Common Misconceptions about SEO that You Need to Let Go

Home > Blog

Common Misconceptions About SEO That You Need to Let Go

As a part of the digital marketing world, SEO is talked about a lot, and for good reason. The concept of SEO is simply to use certain techniques and practices to gain more organic traffic from search engines. It’s a popular topic because, if done correctly, it can have a huge positive boost for your business.

However, there are many people out there who don’t understand how SEO works or what to expect from it, and that can lead to the rise of SEO myths. You’ve probably heard of at least a few of them. Well, here are 4 common misconceptions about SEO that you definitely want to avoid.

A Waste of Time

As crazy as it seems, there are still people out there who think that SEO is a waste of time. Dishonest marketers may make it appear so, but anyone who knows search engines’ impact knows that this is not true.

Good SEO takes time, effort, and a lot of commitment. You won’t see results overnight, and many times, it can take up to several months to see a change in the search results. But when that happens, it’s absolutely worth all the time you put in to get that additional traffic.

Forget Link Building

Just to make it absolutely clear, link building is not dead, no matter how many times someone has said it is. Google and other search engines use link authority to determine the relevancy and usefulness of a website. The key here is that you avoid black hat techniques when building links. Black hat is, was, and always will be against the rules. Avoid it.

Do use white hat techniques though. They are legitimate and won’t be penalized by the search engines. Build links in a natural way, and you shouldn’t have any problems.

Once is Enough

This SEO myth needs to go away once and for all. You can’t invest in SEO only once. There are too many changes that happen online every day. Someone is always fighting to take your spot. Simply put, if you don’t put in a constant effort, your web traffic will decrease over time. Search algorithms, competition, or old content are just a few of the things that could affect your rankings.

If you want to keep your traffic numbers high, you have to continually invest in SEO. It’s an ongoing process, and without it, you will lose out.

The Top Keyword is Critical

There’s a rumor that’s been going around from the beginning of SEO. The idea is that you have to rank high for the #1 keyword such as ‘SEO,’ ‘Website Design,’ ‘Digital Marketing,’ etc.

While these keywords receive a ton of searches, ranking for them won’t necessarily improve your web traffic. Instead, you need to focus on more narrow keywords or long-tail keywords.

The idea is that long-tail keywords are more targeted and will attract a more motivated audience than a generalized keyword. For example, clothing vs. discount teenage girl brands. ‘Clothing’ will have a million-plus results but ‘discount teenage girl brands’ won’t. It will be easier to rank and easier to attract a customer who is more interested in what you have to offer.

Leave the Myths Behind

There are many misconceptions about SEO, but these four are repeated fairly often. Make sure you put in the time, build links naturally, continually invest in SEO, and focus on long-tail keywords in your SEO efforts. Do this, and over time, you will see great results from it.

What are some other common misconceptions you’ve heard about SEO?