Top 8 Myths About SEO

Although search engine optimization (SEO) has been in practice for many years, there are still several myths about how it works. The goal of SEO is to bring attention to your website to those who are the most likely to be interested in the information, products, or services that you provide. As SEO has grown and evolved over the years, there have been myths that continue to persist about how it works even to this day.

One myth that is still pervasive despite all the evidence against it is that you do not need to submit your site to Google anymore. If you have a website and it is connected to the internet where Google can reach it, then it is eligible for the Google bots to read. When you consider the number of SEO companies that still charge to submit your site to Google, it is money that you can use for something else.

Of course, there are advantages to submitting individual pages or perhaps have created new or updated content. But even if you want to submit your website anyway, you can do so for free by going to the Search Console on Google. There are helpful tools you can access which will make the experience quick and easy.

What follows are some of the more common myths about SEO. By identifying the myths, you can better understand how SEO can help your website be seen by more people.

1. All You Need is SEO

While running a solid SEO campaign is important, it is not the only factor when it comes to achieving success. There are other factors that are just as important and will need your attention as well. SEO is a big part of the overall picture, but not the only part that matters.

First and foremost, your website will need a sitemap. A sitemap is vital for Google to recognize your website and have its bots do the work. Next, your website needs to be fast. This means that it needs to download quickly to computers and devices. A slow website not only hurts SEO rankings, it also turns away potential customers. Download speed is important, so be sure that all images, plugins, and videos take up as little space as possible.

Another important factor is that your website needs to be mobile-friendly. With more people using their smartphones and tablets to surf the web, your website needs to be properly seen for it to be effective. And finally, creating a social media presence is also quite helpful. While arguably not as important compared to the download speed or having a sitemap, social media sites can really boost the profile of your website.

2. Any Backlink will Do

So much has been stressed on how important backlinks are to boosting SEO that many believe linking to just about anything related will help. However, Google accounts for the trustworthiness and validity of the backlinks used in the content itself. The worse the link, the more it will negatively affect its ranking. This means that you need to invest in proper research to ensure that the links you use are the best for your content.

You must consider the type of link, its location, scheduling, and content value. Just like building a retirement portfolio, the backlinks you select must be properly placed at the right time. Plus, they need to be valuable on their own to help boost the value of your own content. It also means periodically checking to ensure that the links remain sound and are not broken.

3. Good Content is All You Need

It is true that good, solid content is the foundation of high search engine rankings. But it is far from the only factor. In truth, there are several elements that go into proper SEO that are necessary for your content to get the attention it deserves. To put it simply, while good content is necessary for your SEO efforts, the ranking can still be undermined by other factors.

Other elements that are crucial to high rankings start with the website itself. The code of your website needs to be accurate, up to date and geared towards the content you produce. Another is creating a strong backlink portfolio that helps to bolster your content and provide authority. Plus, you will need to boost your online presence as well as building up your profiles in the industry. When combined, all these factors will help your content reach its full SEO potential.

4. Only New Content is Ranked by Google

This is one of the most pervasive myths about SEO. And while new content is favored, especially if it is informative and valuable, older content will still be ranked as well. There are countless examples of content that is six months, a year, five years, or even older that is still ranked highly on Google search results pages.

What helps older content maintain its ranking starts with its relevance. But it goes further as the home and subpages must be properly optimized to ensure a high ranking. Finally, if newer content falls along the same lines and is linked to the older content can also assist. The bottom line is that your older content is still quite valuable and can maintain its ranking if it remains relevant. So, look over your older content and update it where it is needed.

5. SEO Costs Real Money

Considering how valuable effective SEO is for your website, this is a myth that should have some merit. And given what some companies charge, you may believe that all SEO services cost a pretty penny. However, when you use a local, family-owned business like WebSuited, you get effective SEO for a low, affordable cost.

That is because WebSuited is designed to work for you, the online business owner who is just starting out or keeping an eye on their budget. WebSuited offers several effective SEO services that are competitively priced and highly effective.

6. SEO is Only for Large Corporations

This ties into the myth about SEO being expensive. And while it is true that corporations do use SEO, so too do small and medium-sized companies. In fact, many startups and one-person online businesses use SEO just like the big boys. The reason is simple, SEO works for any website.

The secret to why SEO is so effective is that it uses effective, passive techniques to bring interested visitors to your site. In addition, SEO helps build credibility and your business brand, which can help you compete against the larger, more established companies in your industry. And because SEO is affordable, you can use it effectively while staying within your budget.SEO can also help tailor the appeal of your business to the right audience. From the initial success, you can use SEO to branch out and help your company reach its full potential. This means that you can succeed no matter the size of your online business when you properly employ SEO.

7. Work on SEO Once and That is It

It takes considerable work just to optimize one article or piece of content. So, it’s not surprising that some still believe that once you have raised its ranking as high as it can go, you do not need to do anything else. However, nothing lasts forever and that is especially true when it comes to ranking content. It generally takes up to six months to get a single keyword to rank on the first page of the search results. If you do nothing else, that ranking will drop off rather quickly.

Proper optimization requires that you update your older content with newer keywords and other attributes to maintain its high ranking. So, regularly scheduled updates to your content will help keep it highly ranked.

8. SEO is Worthless

With all the changes made to Google algorithms over the years, SEO has changed as well. There are times in which you may read that “SEO is Dead”. Nothing could be further from the truth. While SEO is not the same as it was ten to fifteen years ago, it is very much alive and needed if you want your website to be seen.

The basics of SEO are still quite strong and useful in getting your site noticed. It is why companies around the world continue to use SEO and emphasize it in their marketing strategies. And while new algorithms will be created, the basics of SEO will never change. Solid content, good backlinks, and proper use of keywords will still be a vital part of your online marketing efforts.

If you want to maximize the potential of your online business, then WebSuited is the company for you. Offering the best in SEO support services, WebSuited is a local, family-owned company that offers the best in SEO for small to medium-sized businesses.

At WebSuited, we understand that all businesses started out as small companies. We can help your business reach its full potential with our complete line of SEO services. Call or contact us today and find out more about how WebSuited can help your business grow.