SEO is a waste of money. True!
SEO-the giant monster of marketing and also a headache for most of the time. If you own a website then I am sure you must come across this term.
It’s a general term you hear a lot while building a startup but the problem is about only 2% of people know how it works and what are the tactics and techniques.
At the last, you end up having a failure in your business. And thought that SEO was a complete mess and had nothing to do with your startup.
That’s why I am here to disclose all the misconceptions and will walk you through each step of making an SEO strategy.
What is SEO?
SEO is the short form of search engine optimization. It is a technique or set of strategies by which you enhance your website visibility and ranking on search engine page results.
It is the process of making search engines like Google and Bing aware of your web content by utilizing various aspects.
No SEO= No results. Without SEO your website is unlikely to rank and drive traffic. And in most cases when no SEO is done you only get zero results.
There are already trillions of data present on Google so why does it pay attention to you? Exactly you have to give them a reason why your webpage or content is more valuable than your competitor.
By SEO you can do it in a pretty much simple way. Then what is the issue? Why do most marketers end up with failure? Is SEO still worth it in 2024?
These are the doubts or questions most of the time in people’s minds after many fruitless efforts.
Why SEO Fails? Reasons
SEO failure is a common phenomenon that happens every second person in the market. That’s why many newcomers in marketing assume it is completely worthless and underestimate it.
But the truth is Not. SEO is king and always reigns the kingdom no matter what the algorithm and trends are.
There could be only two reasons. One is you don’t know how to do this or the other is the person you hire is not capable of creating powerful SEO strategies.
Even if it leads to worse results, it’s a continuous learning, time-consuming, and technical thing.
One of My Clients Wasted 5-figures:
He wasted it on her agency and did useless work for the month. The more dire situation is that he goes from 10 to zero within days.
What is the reason? Again the same that I mentioned above. First, he had little or you can say zero knowledge of SEO and then he handed his website to the wrong person.
But wait the twist is now he had a successful blogging website with a small e-commerce site. Believe me, you can also drive traffic and get results with the right techniques.
Here is the list of debunking misconceptions and techniques you need to know to avoid this fate.
Common Myths:
Keyword Density:
One of the common misconceptions is keyword density. Many of you think that keyword density is a make-or-break factor in SEO.
But it’s irrelevant and does not directly impact search engine ranking. As an SEO expert, I get this question frequently what should be the standard keyword density?
There is no such standard density that you have to follow or set as long as you are incorporating relevant keywords in the right manner.
The algorithm is always changing but you don’t have to go for it. Start with the basics (keyword research) and use them in your content that looks natural and unique.
However, many SEO experts recommend a specific threshold keyword density of about 2-3%. But rather than obsessing over keyword density craft informative and valuable content with organic keyword usage.
Google Penalizes Duplicate Content:
Does Google penalize duplicate content? Well, the good news for you is there is no penalty for duplicate content.
Google does not directly penalize websites with duplicate content. But it is still not advisable to steal other content.
Matt Cutts, former Google’s head of search spam says, the presence of repetitive or similar content is normal as about 25-30% of web content is duplicate.
But if you are aiming for quick ranking and creating high-quality content then you have taken this seriously.
Maybe you don’t get notified by Google and penalized but it greatly impacts on ranking. If you encounter a sudden decline in SEO ranking it directly relates to duplicate content or poor link building.
To get your website on the first page of search engine results create high-quality original content.
If your content is valuable and contains authentic information it will organically drive traffic to your site.
PPC ads Impact Ranking:
PPC stands for pay-per-click. PPC ads directly impact ranking. It’s one of the greatest myths and people believe in it.
SEO and PPC ads are two different techniques that serve different purposes. In paid advertising like ads, you have to pay whenever a person clicks on the ad.
On the other hand, SEO brings organic traffic without any investment. Most of the time marketers do both PPC and SEO to get quick and best results.
While it does not directly impact SEO, still it has some indirect influence on ranking such as a lower bounce rate, increased number of social shares, and higher engagement metrics.
Organic Backlinks:
For fresh or new startups getting organic backlinks is pretty tough. But it’s not impossible you can still get quality links and different strategies.
New websites struggle with this issue due to low domain authority and credibility. To get ranked first, you have to compete with established websites to get links.
First, take a deep breath I know it’s frustrating for you but once you know the tricks it becomes easy to go step for you.
- Create high-quality valuable content and promote it through different social media channels to increase its visibility and attract more eyeballs.
- Write guest posts for reputable websites and provide them value. In return, you will earn backlinks and reach a new audience.
- Outreach and build relationships with other website owners in your industry. Participate in industry forums, and communities, and engage with them on social media. This helps you to get quality backlinks.
Once you can get these links it signals to Google that your content or site is reputable and able to rank and compete.
