For those of us that don’t have a background in Internet marketing, SEO companies can at times seem to practice some form of digital marketing voodoo magic. Because there is a knowledge gap between most business owners and their SEO Internet marketing professionals, many people have frequently fallen victim to misinformation and myths.
SEO Is Dead…Again!
This one seems to resurface with every minute change to the Google algorithm. No folks, SEO is not dead. It has only changed and evolved. It is true, however, that some of the older SEO techniques and practices are no longer viable due to Google updates. This is especially true of back-link spamming via content mills, article spinning software, and spamming keywords.
Google put an end to these practices for good reason. They ended up creating websites that were absolutely terrible. In order to improve their users’ experience and clean up the Internet, they simply made it tougher to rank high in the SERPs. In fact, you need an SEO professional more now today than ever before.
Content Marketing is the New SEO
No, content marketing has not replaced SEO. Though content marketing has been around for a long time, SEO is still a viable and necessary tool to succeed online. Instead of thinking of the two as mutually exclusive, you should realize that SEO needs to be part of your content marketing strategy. They are two sides to the same coin, and neither can be ignored if you want to succeed.
Social Media Signals Boost Rankings
There seems to be a lot of misinformation about this on blogs and forums. While social media followings are a great way to strengthen your leverage online, social media will not boost your visibility in the search engines. For example, the more ‘likes’ you get on your Facebook page won’t help your website climb higher in the SERPs.
One-off SEO
Furthermore, some people erroneously believe that once their site has been optimized or has reached the first page of Google for select keywords that they can stop marketing. This couldn’t be further from the truth! If you ditch your SEO professional after gaining relevant rankings, you won’t keep them too long. There are always changes to the Google algorithm that need to be dealt with accordingly and your competition is always looking for a way to overtake you. SEO is a full-time engagement, and there is no such thing as ‘one-and-done SEO.’
Ranking for the Magic Keyword Overnight
Too many times people do a small amount of keyword research and see a top term that is related to their industry getting thousands upon thousands of organic hits per month. It is only natural, of course, that they want to rank for this keyword. However, this may not be the best strategy for your SEO campaign. Keywords like these are often very hard to rank for, and you could be missing out on traffic from other sources such as long-tail keywords, too. Listen to your SEO professional and understand that you can’t always rank for the top keywords in the blink of an eye. Some authority sites have put up entry barriers to ranking for top industry terms, and though it is entirely possible to overtake their rankings, it can take a while.
