10 Common Misconceptions About SEO and Search Rankings

Travis McAshanSEM
Mar 2010

I’ve been focusing my latest posts debunking stumbling blocks to launching a successful SEO (search engine optimization… and marketing) campaign. I thought I would conclude the trifecta of “Three EXCUSES not to do SEO” and “5 Situations SEO is NOT Necessary” with this post about common SEO misconceptions. If you’re brand NEW to SEO, we thought it would be wise to add to your schoolin’.

#1. “We’re the industry leader… we’re guaranteed for #1 in Google”

Just because you’re the big dog in your industry means absolutely NOTHING to Google. Now, before you get your feathers rustled, having industry clout, leadership, and domination WILL typically set you up to be successful in online search. This is because there is simple more potential chances for people to link to your site, talk about you and increase your online exposure. But rest assured, don’t rely simply on your industry position to determine your online ranking position.

#2. “Our site gets TONS of traffic… we have to be ranking well”

You might be surprised to know one thing almighty Google doesn’t know, that is how many visitors are going to your website. Perhaps somewhere along the lines you had the idea that the more site visitors you get the better your search rankings. It’s OK, we debunk this myth all the time to our customers. It is patently false. (just a note that typically the better your rank, the more site visitors you will typically have)

#3. “We can hire a guy from overseas to build links to our site”

Don’t laugh. We have had quite a few requests about this. To be perfectly honest, we even thought about doing it ourselves just to say we tried. However, great link building is more than just submitting your website to random directories and other websites. A guy from India (racial profiling aside) does NOT know your industry, your client’s needs, and your business better than you. You should start every SEO campaign with sound SEO best practice principles.

#4. “Our site is already #1 in Google… we’re doing great!”

Hmmm, my first question would be #1 for WHAT? If you’re ranking #1 for “purple bumblebee jackets” and you sell clothes online you might want to see (1) how many visitors that term is bringing and (2) has it made you any money? Need a real world example? We hired an SEO company to do some work for us (yes, it’s a dark secret from a few years back), and they got us to #1 for “logo design austin”. They were thrilled, the ONLY problem was that term didn’t generate a SINGLE visit to our site in three months. Lesson learned… make sure you know you’re best possible target keyword terms.

#5. “We ONLY need to promote our homepage”

This is another unfortunate lesson we learned early in our SEO efforts. If you focus all of your link building and optimization efforts on your homepage you’re going to create an unbalanced and overall unhealthy search presence. The goal is to “diversify, diversify, diversify”. To use a gym work out as an analogy, don’t be the guy doing bench press five days a week. Make sure to build links and optimize the deeper and more information rich pages as well.

#6. “We added page titles and meta keywords… we’re good to go”

If I had a dollar for every time a client told me this I’d have… at least $37. The important consideration here is that while page titles are absolutely critical to SEO optimization, meta keywords do just about “NOTHING”. On top of this you’re just breaking the tip of the iceberg into the major points of on-page optimization you need to accomplish. Lesson learned, if your “SEO Guy” says he’s added the “meta keywords” and “you’re good to go”… please GO, go to someone else for your SEO needs!

#7. “We hired a fancy SEO firm… let’s relax and have a cocktail!!”

It’s an unfortunate byproduct of the nature of the SEO industry that some people are going to be taken for a “ride”. Just because you just signed a check for $2500 to get started with some fancy pants SEO firm doesn’t mean diddly squat. I have personally worked with quite a few “high-end” search engine optimization companies and to be honest I think it’s all hit or miss. Most of the time you’ll see a positive ROI but I have to admit it’s definitely NOT 100% of the time.

#8. “We’re in a referral-based industry… we don’t need random leads!”

I hear this daily from my clients and I simply have to shake my head and admit that they are missing the bigger picture. Just about all industries live and breath referrals daily. However, LISTEN when I tell you this, “if you’re business is 90% referral you still NEED to be highly ranked online”. The simplest reason is because every one of these referrals is probably going to look for you online, are they finding you? When you search your brand do you dominate the terms? Also, in addition to referred leads, all “buzz” or talk about you online is good. The types of things that generate great search optimization are simply REALLY great marketing ideas. Why not take advantage of them!

#9. “We just launched our website… we’ll be #1 in Google real soon!”

We try and try to explain the process to most people. However, depending on your state of economic dependence on new and fresh leads you might be “over-relying” on getting a great search ranking. If that’s the case you might want to re-evaluate your online goals. Great SEO is like exercise, doing it just one day gives you nothing, doing it for a week helps, doing for a month makes a difference, and doing it for a year will change your business. I think my favorite part about great SEO is the difficulty in ranking highly decreases the number of your competitors that are simply unwilling to work as hard as you to get there. So what are you waiting for again?

#10. “Our industry is too competitive to rank well… what’s the point?”

We have a couple of clients in industries like “real estate” and “residential construction” that are downright mortified by the uphill battle they face to compete with the “already established” Google ranking kings. Does this pose a challenge, by all means yes, does it mean that you will have to change your strategies, yes, does it mean you should crawl under a rock and give up? Absolutely not! A true entrepreneur and business owner never sees problems, they are simply challenges that have yet to be accomplished. Don’t be afraid, your persistence and effort will be repaid in due time.

A Last Word…

I need comments! I simple want to know I’m writing this stuff to people out there that find it interesting, inspiring, though-provoking, feather ruffling, clever or downright incorrect. I just want to know the web has a pulse and that requires a TWO-WAY communication. If you’re feeling charitable, slightly extroverted, or even this weird feeling, one that you have never had, to actually write your first comment EVER on a website… JUST DO IT!

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