Could Hashtag Engine Optimization Surpass Search Engine Optimization?

If you use any social media site, you are undoubtedly familiar with the hashtag and how it functions. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest and pretty much any other social media platform you can think of allow the use of hashtags for their users to identify and categorize content and, conversely, to search for content tagged with the hashtags they seek.

The Oxford English Dictionary even has an entry dedicated to the word “hashtag” now — and it’s clear that the hashtag is on its way to revolutionizing the way web marketing works.

According to a July 19 Business2Community article, the world of hashtag engine optimization (HEO), while still very much in its early stages of development, is shaping up to become the next big thing in web marketing.

“Unlike (search engine optimization), which focuses on gaining higher rankings in the SERPs, HEO is all about finding trending hashtags, creating relevant content around them, using the hashtags effectively to get a wider exposure in social media channels and bringing heavy traffic into a website or landing page,” the Business2Community article explains.

According to Business2Community, taking advantage of HEO now is a good choice for marketers to make because it offers little competition and delivers fast results.

Hashtag engine optimization shares many similarities with the more traditional search engine optimization — for example, hashtag research is very much like keyword research. And while there are benefits to be had from incorporating HEO into an online marketing strategy, it remains to be seen if HEO will take off and become as successful as SEO has been for companies on the web.