Is SEO really needed today? Can’t I just optimize my site and leave it? Isn’t SEO just some kind of marketing tool to get me to spend money? Does it really matter?
These are all good questions. But the myth that search engine optimization is dead is just that – a myth!
It is the single most important element of a website after your product information and yet, the most overlooked. Just because a site looks nice and feels right, doesn’t mean it is built to function properly for both humans AND robots or search engines! A well designed site will be easy to use, and easy for search engines to index.
Simply put, Search Engine Optimization is a way the Internet (search engines/browsers) uses to tell people what is important and relevant according to the keywords they type in to search the millions of words on the web. Google and others spend countless hours perusing the Internet and picking apart websites to build a database of information they can pull from to show users what they want to know and where to find it.
Here are several myths we would like to bust about Search Engine Optimization.
Myth 1: Search Engine Optimization isn’t needed today.
Why do I need to spend countless hours and maybe even pay someone to optimize my website? Don’t the search engines find me anyway? True. They do find your site and index what they find. The optimization part comes in play when you try to make the best or most effective use of your website content to improve the efficiency of your search results. Is it enough to just build a website with good content and not optimize it? That depends on how competitive your market is. If you are basically the only one in your market, no problem. If you have a handful of competitors, you might be able to squeak by. But, if you happen to be in a market where you don’t dominate the search engine results, you will need to optimize your site to be more aggressive and lead out in your market search results.
Myth 2: Can’t I just optimize my site and leave it?
Yes, you can. However, because the Internet changes constantly, so will search engine results. Just like your business, things change as the market changes, so you need to make sure your website is updated with current information. Because search engines are always crawling websites, it’s a great opportunity to give them a reason to crawl yours. Just like when you drive by a sign day after day, if it doesn’t change or peek your interest, after a while you forget it is even there. It just fades into the background. That’s a bad idea for business!! Getting noticed can make a business thrive. SEO is a tool for making your business thrive on the Internet.
Myth 3: Is SEO just some kind of marketing tool to get me to spend money?
Search Engine Optimization is not a marketing tool by itself, but it can be used to improve your market. Continual research can help you identify trends and stay current in your market. Google Analytics or some type of market analysis should be a part of a solid SEO plan, but Search Engine Optimization is more about content and making it relevant than marketing. Optimizing your content is really a better idea to improve your visibility or ranking. Making sure your keywords are in the right place and used in a proper manner will go further in improving your ranking than any marketing tool. SEO is an organic process to achieve your ranking goals on the web. It can’t be bought. The process to get there, can cost money. You can spend many hours doing your homework and achieve the same results, it’s just whether you have the time to invest or not. Sometimes, paying an expert to help is a better option to achieving your online marketing goals.
These are all things to consider when thinking about your website design and optimizing your build for searchability.
Don’t try to trick search engines, it never pays off! Instead, try to develop solid, reputable content that will drive traffic to your site in a natural way. Natural or organic traffic will last over the long haul.
Search engines may be a necessary evil that we can’t control, but we can learn to invest in them and use them for our benefit! It does take time, so be diligent and patient. It will pay off.
I wish you the best in your endeavor!