SEO marketing has been a popular tactic in helping businesses make their mark with online audiences. But recently, it has turned into one of the biggest scams plaguing many marketing efforts. A quick search of SEO companies in the Philippines in Google will yield various firms¬†that offer quick guaranteed results on how to outwit your competition. This gives one the impression that these companies are types of hackers who magically get into Google’s system and place your page at the top result.

SEO marketing is not rocket science. There is no secret to SEO and companies who are telling you otherwise are already trying to stiff you of your money.

While it may sound fancy, technical, or even complicated, SEO marketing is actually straightforward and anyone willing to learn the ropes can do well with it. But with all the updates and common practices over the years, it’s hard to keep track of what works and what doesn’t. We’ve sifted through the rubble and listed down myths perpetuated by SEO companies and included proper practices accepted by search engines and industry experts.

MYTH # 1: SEO is all about ranking and not usability

It’s true that more users click on the top listings in search engine results pages but with snippets and preview text, users are just as likely to click on the pages that rank below. Ranking should not be the end goal of your SEO marketing initiatives. Today, it’s not just about getting found; it’s about engaging with users in the hopes of turning them to leads and eventually customers.

It’s one thing to direct users to your site. It’s another thing to get them engaged and keep them there. Make sure that your website is easy to browse and users can immediately find the information they’re looking for. Don’t forget to make your website mobile-friendly as Google sees more queries coming in from smartphones than desktop computers. Hubspot put it perfectly when it said that SEO should stand for ‘search experience optimization’.

 “SEO is all about ranking and not usability #myth #SEO”

MYTH # 2: More links are better than more content

SEO companies are running around offering link building services to boost SEO ranking. What they don’t tell you, however, is that link building is more than a numbers game. In fact, you’ll have more chances of boosting your rank with a few quality sites linking back to your site than with a ton of unknown sites pointing to you. It is better to earn links than buy them. Rather than spend on link building, invest your money into creating quality content. Google knows if you have bad sites linking back to you and this will only harm your site in the long haul. Prioritize the quality of links than quantity.

“More links are better than more content #SEO #Myth”

MYTH #3: Keywords should be an exact match

With Google’s Hummingbird update, searches are not just matched on a word-by-word basis. Now, Google is looking at the context and the intent of your search in coming up with relevant results. Optimizing your site for keywords doesn’t mean writing a specific set of words as much as you can every chance you get. Overusing keywords is punishable by Google. Instead, focus on a variety of keywords that will drive traffic to your website. While, it’s important to rank in generic terms or phrases, these have higher search frequency and competition and are consequently more expensive. That said, you should make sure you don’t miss out on powerful key phrases. Long tail keywords are more likely to drive quality leads to your website.

“Keywords should be an exact match #SEO #Myth”

MYTH # 4: Having more pages and owning more microsites will increase my SEO ranking

If you think having more pages in your website would mean that Google will have more information to index and therefore improve your ranking, we’re sorry but you’re wrong. Not all your web pages will be indexed and having too many pages in your website might be confusing for users. Microsites and other domains you own have no bearing over your SEO ranking, since in Google’s eyes these sites and pages are all essentially you, just in different forms. If you want to widen your imprint, create more quality content which other sites can use as source material and help establish you as a thought leader.

“More web pages and microsites will increase #SEO ranking #myth”

MYTH # 5: IT has the sole reign on SEO

While it has technical aspects, SEO needs more than technical expertise. SEO marketing is part of a much larger scale in your business. IT is responsible for the structure of your site, i.e. making sure it’s crawlable, resolving duplicate content issues, setting up redirects, etc. However, SEO also involves optimization of your content which is the responsibility of your marketing department. After all, SEO is typically seen as a marketing tactic as it involves improving the visibility of your website to more users and converting them to leads and sales. Therefore, SEO marketing should involve a fair mix of expertise between your tech team and your marketing team.

“IT has the sole reign on SEO #myth”

Remember that your goal should not end by getting seen in search engine results pages. What you need to work on is providing the best possible online experience for your audience and turning them into frequent visitors, then valued customers.

What are the other myths about SEO and SEO marketing that are worth busting? Tell us about it.