There was a time when everything directly or indirectly linked to search engines and marketers thought if they were good with SEO then it was enough. But, now the line between SEO and SMO is gradually diminishing with both SEO and SMO getting entangled together. Google has continuously dismissed the claims that social media presence doesn’t affect the ranking of their search results, but the truth is that it is related. Whenever a user shares or likes a website or a webpage, then it amps up its quality score which helps the search engine to identify the respective website as a genuine site.
SMO also helps with local searches:
Another reason why SMO is essential is that it helps to drive traffic not just from the search engines but also from other sources. It helps to target audience based on their personalized search, geographical location, and other background details. The target audience that you get with social media is more specific as compared to other marketing techniques.