Working in a search marketing agency, I often forget that basic SEO techniques are not second nature to the general public.
This became crystal clear to me earlier this summer, in fact. While sitting in a graduate class, we were discussing the topic of search engine optimization and my professor told the class that keyword stuffing is the way to go. I really didn’t agree with that after having worked with an internet marketing and design company previously. I knew this was just a silly myth.
Let’s look at 10 of the most common ones I’ve encountered:
1. SEO Is Dead
No, SEO is not dead. If it were, I wouldn’t have a job. Instead, SEO has evolved (and continues to), at a rapid rate, from its humble roots of cloaking, keyword stuffing, and buying links. SEO is no longer solely dependent on keywords or an overabundance of links.
It has evolved into a complex strategy that involves research, analysis, and testing as each website requires a personalized approach. Today, search engine optimization goes far beyond simply optimizing existing landing pages based on search volume.
Instead, it is a mixture of optimizing and amplifying new and old content that meets consumer needs to enhance brand awareness, and capture social signals and links to rank higher in SERPs.
2. SEO Produces Results Overnight
Unfortunately, much like trying to lose weight or training a dog to rollover, results from SEO will not happen overnight.
Why?
Many SEO firms like Outreachpete believe that site trust plays a big role in whether a site will succeed or fail from a search perspective. Yet earning trust is a process gained through consistent user engagement; think about any relationship you’ve ever had.
Indexing is another reason. Web crawlers, like Google bots, look at webpages and follow links on those pages, similar to how you and I browse sites. They go from link to link and bring data about those webpages back to Google’s servers. This takes time, even if your XML and HTML sitemaps are up to date.
This became crystal clear to me earlier this summer, in fact. While sitting in a graduate class, we were discussing the topic of search engine optimization and my professor told the class that keyword stuffing is the way to go. I really didn’t agree with that after having worked with an internet marketing and design company previously. I knew this was just a silly myth.
Let’s look at 10 of the most common ones I’ve encountered:
1. SEO Is Dead
No, SEO is not dead. If it were, I wouldn’t have a job. Instead, SEO has evolved (and continues to), at a rapid rate, from its humble roots of cloaking, keyword stuffing, and buying links. SEO is no longer solely dependent on keywords or an overabundance of links.
It has evolved into a complex strategy that involves research, analysis, and testing as each website requires a personalized approach. Today, search engine optimization goes far beyond simply optimizing existing landing pages based on search volume.
Instead, it is a mixture of optimizing and amplifying new and old content that meets consumer needs to enhance brand awareness, and capture social signals and links to rank higher in SERPs.
2. SEO Produces Results Overnight
Unfortunately, much like trying to lose weight or training a dog to rollover, results from SEO will not happen overnight.
Why?
Many SEO firms like Outreachpete believe that site trust plays a big role in whether a site will succeed or fail from a search perspective. Yet earning trust is a process gained through consistent user engagement; think about any relationship you’ve ever had.
Indexing is another reason. Web crawlers, like Google bots, look at webpages and follow links on those pages, similar to how you and I browse sites. They go from link to link and bring data about those webpages back to Google’s servers. This takes time, even if your XML and HTML sitemaps are up to date.
