Search engine optimization (SEO) is an essential aspect of online marketing. Consider the last time you Googled something. Did you look past the first few results? Research indicates that the top five URLs on the search engine results pages (SERPs) receive 75% of user clicks, making search engine marketing vital to your company’s success. Despite this statistic, there are a few incorrect myths circulating about SEO as part of a digital marketing strategy; let’s take a look at three of them.
Myth: SEO Is A Scam
This is simply untrue. At a most basic level, on-page and off-page SEO practices range from making it easier for a search engine to crawl and index your site to improving site authority and producing search engine-friendly content. However, a good SEO campaign may take time to deliver significant results (especially with new sites that have yet to build any domain authority) — but results will eventually manifest. It’s unrealistic to expect (or for any digital marketing firm to promise) instant results such as “ranking on the first page of Google” right after an SEO campaign is implemented. You must be patient with SEO campaigns, but also remember that you get what you pay for – choosing a transparent digital marketing partner who can offer proven, measurable results is an important consideration.
Myth: Link Building Is Dead
In general, building the right high-quality links to your website increases site authority and ranking in search engines. Google’s Senior Webmaster Trends Analyst, John Mueller, stated that link building is something he’d “try to avoid,” sending the SEO world into a frenzy. Many interpreted this to mean that link building is now bad and against the rules; in fact, Mueller meant the practice shouldn’t be your only focus, and rather, that more effort should go into building powerful, relevant content worthy of earning backlinks on its own merit.
Common knowledge dictates that manipulative paid link building — a form of black hat SEO — shouldn’t be risked. In summary, link building is very much alive and well. Currently, search engines use link authority and anchor text signals heavily in their search ranking algorithms, which is why link building should form a portion of your SEO program.
Myth: Ranking #1 For A “Magic Keyword” Is All You Need
It’s true that certain keywords get many more hits than long tail keywords, which receive less traffic since they tend to be longer and more specific. It’s also true that many companies will never come close to ranking against the brand giants that control those top spots; this makes ranking for long tail keywords incredibly profitable for smaller businesses. While simply searching for “SEO” may garner thousands of hits, it’s easier to supply more accurate and relevant results to user search queries by using longer, more specific versions and variations with that keyword. As a result, long tail keywords often have higher conversion rates. Remember that Google’s search algorithm seeks to provide the best search results to every query; your goal then is to rank high within your industry and match what your prospects are searching for by providing them with the most relevant and useful content.
Search engine optimization is a complex, ever-evolving art and science that can drastically improve your business success when implemented strategically and fine-tuned as needed. It can be difficult to keep up with industry best practices and Google algorithm updates. Fortunately, a digital marketing company that specializes in SEO can strategize and execute on-page, technical and off-page SEO tactics to increase your site rankings. By partnering with the right digital marketing company to deliver better rankings, your business can earn more traffic, higher conversions and increase your bottom line.
WRITTEN BY
Rick Hogan, CEO & Co-Founder – Bleevit Interactive Rick possesses over 20 years of digital marketing experience and started Bleevit Interactive with the primary mission of helping local businesses succeed online. When he is not working he can often be found hiking Great Falls, Virginia with his Labradoodle Lily, or sailing the Chesapeake Bay. If you have any comments or suggestions on how we can improve this post or otherwise want to give us a shout, send an email to hello@bleevit.com.
