Unfortunately today the term ‘SEO’ (Search Engine Optimisation) has a bit of a bad reputation. Why is this the case? For the most part it is perceived to be carried out by shady linkbuilding, key-phrase stuffed doorway pages and secret handshakes are all part and parcel of being a search engine marketing expert. Or are they?
There is lots of well documented information out there that gives tips and advise on how to get you website working as hard as possible for you but that is not the purpose of this particular blog. Today we look at trying to de-bunk some of the common myths and misconceptions that I’ve come across in the past and show how SEO.
I have heard this statement many times and it conjures up images of secret societies and SEOs meeting in shady back-street locations in the dead of the night to discuss link strategy. This is clearly not the case. In the most part good SEO is just common sense.
Rather than trying to ‘beat the search engine algorithms (an impossible task as they change on a daily basis sometimes) Good SEO is based around understanding what search engines look for to rank a website. With this in mind the important areas to focus on are Technical issues to avoid, how to structure a site to perform / convert users and finally how to build relevant and valuable links.
Resources like Webmaster Guidelines, Google Webmaster Tools and the Inside Search Blog all help understand what is good practice and what isn’t.
A web site works best when it ‘grows’ with you. For that reason optimising a website cannot be considered a one time activity. It’s an ongoing process that continues to refine the content and structure as your site grows.
Markets, products and services all change, websites evolve and so too should your SEO strategy. Yes there is an element of understanding technical barriers and implementing best practice up-front but linkbuilding, leveraging PR activity and developing quality content all form part of an overall digital marketing plan.
An SEO strategy is a long term activity that takes time to deliver results. Campaigns are structured over a period of months with the intention of building authority and trust, not the sort of thing that can be achieved over a matter of weeks.
This is another myth, websites don’t have to sacrifice design in order to perform within search engines or be usable.
Good design takes into account both the structure and delivery of information along with the visual aspect. Given the distinction between HTML structural markup and the CSS markup that controls the look and feel – there’s really no excuse.
As long as the website structure is right and the page follows a relevant hierarchy there are any number of ways to include design elements and features.
TOP TIP: Don’t build your website in Flash then expect it to own the search results!
This one makes me cringe every time I hear it. There is absolutely no truth in this, bidding on keyphrases in paid search has no impact on your organic rankings. Google don’t take into account how much money is spent on a paid search account and apply this to organic rankings. They are in the business of making money too.
SEO and PPC complement each other and can be used together strategically but spend on AdWords does not influence your organic rankings.
Yes, linkbuilding accounts for a significant portion of every SEO project but please, don’t neglect on-site SEO.
Internal linking, titles, content and site structure all have an impact on search engine exposure. If your website is difficult to use or your content is thin or non existent you are set-up to fail.
Be under no illusion: on-page SEO and conversion optimisation form an important part of engaging and converting users once they arrive at your website.
This is one myth that really hacks me off and is shrouded in misunderstanding. Most search engines stopped looking at meta keywords a long time ago as they have been so heavily abused in the past.
I get really annoyed at SEOs ignoring meta descriptions. OK they have very little impact with regards to ranking BUT they provide a great opportunity to grab searchers attention. Keyphrases are displayed in bold, you can include a call to action and summarise the page. Why wouldn’t you want to encourage users to click through to your site from the search results?
Also please don’t confuse the outdated meta name =”title” with page title there is a world of difference in terms of importance to search engines.
Another common myth that Ive come across is that Google Analytics are spying on you and your search marketing efforts. I’ve met developers who removed Google Analytics tracking on pages with high bounce rates so that Google don’t: Drop the web pages
Ask yourself why people are bouncing on these pages and then improve them, Analytics data that’s full of holes is no use to anyone.
Analytics is a tool for understanding how your website is performing, not a tool for Google to Spy on your SEO efforts or ditch the pages that don’t cut it.
I think every business that has a website has received some kind of spam e-mail promising top listings by submitting the website to thousands of web directories.
The number of links to your website does indeed matter but as search engines have evolved and refined their ranking factors, these days it’s more about a combination of quality and quantity of links from a range of different sites.
Not all links are equal. A link from an established domain or page that is related in subject matter to your site is far more valuable than a link from a website directory that has only been around for a few months. Don’t rely on any automated solution to build quality links.