Defining Online Visibility
by Daniel SchutzsmithSaturday, May 10th, 2008
filed under Online Visiblity
Since launching our site and declaring that we are “the first web design studio to focus in Online Visibility”, we’ve been getting many questions from clients and peers as to what exactly is Online Visibility. Specifically, how does it differ from other similar practices like eMarketing and Social Media Optimization. This is a great question and one that we also had a tough time defining when we decided to focus on it.
A little background
It really starts back in 2006. I’ve spoken for the past two years at conferences and in trade publications about the power of online visibility. The first time I heard this term originate, circa early 2007, was from Dave Winslow of Epik One, an Analytics and eMarketing firm in Burlington, VT. Attempting to get me to do a presentation for his Online Marketing Bootcamp he explained it to me as:
“The intersection of where social networks, web apps, and online identities merge to form a digital representation of a person or entity in the mind of the viewer.”
Dave’s explanation rang very true for me. At that time, it made much sense and I went forward, gave the talk, showed some of my methods, impressed the audience and went on my way. For the record, I believe that Dave originally heard of the term from Dr. Elaine Young at Champlain College whom used it to describe a class she was teaching.
The SMO Connection
Shortly after giving this initial presentation I started to get very excited about the future for OV. It seemed like something that I could really wrap my head around and put my passion for design and the web into. that was, until I realized its not really called Online Visibility. The truth is that the original definition was more close to Social Media Optimization, coined by
Rohit Bhargava back in the summer of 2006. While that is great, the actual term didn’t have the ring to it that Online Visibility did for me.
Take a step back
So after this realization I kept learning as much as I could about SMO and looking at how my own passions for design and the web could contribute to the practice of SMO. What I soon realized was that Online Visibility still made sense. All along I had been thinking of Online Visibility as being the same thing as SMO, but when I examined further, what I had deemed as OV in my mind was really more like the visual extension of SMO. Placing more of the emphasis on the visuals that go with SMO such as logos, photographs, profile layouts, etc… and less on the wording is really what OV is all about.
A true definition
So I went back to the drawing board in early 2008 and gave this a better go. What I started to unravel was that everything I had been learning and all of my passions truly made up this concept of Online Visibility. So here is our crack at what OV is to us:
“The calculated, visual branding of a person or entity across multiple websites, that forms a unified representation of that brand in the mind of the viewer.”
This has the best ring for us and really does represent what we do. So what do you think? Make sense? Is it pure BS? You make the call!
May 12th, 2008 at 7:27 am
Thanks for the informative article. It was interesting to note how the definition of SMO evolved over time.
Regarding your definition of Online Visibility, I do agree with a large portion of it. However you state that it is “…visual branding of a person or entity across multiple websites…”
I was wondering why you did not choose to define Online Visibility by search engine ranking. In today’s Internet world, it is the search engines that are defining the what we see and perceive at a certain time. Search engines (regardless of their tactics et cetera) are molding our culture and society to the knowledge it spews out and ranks as number one. Wouldn’t it make sense, that by creating a web presence on multiple websites, you can propel your online visibility higher on search engines or something of that sort, hence the “visibility” aspect of the term?
I would be keen to hear what you think : )
Thanks,
Naomi
May 13th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Hi Daniel,
As Naomi asks, I’m curious why your definition of online visibility doesn’t include search engine rankings. To me it seems a little more like ‘online appearance’ i.e. how you look to those who have found you.
That said, appearance is vital, and no matter what is said to the contrary, people judge a book by its cover.
May 16th, 2008 at 2:04 am
@Naomi: Good question! I think I may have to extend my definition a bit then! With my understanding, OV places more emphasis on the visual appearance of a brand (as David suggests), but it definitely should not neglect the importance of search engine ranking, nor ignore the influence that OV itself can have on changing search engine ranking.
@David: Great observation! I am wondering if Online Appearance is more of what I had in mind when I originally wrote this. I think that search engine ranking should also play a part so back to the drawing boards I go.
May 17th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Hey Dan,
Thanks for the props in the post! Following the thread from David and Naomi, I’d look to define if you are talking about Online Visibility for an individual or a company. For an individual it is important to have a consistent profile, message, etc. across all the social networks that are important to their visibility. For a company, I would agree that now search engine listings become important because they improve the company’s visibility.
One company taking the “extreme” approach is Modernista - http://modernista.com — they don’t have a true site but rather pull in all their online touch points to piece together an online presence. A bit extremist but they get the point across!
Dave
Epik
May 17th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Dan:
In my mind Online Visibility is at its most simple, the practice of public relations online. Consider what it is that a PR professional engages in. Pre-internet they were responsible for working closely with the media (read there, news media) to get coverage of their organization/client. Today, the definition of “media” is much broader and includes many different channels.
When engaging in Online Visiblity, a person is utilizing online tools in an intentional and authentic way to increase the relevance and credibility of their brand.
These tools are any that are currently in use such as SEO, SEM, Blogging, Social Networking, Micro-blogging (Twitter) and…any of those tools we don’t quite know about yet.
For example, I blog. You blog. You sent me an email letting me know about this discussion and my Google Alert tipped me off, so I blogged about it, and then came over here and wrote this post. In my blog, I linked to your “linkedin profile” and refrenced your new gig AND your teaching for me.
That process just increased your online vis, my online vis AND both of our SEO rankings.
Hmm…it’s such a wonderful web we weave!
See you soon at Online Marketing Bootcamp here in Burlington! Looking forward to your presentation…but must be honest that I’m really looking forward to meeting Avinash!
Elaine Youngs last blog post..Dog and Pony Shows — it’s all about Social Media
May 18th, 2008 at 11:33 am
@EpikDave: We’d definitely say that Online Visibility is applicable to a brand. Now if that brand is a person or company remains to be seen on a project by project basis. Your view on search engine ranking in OV seems to echo the other comments here, so I am led to believe that it IS definitely very important to the OV definition. Thanks for the Modernista! link - thats excellent! A really terrific way or using social media and web apps in a guerilla marketing/website hijacking kind of way!
@Elaine Young: Great take on OV! You said two words that really stand out to me as exactly what we are going for: “authentic” and “intentional”. You’re such an Avinash groupie!
May 19th, 2008 at 10:07 am
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July 8th, 2008 at 8:09 am
[...] website, DSGN +DVLP. Part of the website is the DSGN + DVLP blog, and a recent article focuses on defining online visibility. DSGN + DVLP was founded in early 2008 as a web studio creating sites that are visually inspiring, [...]