Top 5 Search Engine Optimization Myths Revealed

A majority of SEO myths derive from “black hat SEO” practices. What is black hat SEO you might ask? Basically a Black Hat SEO guy will get crafty with the back end of your website, spamming up your pages, linking to everyone and their mom, which in turn will result in getting you higher rankings. Now that may sound nice at first glance, but in no time the search engines will catch onto your website partaking in these nifty ways and will actually ban your website from their results. So before you start getting crazy and hiring one of these fellows, remember that only “white hat SEO” practices are going to take you where you need to go for long term results. Of course, our Arizona SEO services are 100% white hat. Let’s take a look at some common SEO myths.

1. Search engine optimization is only a way to fool the search engines in ranking sites higher.

SEO involves a through analysis of targeted keywords. SEO uses search marketing strategies, competitive analysis, keyword analysis, creative copy writing, code optimization, link building, conversion analysis, etc. The list goes on and on. All this is not used to fool or trick the search engines, it is to make your website the best it can be while using the correct terms for search engine users.

2. People are not looking for my services online

Some business owners still believe that they will not benefit from traffic derived from search engines. Believe it or not, there are still businesses who feel that their mail ad’s and newspaper ad’s will bring them better traffic than a user submitted search.

There are a very few percent of industries out there that will not benefit from an internet presence. So few that I cannot think of one at this moment. An competent Arizona SEO company should be able to provide you with an analysis of searches done per month aimed within your industry.

Every month there are nearly 5 billion searches with over 133 million unique searchers. Even if a user is not looking to purchase your goods or services, they will obtain information from your website about the goods and services that you provide. Studies show that large items are not normally purchased online, but a ton of research goes into purchasing large items (ie. boats, cars, and houses).

3. My website was built by a web designer, so it should already be optimized for search engines

Close but no cigar. While many aspects of SEO bleed into Web Design and vice versa, they are two distinct disciplines. Many design companies try to be too many things to too many people. Choose wisely by choosing a SEO agency with separate departments that work together for your needs. Dedicated SEO and Design departments should work in tandem to build and promote your website.

4. Search Engine Optimization is Simple

Sure it was easy in the olden days of SEO where writing some Meta tags, throwing a few keywords in the content, and linking to some pages would get you to the top.

Well those days are far past us. Search Engines such as Google take into consideration approximately 200 different signals pulled from their algorithm; proving that SEO is no longer a color by numbers. In fact, SEO is different for all websites. What may work for someone else’s website may drop your rankings in the gutter.

5. SEO will get my business instant traffic!

Now if you have heard the above, you may have “SEO” and “SEM” confused. SEM is Search Engine Marketing, where you can actually buy placement and in return gain traffic. Take a moment to read Lesson 4 and SEM Myths to find out more about the differences between the two.

Back on subject: SEO is a long term process that can months to achieve desired keyword rankings (depending on your competition of course). You should expect to see results in a good 3-6 months on Google. These statistics are not guaranteed, but more of a guide line that is used by SEO specialists. If you run into a business that does guarantee rankings within this amount of time, or guarantees rankings at all, you should consider looking into a different SEO agency.

As mentioned before, with SEO you have to prove to the search engines that you deserve to be on top. Go ahead and think up a term that you would like your website to rank for. Before you say you deserve to be #1 in Google for your term, do a quick search and look at who is currently #1.

Is your website better?
Do you provide better/more information than they do about your niche?
Is your code cleaner and your content written directed towards your user more than theirs?
Is your domain name older?
Have you gained trust in the search engines with any relating keywords?
Can the search engines crawl all your pages?
If you said yes to the above, rankings may be easier achieved. If not, the process may take more extensive time and research.

Further Questions?

If you have any un-answered questions regarding Search Engine Optimization or would like to work with our SEO firm, feel free to give us a ring or drop a mail in our in-box. We’ll clear up the confusion ASAP. Contact us for quotation