Many companies want a bigger, stronger, and more productive online audience. So, it makes sense to look toward the Internet when they need help, right? It seems a common answer is “no”.

It may seem strange that so many companies need and want help to market themselves better online, but yet, turn to an offline connection to help them do it. A lot of companies who are in the market to hire a consultant for their online marketing are seeking a warm handshake, meetings in-person, and looks in the eye. They are understandably cautious about this sort of service. It makes sense, but yet it doesn’t.

The topic came up in a conversation with a friend earlier today. He is excited about partnering with a company that provides social media consulting services. He gave me the web address, and said he had spoken to them about how I am able to help them with their online presence. It sounds crazy, right? The social media consulting company needs social media help.

Whether you work in a large corporation or a small company, I am going to explain why SEO is far more than just the technology it makes use of. If you think SEO is a technology skill, or worse, you are guilty of leaving your SEO to the IT department, duck and take cover! This may hit you between the eyes.

Did somebody ever tell you that SEO is a function of IT? If so, I want to explain how terribly misinformed they truly are. If you believed them, this may be upsetting, but at least it’s the truth.

First, allow me to break away from the acronyms for a moment. “SEO” stands for search engine optimization, and it involves the art and science of helping websites to rank in the top of search engine results for given search keywords. “IT” stands for Information Technology, and one way to look at it is the people who help keep your computer network running, and who you call if your email stops working.

I just dramatically understated each of the skills involved, but that gives you an idea to start with. What I hope to explain in a way you can appreciate is that IT is a technology skill, and SEO has more to do with people than it does computin’ machines. It is a marketing skill that makes good use of technology, and not a technology that makes use of marketing.

I spoke with a friend recently who said that his target market is “everybody”. He didn’t just say it, but he actually meant it, and even defended it. What’s astonishing to me is that he actually fancies himself an Internet marketing professional.

Now, I’m not calling my friend an idiot. There are a lot of great rocket scientists, school teachers, surgeons, firemen, and others who do not understand marketing. We cannot all know everything, and the fine details of marketing are certainly not something everybody wants or needs to understand.

My friend in the business of building websites, but this applies to any company, of any size, in any industry.

His belief was that since “anybody” may need a website, that he didn’t want to miss any of them by segmenting his market. In his mind, I guess he just didn’t want to leave anybody out. So, he is running Google ads directed at a massive audience.

I believe there is an unrealistic fear that challenges many people in my line of work, and I bold enough to address it even if others are not.

There are certain elements within the fields of SEO and social media marketing which cause many misunderstandings and hardships for reputable people with good means and good intent. People have chosen many names for the people representing those bad elements, but one stands out more prominently than others. For now I’ll call it “the D word”, and it is something wise people must be cautious of being grouped with.

It seems that the bad elements in social media and SEO have caused some quality people to become unreasonably afraid to properly promote their goods or services. It affects many other industries, and it seems to have created an overall hypersensitivity which causes many people to just hint about how they actually keep their business running, rather than be upfront about it. This is often an unreasonable fear, but definitely worth some consideration. I’ll explain this with a story.

There must be a squillion discussions of SEO versus social media out there on this vast Internet. Many of them are promoting one approach to website marketing, and suggesting that one is more important than the other. What often keeps them at odds is the perspective of the author, but let’s examine the truth of just how much they work in synergy.

A biased “this versus that” view of SEO and social media will often downplay the things that hold these two subjects together inseparably. Each can be used with practicality, and each can be used to create popularity, but let’s take a closer look at their respective roles. I want to use plain and simple logic to suggest ways to balance the two for the benefit of your business.