Who Needs SEO? Do YOU? SEO vs Social Media for Businesses

January 19, 2017

Do you need SEO? What about social media? What are the benefits of SEO vs Social Media for your brand or business?

If you’re reading this post, you’ve definitely asked yourself these questions, and you’re also probably somewhat aware that SEO is a bit of a complicated industry. I’m going to answer this question to help you decide in a definitive matter  what optimization services can help you… or not.

SEO vs Social Media

First I want to cover the differences between SEO (search engine optimization) and social media, and what each can do for a business.

SEO, which is a form of  search engine marketing , takes advantage of  existing search volume and demand to show your site to people who are already searching for what you offer . Your website is marketed and optimized to display as high as it can for search phrases that are already being used by hundreds or thousands of people each month.

Social media, in which a business or brand is marketed through social channels such as Facebook, Twitter, etc, is a form of marketing that takes advantage of around-the-clock  social media activity  to get you in front of people who  are not looking for you, but may be interested in you .

Do YOU Need SEO? (And if not.. who does?)

The short answer is that SEO is for brands and businesses that are already being searched for. It takes advantage of existing market awareness . If you’re the only one with your brand name, and your products/services are not being searched for, you don’t need it.

Here are some questions to ask yourself about your business and your website to figure out if you need SEO, or rather, if you can benefit from SEO.

Examples:

I once had a musician come to me wanting to purchase SEO to make sure they came up for their band name in Google. I turned them down – they were the only one with that name, so there was no problem ranking for those searches already.

On the other hand, I encourage every local business or large e-commerce brand with a marketing budget to invest in SEO. (I would do the same with smaller e-commerce brands, however it’s unlikely you’ll have the budget to go against the big guys for category-style search terms so.. sorry!) SEO is a long-term strategy that results in long-term growth, even when you stop paying for it. In a brick and mortar store, location is everything. The same is true for the first page of google, which is prime real estate.

***There is ONE exception to all of this that I feel the need to cover here..
 If a creative llama-hat-maker  was determined to get more business from organic search avenues (instead of taking advantage of the ones that would probably work better with less effort), they could get creative and follow this process:

Who Needs Social Media?

On the other end of the online marketing spectrum is social media marketing. Instead of taking advantage of existing market awareness, social media marketing builds demand and cr eates awareness. Here is another set of questions to ask yourself is social media would be helpful:
  1. Does your audience use social networks? Which ones?
  2. Do you have the resources to maintain a (or many) social media profile(s) on those networks?
  3. Would social media help establish your business as an expert in its field?
  4. If one of your posts went viral, would it actually help you achieve your business goals , or would it simply boost your vanity metrics, aka egometrics ? *Take this with a grain of salt.. in some cases, egometrics matter, but only because the people measuring them don’t understand that they’re just egometrics. 
  5. Can you come up with a strategy, or hire someone to come up with a strategy, to ensure your social media efforts have a positive ROI?

The simple answer here is that anyone who wants to create awareness and has the resources to do so  can benefit from social media. However, not everyone  needs it. Almost any brand can typically can benefit from social media if they choose to, however they usually only   need  either SEO or social media.  If you  need SEO, then you can benefit from social media as well, but it is not a requirement. If you  need social media, then it’s unlikely you can benefit greatly from SEO, as long as you have your basic web presence straightened out and can be found by your brand name.

Examples:

The best example I have for this instance regarding a company that doesn’t need social media is a local services-based client who was annoyed that their competitor was getting a lot more engagement on their Facebook page. The competitor was posting animal memes (it’s an industry that deals with animals) that would get a decent amount of engagement. When we discussed the issue, the client realized they didn’t want to go whole-ham on their Facebook page after all.. because it was really unlikely they’d get any new local clients from a few viral memes. So while they made their own efforts to increase engagement on their pages, it wasn’t worth it for them to hire professional help just to keep up with the joneses for no other ROI-focused purpose other than feeling good.

 
Another great example of this is this company, Maven Digital, vs a band. Maven Digital needs S EO as there are many people searching for our services. We  can benefit from social media, but it won’t make or break us. Because we have the resources go to whole-ham on it, we will.  

On the other hand, a band, or a llama hat seller,  does not need ongoing SEO  beyond the basics, but should definitely be using social media . For SEO, just make sure your brand can be found everywhere for its search terms. Take advantage of new searches that you see pop up as “suggested searches” when searching your brand name. But more importantly,  create awareness through social media.

< Older Post Newer Post >

TheSEOKitchen Small Business Services Are Now at ProPages

By Hannah Martin • July 29, 2025
Welcome to ProPages.ai!

20 No-Brainer Ideas for Advertising Your Small Business

By Hannah Martin • July 18, 2025
Let me guess: You set up your business, opened shop, did all the paper work, and even paid for a website.. but people still aren’t coming in? Well, you might have forgotten an important step, or maybe you just didn’t know where to start with it… You need MARKETING and ADVERTISING. Marketing your small business is the key to all business sales, unless your entire business model is based on impulse buys. With marketing and advertising, the saying that “the early bird gets the worm” really rings true. Here are 20 ways you can advertise your local business without any expertise, so you can increase sales and get more customers. Before you jump into the list, did you know that SEO (short for “Search Engine Optimization”) can help bring customers to your business naturally? Imagine being listed on the first page when people search for your services in Google. We can do that! Check out our SEO services here. Here are 20 affordable marketing and advertising ideas for your small business Submit your business name, address, and phone number to all of the local directories that cover your town. This means setting up profiles on websites like Yelp, Yellowpages, and Foursquare. ( Bonus : do SEO on your Yelp page to come up higher there, too.) Make sure your business is listed on Google+ for Business. If it is, make sure you claim the listing. If it’s not, make sure you set it up! (And then claim it.) Create an optimized Facebook page for your business. Invite all of your friends in the area, and run ads to people who might be interested in your services nearby. Put your vehicle in a vinyl wrap. This is like a mobile billboard that advertises your local business wherever you go! Establish your expertise on social media by creating posts about your professional/business accomplishments. Ask for referrals from past customers. You can even offer a referral free (like I do!) to encourage fee, word of mouth advertising. Submit for a local “coupon book” membership. Take out an ad in the local newspaper. Sponsor a local event, such as Relay for Life, or a community marathon. Run a contest. You can advertise this contest using any of the methods above. Consistently blog about topics related to your business, that your customers would find helpful. Retarget people who have already been to your website, but might not have contacted you on their first visit. Take out PPC ads. Optimize your website to rank organically in Google . This is called SEO, and it means that when someone searches for your services (for example, “roofing company in Las Vegas”), you’ll come up first! Advertise on local news websites. Place ads on Craigslist.org. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. Use press releases when there is significant news for your business to talk about. (A grand opening press release would definitely be appropriate!) Attend a BNI meeting for your local chapter Once you start using some of these tips, business will start coming in. From there, the most important thing to keep growing your business is to ensure customers come back , so make sure you’re providing the best experience possible after your advertising brings the customer in.  Best of luck!

5 Steps For More Website Traffic & Sales

By Hannah Martin • June 28, 2025
5 Steps Every Service Business Can Take to Get More Website Traffic & Sales
Show More