SEO is largely believed to be snake oil by many in direct marketing. Largely, this is due to the fact that in many cases it is. There are exceptions. For example, the knowledge of how search engines engage the public, how the public behaves using search engines and what content does and does not end up on their radar is extremely valuable knowledge. Social media is the crutch for the novice in online marketing.

FriendFeed is likely the absolutely deepest linked social media site. The minute you post into FriendFeed you benefit from a level of attention that would require tens of thousands of daily visitors. Google, Bing, and a growing list of social linking services put your content directly in front of the best prospect in the world: the guy looking for what you just said. It's virtually impossible to achieve this level of exposure through simply posting to your blog or website.