Most Common Misconceptions About SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is an important factor not only to increase traffic to your website, but to grow your business overall. Because most searchers don’t click past the first page of results, it’s crucial that your site ranks well in search engines. Despite its importance, many people aren’t taking advantage of SEO and don’t fully understand the process and what it can offer. Here are some of the most common misconceptions about SEO.

Only Search Engine That Matters is Google

It’s a well-known fact that Google is the most popular search engine. For this reason, it’s a good idea to focus your efforts on Google. However, forgetting about other search engines can be a mistake. Bing and Yahoo combined make up about 30% of web searches. Because Bing powers Yahoo’s searches, focusing your efforts on one will improve your rankings on both.

Because Bing has a less complex search algorithm than Google, it’s easier to obtain a high ranking. If you’re in a competitive space, using this ability to your advantage can greatly improve your traffic. Although it’s a good idea to focus on Google searches, you shouldn’t forget about the other search engines.

Keywords and Links are the Only Things That Matter

Incorporating keywords and links into your content is a great step to improve your search rankings, but it’s hardly the only thing that matters. Google has a very complex search algorithm that takes quality and reliability into account. Therefore, if your site is stuffed with links and keywords but has little substance, it won’t rank well. Other factors such as mobile optimization are taken into account as well. If you want your site to rank well, it’s important to consider all factors.

Meta Tags Help Your Google Ranking

Unfortunately, a good meta tag will do nothing for your ranking on Google. In more recent years, Google has determined that these tags don’t affect the quality or reliability of a site. Because its spiders have become so advanced, Google can assess your entire site without needing a meta tag. However, a good meta tag is still an extremely important asset, as it is the main factor that determines whether a searcher clicks on your site.

SEO is a One-Shot Deal

Many people who are unfamiliar with SEO believe that you can set up good SEO and be done. This belief couldn’t be further from the truth. Good SEO practices involve constantly improving, adding, and updating content. SEO is a constant process that doesn’t end. Once you achieve a high ranking on Google, you must continue to update your site in order to maintain that ranking.

Being the Industry Leader Means High Search Rankings

Unfortunately, Google does not factor in whether you are an industry leader. Search rankings completely depend on the quality of your site and the optimization of key factors. If you are an industry leader with a bad website, your rankings on Google will not be high. Doing well in your field is important, but if your website’s quality doesn’t match the quality of your business, you won’t achieve high search engine rankings.