.
However, you must also do internal linking on your blog or website. This helps the user experience and gives them more to read, thus spending more time on your site.
This can lead to increased brand awareness, higher engagement, and ultimately, more conversions.
Additionally, a well-executed SEO strategy can establish your site as an authoritative and trustworthy source in your niche, further boosting your online presence.
Why Do People Love Social vs SEO?
People often prefer social media over SEO because it offers immediate interaction and social connection. Social media platforms allow users to engage with others in real-time, creating a sense of community and belonging.
Additionally, social media provides a more visually engaging and dynamic experience compared to traditional search engine results. Users can easily consume and share content, making it an appealing platform for personal expression and social validation.
The interactive nature of social media fosters a sense of immediate gratification and feedback, which can be more appealing than the sometimes slower and more indirect results of SEO strategies.
Lastly, social media can be an ego boost for those with egos. Psychology Today wrote about this a few years back.
Managing social media can be challenging due to the need for consistent and engaging content creation, strategic scheduling, and continuous community engagement.
Additionally, staying updated on platform algorithm changes, analyzing performance metrics, and adapting to trends are ongoing tasks that demand time and effort.
Balancing the branding needs of a company with the expectations and preferences of the audience requires a nuanced approach.
SEO vs. Social to Drive Traffic Today
We saw it once with Facebook when they decided which likes on pages were fake and took them away. Then they made the algorithm for Facebook pages go down to 2–3% of your entire audience. Today we have to use their Creator Studio just to post to our pages.
Others have been put in Twitter Jail and lost their Twitter accounts. That’s why I believe we can never put our eggs, social or SEO, in any one basket.
The argument between SEO and social media will continue. Social media experts argue that social is the new SEO, while SEO experts insist that SEO is the primary source of website traffic.
To attract traffic to your blog or website, you should have SEO in place before diving into social media. However, some may find that using social media is necessary to kickstart traffic, as SEO can take up to 9 months or a year.
Ideally, using a combination of both methods would be the best approach for your blog or website.
How to Gain More Traffic: SEO vs Social
- Research keywords — use tools to research your keywords for your updated or new content.
- Writing guest blog posts on other well-read blogs.
- Update old blog posts with more content and updated information.
- Research what the competition is doing and who ranks well.
- Use graphics with alt-image text.
- Insert some videos in your blog posts.
- Write some lengthy informative blog posts that answer questions for your readers.
SEO wins over social media in the long run. While social media provides short-term boosts, its impact fades quickly. SEO compounds over time, driving consistent traffic growth.
An optimized site captures more organic searches, outperforming viral social posts that burn bright but fizzle fast. Smart businesses invest in SEO for lasting online visibility and lead generation.
You can see my stats below to prove it to you.
Which method do you prefer for driving traffic to your blog or website, SEO vs. social media? Please let me know in the comments below.
SEO vs Social Media — Which Is Better For Your Blog Traffic? Click To Tweet
Originally published at https://inspiretothrive.com on April 22, 2024.