Web 2.0 Backlinks Matters:
There is a misconception that getting links from Web 2.0 helps in SEO and the overall performance of your website. Is it true?
No, the algorithm changes and it becomes an outdated tactic that brings little variation in SEO.
Backlinks from web 2.0 platforms such as bloggers, and forums, might be seen as a skyrocket in SEO but in reality, they are not as valuable as they touted.
Instead of spending time and effort on these useless techniques why not focus on strategies that move a needle in SEO?
Rand Fishkin, the founder of Moz and SparkToro “advises focusing on acquiring high-quality links from authoritative websites rather than pursuing low-quality links from Web 2.0 platforms.”
Domain Authority and Age Impact:
Domain authority and age often sites in SEO circles. You might find SEO specialists saying the older your website is the more weight and authority it gains in Google’s eye.
But hold on is it true? Well, it’s not a complete truth. It is just a piece of the puzzle and you have to make a whole picture with yourself.
No worries. These are the third-party metrics that Google Master considers while ranking your site.
Instead, the thing that truly matters is the quality and relevancy of your site. It depends heavily on these factors.
According to John Mueller, Google’s webmaster trends analyst, “the correlation between backlinks and older domains is not due to age itself, but rather the time it takes to acquire high-quality backlinks.”
However, it is considered because older websites have strong backlinks profiles and have high-quality content. Domain age matters when it comes to the selling point.
Affordable SEO is Not Exist:
The simple answer is No. There are many options that are affordable and provide real value.
- Hire SEO Expert
- Hiring by Agency
- Do it by yourself
An image source by Credo will help you to find out the maximum budget for SEO.
Practically speaking SEO is expensive because a person who has a deep knowledge of SEO knows its worth. It’s time-consuming and highly competitive to create unique SEO strategies for businesses. It depends on various factors the tools he used, content creation, technical optimization, link building, and data analysis.
It’s nearly impossible to get all these things done at the cheapest price. Except when you do it by yourself and minimize the expense.
You Can’t Rank Without Backlinks:
Last but not least. For sure, backlinks are one of the important aspects of SEO but still, you can rank and index your site without this.
However, it’s pretty much less common but there are ways by which your site ranks on SERPs with backlinks.
- By Targeting Low-Competition Keywords
- Strong On-page SEO
- High-quality Content
- Less competitve niche
- Optimize for local search
In the end quality backlinks remain an essential element for a successful SEO strategy and significantly impact website visibility and ranking on SERPs.
SEO Strategies:
There are multiple SEO strategies marketers are using but most of the time these two are beneficial and preferred.
- White Hat SEO
- Black Hat SEO
Black hat is the unethical and spammy SEO tactic that tries to deceive search engines by artificial website ranking.
It contains spammy links, duplicate content, cloaking, hidden text, etc. These might bring traffic to your site for a short time but Google penalizes heavily those sites.
Another is white hat SEO. It’s followed by optimization techniques approved by search engines creating high-quality content, authentic backlinks, well-structured sites, and user experience optimization.
It emphasizes transparency and honesty. White hat SEO takes a little bit longer time but in return, it gives you long-term benefits.
Importance of SEO:
SEO is the source of driving massive traffic to your site. The main goal of SEO is to get your website at the top of search engine page results.
Once your site gets ranked it ultimately drives potential leads and sales to your business. Google search market captures 90% of the global traffic and 172,200,000,000 traffic in March 2024 alone.
The most amazing thing about this is it gives long-term results. While SEO is not a one-time thing.
Sure, you can fix your all technical SEO issues at a particular time but still there is no limit on how much content you publish and backlink you should build.
The last and most important aspect of SEO is it’s not about YOU. It’s all about what your competitors and experts are doing.
Sometimes, when you see a drop or loss in your ranking it is not because you did wrong but it might be because your competitors do something better.
The most preferred and authentic way is to follow Google E-E-A-T guidelines. As it is changing from time to time but still better to follow them to make a significant impact.
Frequently Asked SEO Question:
How much time does it take for SEO to work?
SEO is not a fast-paced technique. It typically takes 4-6 months. You have to get ready for long-term running and get successful SEO.
Can your website still get ranked with SEO?
Yes, you can rank your website without SEO. There are a number of techniques available in the market that help you to get rank. But for more significant impact SEO is crucial.
What are the important factors of SEO?
SEO is itself the most important thing. There is no such single factor that holds more value than others. All the factors in SEO strategy work together and bring results.
Conclusion of SEO:
Ready to get your site at the top of search engine page results?
I hope this comprehensive guide will clear your all misconceptions and you become able to avoid concisely the mistakes that most people make at the start.
I know sometimes SEO is a headache and makes you frustrated but remember to get huge results you have to go a few extra miles.
If you have any other thoughts about the myths in the market about SEO mention them in the comments.