1. Our SEO campaigns are endorsed by Google.
This is never true! Google does not endorse any SEO firms whatsoever. You’ve definitely run into a scammer if someone tries to feed you this load of baloney.
2. Your #1 search engine ranking can be guaranteed every time.
Being guaranteed a top ranking is simply a case of being told what you want to hear to close a sale. While it is certainly possible to deliver a top ranking, guaranteeing one for anything other than your business name (if it is unique enough) or a very obscure term is over zealous. SEO delivers real results, but expectations must be tempered for competitive terms. Be careful of those who promise too much as they are often the ones with the least experience.
3. Placing hidden links and/or text on a site will help it rank higher.
This is an old spam tactic (also known as ‘Black Hat’ SEO) that some people just refuse to drop. Placing hidden text on your page will help it rank higher in the short term. However, Google considers this tactic spam and is constantly on the lookout for it. If Google finds out you’re using this, or any other black hat technique, your site will be banned from the Google listings for good.
4. You should submit your website to search engines.
It is no longer necessary, or even helpful, to submit your websites URL to search engines. Back in the day, search engines were actually compiled by 100% submission. After that, it was suggested that you submit your site to search engines to expedite the listing process. Now the process is 100% automated and there is no benefit to manually submitting your site to any of the major search engines.
5. You need to update your site frequently for it to rank well.
Updating your site frequently does have its benefits, but it will not help you rank higher for your main terms in itself. The main point here is that merely updating the site will do you no good. Just the same, a site that remains unchanged for years will not be penalized. On the other hand, adding quality, targeted content to your site will add to the overall effectiveness of the SEO campaign.
6. Pay Per Click ads (AdWords) will help/hurt rankings
This is a simple one. Buying AdWords from Google will in no way affect your organic ranking. It never has. Google has made it very clear that there is no correlation between paid search and organic search.
7. SEO is about rankings, not conversion.
Many critics of Search Engine Optimization services base their argument on the incorrect approximation that SEO practitioners strive for meaningless rankings instead of actual traffic conversion. Rankings aren’t meaningless. Let the numbers speak for themselves (click through rate vs. search ranking):
# 2 Ranking: 11.9% CTR
# 3 Ranking: 8.5% CTR
# 4 Ranking: 6.1% CTR
# 5 Ranking: 4.9% CTR
# 6 Ranking: 4.1% CTR
# 7 Ranking: 3.4% CTR
# 8 Ranking: 3.0% CTR
# 9 Ranking: 2.8% CTR
# 10 Ranking: 3.0% CTR
#11 – #1000: 11.3% CTR
The purpose of SEO is to get the user (who is qualified by the action of searching for your service/product) onto the site. Converting to sales falls strictly into the realm of web design. Interested in sales conversion driven web design? How convenient! We pride ourselves on just such a service.
8. Google gives extra weight to links from top-level domains like .edu and .gov.
This is more of a misconception than an actual falsity. Google has gone on the record saying that there is nothing coded into the algorithm giving .edu or .gov sites more weight than anything else. That being said, .edu and .gov links can still be (and often than not, are) very valuable to an SEO campaign because they generally come from sites with a high page rank and live in a pristine link neighborhood.
-Scott Shelton
Scott is a Web Designer and SEO specialist from Gainesville, FL.
Related articles:
Search Engine Optimization Explained
The Power of Localization in SEO
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