The web marketing world is full of grand promises and too-good-to-be-true sales pitches bombarding your email several times a day. Unfortunately, the majority of these promises are far from reality, and those behind them are using relying on myths in order to make a quick buck.
The SEO world is still a relatively young arena that can be easily exploited by inexperienced individuals looking to take advantage of businesses attempting to gain a footing in the search engine rankings. It’s good that you spend some time to learn about some of the Myths of SEO, so the next time you’re approached by an ‘SEO Expert’, you can make the best decisions:
1. You can be 100% sure you’ll get certain rankings in Google.
One of the most common promises given out by ‘SEO’ companies is that they guarantee you a top spot in Google rankings. When it comes to SEO, this is 100% false. No company, no matter how professional, experienced, or successful they are, can guarantee any spot on natural search engine rankings. Search Engines use sophisticated algorithms to determine (for themselves) which websites rank on the top of results for given key phrases. While a good SEO company can take capable steps into tailoring your site to achieve high results, there are no guarantees that Google will chose your site over another. While a good SEO company can likely guarantee an increase in rankings, it’s just not possible to be specific as to what spot you’ll achieve.
2. Performing SEO makes your website ‘Spammy’
Unfortunately, the SEO world is filled with ‘spam’ and unprofessional promotional methods. This leads many businesses to believe that these same tactics will be used to promote their websites. However, this is not necessarily the case. SEO is not about using spam as a way to increase search engine traffic. If you are performing SEO on your site, that does not mean you’ll be sending out 1000’s of emails a day or have your site infested with annoying pop-ups. While some individuals may engage in these tactics on behalf of their clients, it’s important to hire a professional SEO company specializing in approved methods (aka White-Hat Tactics). A very large number of enterprise-level business on the web allocate budgets towards SEO services. Professional SEO services improve your website visibility without endangering your brand reputation.
3. Results happen overnight
It’s disappointing to see many businesses fall prey to the fake promises of ‘Rank #1 in Google overnight”. It is impossible for a website to go from nothing to #1 in a matter of days, let alone overnight. In the majority of cases, the companies offering these services are disguising their service as SEO, when in reality they’re offering to set up a paid advertising campaign on Google. Unlike SEO, Google paid search requires companies to constantly bid for a position in the ‘Paid Ads’ section of Google. While you may be able to get quick results from being listed as a paid listing, the expenses usually far outweigh the benefits. SEO usually takes weeks if not months to start seeing results, however once performing well, you gain the benefits of being top ranked without paying the premium of paid advertising. In order to get actual growth you need to spend time and effort to get your entire campaigns running efficiently. A pomodoro timer can help you break down tasks and practice better productivity.
4. SEO is a one-time thing
Several Hosting and Web Designers are now offering SEO-optimized website packages to businesses. Many business owners assume they do not need SEO services because their web designer went in and changed some elements of their website in order to make it be SEO-friendly. While this is one part of an SEO campaign, SEO is an ongoing process. The creation of tailored content and relationship building required take months of ongoing work that simply can’t be done over a weekend or using an automated tool.
