One of the most essential things that we need to learn on the internet if we have a web site is how to utilize search engine optimization. This is not a new concept and has been developed following a rapid expansion in popularity of search engines. Search engines brought us a new way of finding information on the internet replacing direct access and directory lookups as a primary way of accessing content. Being listed in the top 3 for your target keywords can result in a massive influx of free visitors and strong sales growth, while being out of top 10 may leave you no choice but to buy traffic at staggering rates. This disparity created a huge industry that is now known as SEO – Search Engine Optimization, where companies pay money to third party experts to help them attain high positions in search engines.

Recently, however, social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have become an ever expanding paradigm that has virtually matched major search engines in reach and popularity. These sites have allowed a rapid connection with a staggering numbers of people, a concept behind SMM or Social Media Marketing. In today’s world almost everyone has at least one social networking account with many people participating in all kinds of social internet activities. Many companies looking for new ways to access the markets have concentrated on social media marketing to compliment their search engine optimization efforts. Search engine optimization experts have applied their knowledge gained from years of SEO experience and understanding of group behaviour to this new social networking niche. There are literally tens of parameters that need to be taken into account, from presentation and layout to fine-tuning their clients’ sites to take advantage from geo-targeting.

Social media marketing has however created a lot of uproar from privacy advocacy groups, which claim that social networking sites have been collecting too much personal information. Such data can be used by advertisers to target consumers on a personal level, which in turn is said to be an infringement on personal privacy.

It is difficult to speculate how social networking and associated legislature will play out, but for now it continues to a robust way of getting access to consumer markets.