SEO is complicated. Really complicated. If it wasn’t, there would be no need for SEOs and marketing firms. There would be no need for you to spend a considerable amount of your marketing budget either learning and performing SEO yourself, hiring an in-house SEO manager, or working withe a reputable firm like The Texas SEO Company. But alas, it is complicated, and it certainly doesn’t become easier to understand when there’s dozens of “SEO Myths” that float around the web, confusing business owners and many SEOs alike as to what’s right and wrong in the world of SEO, and whether or not they should even bother!

It’s 2016 for goodness sake, and it’s time for us to put some SEO myths to rest. Today we’re going to debunk 7 popular SEO myths that just need to die already! Let’s get to it.

1. Links are more important than Content

In the past, it was possible, heck, even advantageous, to publish a website with “just enough” content, and spend the majority of your time and effort as an SEO building links, (often of very low quality), and watch your ranking soar. In 2016, it’s a wildly different ballgame.

Before you get up in arms, we’re not implying links are no longer crucial. In fact, SearchMetrics reported that as of 2015, links were still among the top five most important SEO ranking factors.

However, in 2016, and frankly for some time now, content is king, as they say, and focusing your efforts on creating high-quality and relevant content on a consistent basis will be a fruitful strategy to employ. Spammy links, massive link building campaigns with link farms and low quality backlinks will all get you in a heap of trouble with the big G.

2. SEO Doesn’t work

Tell that to all of our successful clients. But seriously, SEO is not a scam. It’s a legitimate process, recognized even by Google themselves. Don’t believe me? Check this SEO Starter Guide published by Google themselves!

SEO must be a consistent aspect of your marketing efforts for you to see legitimate results. The problem lies in the fact that many business owners have been enticed by the “SEO for $149/month” adverts, and consistently being disappointed with the quality of these non-services. While there are many scam artists and shady SEO firms out there, don’t let that deter you from investing in SEO.

3. I don’t need SEO

80% of U.S. consumers consult online reviews before making a purchase. 86% of the U.S. used the internet every single day in 2014, and a research study showed that 93% of those interactions started on a search engine!

If that’s not reason enough to start investing in SEO, than I don’t know what is. If you want your business to grow, you need (or at the very least will benefit from) quality SEO.

News flash, if you can’t be found online, your competitors will be. Yikes.

4. We already did SEO

There’s a misconception that floats around much more often than some might realize, that once SEO’d, always SEO’d. False.

There’s a very small segment of businesses that don’t need SEO long term. For example, a small flower shop with only so much capacity and no desire for growth beyond a full schedule may only need SEO for 6-9 months, gain the amount of repeat customers that makes them happy, and moves on with their business.

But the vast majority of businesses, one-time SEO falls flat.

The last thing a business owners (or your former SEO company) wants to see is organic search traffic dropping over time, but that’s exactly what happens when there’s no continual effort to keep up with your SEO.

Here’s just a few of the reasons you need to keep up with your SEO:

• Evolving Search Engine Algorithms
• Outdated Content
• Competition moving forward when you don’t
• Link rot
• and a whole lot more…

Short version? Make SEO a fixture in your marketing.

5. PPC is instant! Why should I do SEO?

While PPC does bring results faster, it’s certainly not instant. Granted, within minutes of starting a PPC campaign, you can already see targeted traffic to your website! Why look any further?

While it’s true that SEO takes time, requiring you to build up authority in the eyes of the search engines, you have to remember that PPC requires a forever investment. As soon as you stop paying for traffic, you stop seeing results.

CPC (Cost Per Click) is always on the rise, meaning PPC is getting more and more expensive over time. That’s supply and demand for you!

Additionally, 75% + of users ignore PPC ads and skip straight to the organic results. With SEO, you have nearly unlimited growth potential. With PPC, you are limited to market and budget availability.

The best strategy? Do them both! Start with PPC + SEO, and over time, phase out your PPC campaign in favor of increasing your organic budget. Or run them both and capture as much of the SERPs as possible!

6.Link building is DEAD!

99% of you can probably recall the classic scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, with the chant “Bring our yer dead!”

A lot of SEOs would be in stitches if they shouted “Bring out yer links!” instead. Either way, links are not dead, and it’s important that you’re aware.

Building links is not bad, and Google will not penalize you for building links.

In fact, the recent Moz Ranking Factor report shows that links are still very important for ranking effectively on the search engines. Search engines still use link authority and anchor text signals heavily in their search ranking algorithms.

 

However, they have cracked down on links when it comes to quality. So ensure you are employing white-hate tactics when building links for your SEO campaigns. Furthermore, make darn certain your SEO agency is too.

7. SEO is too Expensive

If you’ve made it this far, you might be asking yourself , “Ok, SEO is starting to seem totally feasible. But it’s also starting to sound too rich for my blood!” I hear you loud and clear. The fact of the matter is, when hiring an SEO company, you are paying for the execution of a whole slew of tasks, such as:

• Researching you, your business, your market, your competitors, and more
• Performing extensive keyword research and planning
• Optimizing your load times, code, on-page SEO, user experience, etc.
• Writing high quality content on a regular basis
• Building links
• Monitoring, reporting, and collaborating with you and your team

Yeah, your right, it does sound expensive! And without each of those present in your strategy, don’t expect miracles with your SEO results.

On the flip side, Global Marketers Rank SEO as the highest ROI marketing strategy around.

So as long as you partner with a reputable SEO firm that understands SEO inside and out, and cares about your business, you will be in good hands.

P.S. – The next time someone tries to perpetuate one of these myths, please, for the sake of all marketers around the world, correct them.

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