Common Misconceptions about Organic Search Marketing

John Vachalek - 4.8.2009 12:00 AM

Time and time again people come to Webolutions with false expectations created by reading substandard blog posts or receive guidance from less than reputable online marketing firms. It is time to clear up the misconceptions and set the record straight:

Internet Marketing Takes NO Effort: False - Internet Marketing is time-consuming. I am sure you have all seen the advertisements or spam emails saying, “Make money from home by working on the Internet.” Well, not only are some of them scams, but it isn’t as easy as it sounds. When it comes to search engine optimization and search marketing, it takes time, experience, research and strategy to achieve top ranking in the organic search results. Depending on the competitive nature of your market and the established foundation of the current site, it could take months to achieve top rankings in the natural search results.

Optimization Is a One Time Deal: False - One of the most common misconceptions of online marketing is that once a site is ranking in the top positions on the first page, you’ll be able to maintain those rankings without any additional effort. This is false for a few reasons. First, your competition is constantly working hard to obtain top positioning in the natural search results also. Therefore, if your competition is working hard to push your site from its positioning, it is imperative you stay one step ahead of the competition. This means proactively building quality, authoritative links to your site; creating, optimizing and syndicating articles; and building-out and optimizing landing pages. There are many strategies to consider when maintaining your organic positioning.
Once the site is ranking and traffic is driven to your Website, it is important to make sure the page converts your visitors. The best way to ensure your Web pages are converting to the best of their ability is by A/B and multivariate testing of your page’s performance through advanced analytics. It can take months to fine-tune advertising campaigns and page performance.

SEO is Meta Tags & Keywords On a Page:  False - Often we hear “To achieve organic ranking, you simply implement keywords in the Meta tags and in the content.” At first, it was that simple. Getting random links and keywords in the text did the trick. Unfortunately, it isn’t that simple today. It takes time to learn search engine strategies and monitor algorithm changes in the search engines. There are many factors the search engines consider when ranking a site. For example, linking, Website content, themeing, etc. Having a dedicated search engine marketing professional working on your behalf is the best way to achieve and maintain your organic rankings.

Can We Do Our Own Search Engine Optimization?  Maybe - With the search engines updating their algorithm on a continuous basis, it is imperative to stay on top of the changes and most people don’t have the resources to do so. It takes time to read blogs and test new strategies. That is why hiring a firm who has dedicated staff that stays on top of the changes, would be beneficial to your organization. Unless your organization has a full time SEO, it is our recommendation to not try it on your own. You run the possibility of reading bad blogs and implementing a strategy that could get your site penalized.

Designers, IT & Developers Can Do Our Search Engine Optimization: Maybe - Many organizations have their own in-house designers, IT or application developers. Most people think that since they work in the computer industry, they must know how to do optimization and search marketing. It would be like having a car mechanic fix your refrigerator. They are two different areas of expertise. Optimization is like a puzzle with hundreds of pieces to it. To learn how to get all the pieces to fit can take months, even years to comprehend. It would be difficult for a full-time designer, IT support or developer to have enough time to spend performing online marketing efficiently.

Automated Software Will Get the Same Results: False - The most obvious reason, there is no software program sophisticated enough to keep up with search engine algorithm updates. Second, there is no program that can identify keyword opportunities, optimize your content and build quality, authoritative links back to your site.

SEO Companies Can Guarantee Organic Ranking: False - There is no such thing as a guarantee with search engine optimization. For companies that do guarantee rankings, it is usually for keywords that are rarely searched, not competitive and don’t drive qualified traffic to your site. Therefore, what’s the point? Our advice is to not go with any company that guarantees organic ranking.
A Website Is All I Need to Drive Traffic to My Site: False - One of the most common misconceptions is that if you build a Website, they will come. There are many aspects in search engine optimization that helps achieve organic rankings. However, an up-to-date site may help in search engine crawlability and convert the visitors from lookers to bookers.

Design First, SEO Later: False - Time and time again, people come to us with a Website that was built without considering search engine optimization. What they get is a flashy site that looks pretty, but isn’t as marketable on the Web. Flash Websites are a great example of Websites that look pretty, but don’t perform very well in the search engines. What’s the point of building a Website that no one will be able to find, or isn’t user-friendly? Using a professional online marketing company will reduce the chances of having to revisit design issues when it comes time to market the site.

Future blog posts, will discuss how to position your business in the natural search results of all the major search engines.
 

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