It’s 2017, and the Internet is still largely unaware of what SEO is and how it can positively – or negatively – impact their online brand presence. If your company runs entirely online, you can’t afford to be without up-to-date SEO information. Today we’re going to look at some common SEO myths. It’s not clear why these started. Maybe some SEO “experts” didn’t have great information. Or perhaps some people want to avoid the hard work that goes into building SEO. Whatever the reasons, it’s time to dispel these SEO website myths once and for all.
Some are of the mindset that because SEO has been trending for a few years now, it’s run its course and it’s old news. But that outlook couldn’t be farther from the truth.
Brand Building
SEO has nothing to do with your perception of your website and brand. Rather, SEO has everything to do with what other people think of your brand. The longer your brand is around, the better chance you have at boosting your SEO rankings.
A Genuine Brand
Think if you’ve neglected this aspect of business management or you’re new to the online brand building game. Your brand makes your company genuine and memorable to customers. SEO is a crucial part of the branding process. Through visibility and developing a voice, people start to think about your company.
Content Is Everything…
Those who argue against the import of SEO are fast to follow their criticism of SEO with the statement that content is king. Good content gives your brand and website the visibility that you need to rise in SEO rankings.
It’s true that your content does have a lot to do with whether your site is viewed favorably for SEO purposes. However, it’s not enough to have great content and no SEO strategy. Choosing the right content and filling your posts with relevant keywords and links help to boost your SEO. But you can’t rely on content alone to take your rankings to the next level.
…But it’s not the Only Thing
In addition to great content – which is non-negotiable – you need a solid SEO strategy. And regular site maintenance helps to boost your SEO rankings. SEO strategy is a long-term game. You shouldn’t expect to see results within one to two months of implementing your plan.
Patience is a Virtue
It’s perhaps for this reason that many website owners get frustrated over their perceived lack of success and dismiss SEO altogether. It’s easier to assume that churning out good content is enough to bring customers to your site.
While the concept of “if you build it, they will come” might apply to ball fields, it doesn’t apply to websites. The goal is to reach your target audience. If they do not see your content, they don’t know more about your business. Sharing on social media and adding links are two ways to increase traffic to your web content.
One thing that SEO marketers figured out relatively quickly is that links on your site make a difference when it comes to boosting SEO rankings.
Internal links – those that lead to other pages on your site – strengthen the page views and internal click web of your website.
External links – those that go to other pages online – legitimize your brand and generate a web of online traffic in your niche.
However, the discovery of links to boost SEO rankings led many website owners to random linking. Lots of linking seems like a logical strategy – more links = better SEO. But new algorithms and SEO programming on the part of search engines has made this practice outdated.
Quality Links Over Quantity of Lengths
What’s important now is the inclusion of quality links throughout your site. If you’re writing a blog post about pencil manufacturing, for example, it’s wise to use one link to a site that explains how to choose wood for pencils. And avoid linking to random articles that correlate to all the topics you discuss in the post.
User-Friendly Approach
Additionally, you want to consider the legitimacy of the sites you use. Also, continually comb your pages for broken or expired links. Nothing hurts your SEO performance like a bunch of dead links. And they frustrate your users when they click and return to an error page.
Choose Only Relevant Links
Similarly, you need to choose links that are pertinent to the topic your cover. In the pencil manufacturing example, you wouldn’t want to include links to random articles. For example, linking to content about what engineers need to study before they get a job. Sure, the topic is related to manufacturing, but it has nothing to do with your brand. So your readers will be disinterested.
Take Time
Choosing relevant links takes longer. But it is better to use one-third of the links that you might have than if you were stuffing a page full of them. And the value you provide to your readers is essential. SEO rewards sites that have links that are well-connected with related sites around the web.
Some users are of the opinion that keywords don’t matter anymore. While it’s true that things like “pizza pepperoni cheese Dallas Texas” might not be as popular as they once were, that certainly doesn’t mean that the keyword is dead. The savvy use of the right keywords in your content is essential.
Be Strategic With Keyword Placement
You do want to include keywords in every piece of copy or blog post that you write. However, you don’t need to litter your website with keywords at random intervals to appease the search engines. Using keywords strategically allows them to be picked up at a quick skim. And doesn’t tip your reader off that you’re baiting them for page clicks by keyword jamming.
Be Selective
Use keywords in strategic places, like your title, headers, and body. A good rule of thumb is to naturally bring in the keyword every few paragraphs. And you probably don’t need to be rigid with your keyword use for SEO. If your keyword is something like “grocery store marketing California,” using some combination of these words throughout will give you visibility.
Keyword Stuffers are Heading Out
One last thing while we’re on the topic of keywords: using them as stuffers is not a viable strategy anymore. The overuse of keywords made it difficult to read and understand website content. Now SEO takes the human readers into consideration. The goal is to craft content that appeals to search engines and customers.
Relevancy Matters
Avoid filling paragraph after paragraph with your specific keywords. Instead, use your blog posts and site pages to talk about what your company does or discuss relevant industry topics. As you write, keywords will naturally crop up. But don’t let them be an obsession. You wouldn’t search for five ways to include a certain phrase in a short conversation with a friend. So don’t stuff your web content with keywords, either.
Another common myth about SEO is that you can set your SEO strategy one time and forget about it. Certainly, this concept sounds convenient. After all, who wants to continually consider SEO strategy when there are other things you could be doing for your business? However, a one and done approach to SEO is sure to yield less than satisfactory results.
Respect Your Brand
Don’t let the temptation to choose a single SEO strategy to get the best of your brand. If you wouldn’t make a decision like this for marketing your physical storefront, don’t make a mistake online either.
SEO Requires Continual Attention
The fact of the matter is that SEO maintenance takes time. The Internet is in motion 24/7, and that means your site needs to be able to meet the continual demands of your customers.
Business owners might not have hours a week to devote to plan development and website maintenance that favors SEO rankings. And quality SEO requires ongoing research and strategic implementation.
Minimize Stress
Whether you build widgets or save lives, your time is valuable. Adding another time-consuming task to your hectic schedule can be overwhelming. A professional agency can continually optimize and maintain your WordPress website.
Reap the Benefits
While it might take a few months, businesses can realize the benefits of a top notch SEO campaign. The result is more targeted traffic and better leads. Investing in your SEO website can help boost your business’ bottom line. Plus, it continually brands your business to make it more recognizable.
So leave the SEO heavy lifting to us. We can design an SEO strategy that works for your brand. And our experts can provide the updates you need to keep your site relevant and visible to the major search engines. Also, our pros work with companies to help them develop a stronger brand presence.
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