Search engine optimisation (SEO) is a way of getting a better rank for and more traffic to your website using non-paid methods such as high value content and links. However, like many Internet based things there is a lot of misinformation out there which leads to myths about SEO and SEM, which simply means search engine marketing.
It is a good idea to find out what is true and what is false whether you want to have a successful web business or use a website to enhance your bricks and mortar business.
Here are six myths about SEO:-
- All SEO techniques are spam so it is something to be avoided at all costs. This is simply not true, even though some techniques certainly are spam and you can create a website using spammy methods of SEO. However, serious business people who value the integrity of their website and the reputation of their business will make it their business to find out what those black hat methods are and avoid using them.
- Not everyone understands SEO fully, and this leads to further misconceptions, especially since what once worked may not now be applicable. One of these misconceptions is that meta tags and meta descriptions will help your page rank higher. While this may have once been the case it is no longer true as search engine algorithms have changed. However, having relevant keywords in your meta tags and descriptions will certainly help people find your website if they use those keywords in their search. So having relevant keywords is still good for your traffic and hence, potential sales.
- Some people think that keyword stuffing is good. They think that they can add lots of keywords about their product and that by making it white text on white background Google will see it and rank their page higher and it won’t annoy potential customers. They may not even worry about making in invisible. Whatever way you do it, it is spam and will not rank your page any higher. Instead, you need to write relevant content about your product; content that is valuable to your customers. That way you get the keyword – product name and verb such as ‘buy’, in without being spammy.
- It takes a paid professional to do SEO correctly. This too, is a myth. Anyone can do SEO properly if they take a bit of time to find out what it is and how to do it. Of course you can pay a professional and get it done more quickly, but make sure their own webpage is one of the first three on the search results page. If it’s not, they can’t do it any better than you.
- Correct keyword positioning will make your website successful. This may have been true once, but these days the search engines have evolved to the point that no single solution can guarantee success. SEO is about a whole host of initiatives that when combined, make your website much more successful.
- Domain names that are an exact match for your product and suburb rank higher. Unfortunately, spammers wrecked this by using domain names for their ads, so now it is not the only thing taken into consideration by search engines. Rather, they base their ranking increasingly on good value, unique website content. And they bring up results based on what they think the searcher meant by the keyword they used.