Here at Delib, we’re the kind of people that like to learn from each other and from what the other companies in our group do. We had a really interesting talk a few weeks ago on social media vs ‘search engine optimisation’ (SEO), from Tim in our sister viral marketing agency Rubber Republic
For those as don’t know, SEO is the practice of ensuring that your website appears as high as possible in Google and other search engines when people search for phrases related to it.
Why bother with this though? Surely successful online engagement is all about using social media, and tapping into the hyper web of twitterfacespacebookbo whilst mashing up your pipefeeds with an innovative 2.0 bleeding edge API?
Well, yes and no. Social media can be great for engagement when you know how to use it, and above all else, it’s largely free to use, so the cost/benefit ratio is often a no brainer, even with low usage.
However, did you know that, with a few exceptions, sites generally get far more traffic through search engines than they do through social media? Indeed, a surprising number of people even use google as their URL bar, typing the name of a website they know about into Google, then clicking on the link it gives, rather than just typing the address into their browser.
So with this, it’s worth making sure that your website is built in an optimal way for search engines to find it, and that you have a vague idea of what’s going on with your site in various searches on various browsers.
This isn’t just abstract thinking. As reported in the Register last week, the DCSF recently came unstuck with a site aimed at kids called ‘Buster’s World’. As the Register says;
In DirectgovKids world, Buster is a friendly, tail-wagging dog that wears a sheriff’s badge and guides children around the site. It contains basic information about different government policies and services and also has games, a parents’ area and teachers’ area.
However, and I don’t recommend you test this out at work, Buster’s World also turns out to be the name of a long established ‘gentleman’s interest’ site (euphemised in case your firewall blocks this post). So, people searching for the DCSF site on Directgov through Google found a site that was less than appropriate for the intended target audience.
The DCSF site’s now been changed away from the Buster’s World branding, but it was a failure as unfortunate as it was avoidable really. So, today’s top tip? Always have a search of google when you’re planning an online engagement campaign. You never know what you might find.
