Key Difference: The term SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is a process that is used to improve the ranking of a website in a search engine. SMO, on the other hand, stands for social media optimization. The purpose of SMO is to use social media to increase traffic to a website.

SEO and SMO are two terms have gotten very popular these days. The terms are mainly used in context to web masters and bloggers. Both, SEO and SMO are utilized to increase traffic to a website. However, SEO and SMO are quite different than each other and utilize different techniques to achieve their means. There are many webmasters who claim expertise in SEO and/or SMO. Their main responsibility is to increase the amount of visitors to a particular website.

The term SEO stands for search engine optimization. It is a process that is used to improve the ranking of a website in a search engine. It is generally accepted that the higher the website ranks in a search engine, such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc., the more visitors the website gets. Most people who use search engines do not like to click through pages and pages of search results to get access to content. They usually access the website on the first few pages of the search results.

SEO targets certain keywords. It takes into consideration how search engines work, what people search for, the search terms or keywords that are typed into search engines, and what is the targeted audience of the search engine. SEO can be used to target different kinds of searches, including image search, local search, video search, academic search, news search and industry-specific vertical search engines.

 SMO, on the other hand, stands for social media optimization. According to Webopedia, “social media optimization is the process of increasing the awareness of a product, brand or event by using a number of social media outlets and communities to generate viral publicity.”

The purpose of SMO is to use social media to increase traffic to a website. This may incorporate RSS feeds, social news and bookmarking sites, video and blogging sites, as well as social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, etc. Utilizing SMO on a website essentially means that the website and its content should be optimized so that the content from the site should easily shareable on social media. This may be achieved by incorporating widgets, social media buttons, etc.

Comparison between SEO and SMO:

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