SEO can be a complexed practice to understand, but it’s relevance and importance is non-negotiable. Businesses with plans to grow and thrive can’t do so without exposure to their ideal target audience, and SEO translates as a key tactic to creating these meaningful connections. Despite the power of search engine optimization, there’s unfortunately a trend of skepticism around the topic altogether. We’re debunking the 8 most common SEO myths in an effort to help you refine your strategy and better reach the audiences who benefit most from your products and services.
1. SEO is a gimmick.
SEO isn’t about cutting corners or maliciously plotting your way to the top. Many associate this practice with spam or hacking, but this is an inaccurate perception. Think of it like a highly-calculated math problem. SEO operates by leveraging characteristics of a website and features of various types of content to determine what users want and how to organize the results in the most efficient and accessible way. This is what the algorithm works so distinctly to accomplish.
2. The key to the reigns: Keyword ranking
SEO works to position your website as high as possible, but key words aren’t the only piece of the puzzle. Keywords play a critical role, and are something you should prioritize, but not without remembering that there are several types of metrics and different types of key performance indicators that inform the results and explain the success of your efforts.
3. The risk of Google penalties are inevitable
It’s widely believed that Google penalties are as common as the average parking ticket, but experts on the matter know that the one similarity between the most notorious Google penalties is manual action. This demonstrates the fact that Google penalties most typically target the most abhorrent masterminds behind the web. You may experience something like an automatic penalty or a temporary decrease in your ranking, but this is not unordinary, nor is it considered to be severe. Educate yourself on best practices and implement these in to your process, and you’ll remain in the clear.
4. Minimize the amount of spending you allocate for SEO practices
Cost-effective strategies elicit conversation for a reason, but just because they maximize spending doesn’t mean it benefits you to spend less. SEO exemplifies this to a T, and with an impressive ability to hit ROI goals, you’ll want to be sure you’re investing enough to maximize the result. Be sure to consider that even when you’re weighing the pros and cons of cost-effective options, often times you get what you pay for. This may mean work that lacks in professional caliber or an execution that only brings forth a sliver of strategy. Point is, SEO can do a lot for you, but only when you’re willing to invest in the best it has to offer.
5. SEO has too many technical complications
This isn’t necessarily a myth given there are many complexed facets of SEO, and if you’re a beginner, there are undoubtedly many elements of the topic that are intimidating at best. But, like anything else, the best way to navigate something you know little about is to educate yourself. Because SEO is such a critical part of the business world in our society, there are ample resources readily available to you. Sure, it will take patience and time, but you can lean a lot when your mind is open to it.
6. Link buildings is the equivalent of spam
Not quite… It can feel a lot like spam, but only due to the quality of execution or the lack of planning. The best in the link building world don’t perceive link building as a strategy for repetitive self-promotion that lives on from website to website. Instead, this tactic is intended to promote the content that people want to consume—the things they want to read, watch, and listen to. Using link building can enhance your search relevance, and position you as a leader that’s bringing value to the Internet.
7. SEO functions as a circuit
Bullshit. If you think the SEO process is forever unchanged, you’re kidding yourself. Many buy in to the misconception that SEO operates as the result of a calculated procedure that generates identical results from clients to client. The practices uphold their reliability, but the SEO strategies are tailored to the needs, wants, and characteristics of each client. This means that the tactics for targeting the ideal audience, executing each step of the process, and the overall investment varies.