Dr. Pete via SEOmoz has put together a post that I like- it gives some great possible ROI metrics for your social media work. I was getting my knickers in a twist about how tweets and Facebook pages could (or could NOT) be measured in direct comparison with the big SEO KPIs. This post has unravelled my twisted knickers somewhat.
The best takeaway (for me) is that as SMO evolves, so should our expectancy. Where one set of KPIs doesn’t fit perfectly then apply ones that can at least test its effectiveness. My analytical brain says this is a smashing way of carrying on, but my cynical brain says “hang on, aren’t you just creating KPIs for the sake of it? If something doesn’t work the way you want it to, just ditch it”.
The idea that I should stop staring at my SEO bellybutton is a really good one- why one earth would SEO KPIs apply to SMO? I wouldn’t try and apply to them to PPC, so why did it bother me enough to post about it?
The answer is that I’m always looking for the black-and-white, and SMO metrics seem like they can’t deliver those, yet anyway. For example the SEOmoz post looks at brand mentions as a KPI. Sure, they’re measurable, but what value does the client get for those mentions?
Anyway, I’m going to take the plunge as Dr. Pete suggests, and simply start measuring- we’ll see what comes of it.
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