Were you aware of the fact that some 81% of people will go online and check out a business before they shop there? And did you know that about 60% of online traffic comes from the major search engines? If your site is not on the first page of those search engines, then you won’t get people coming to your website, and you won’t get people coming to your store either. Luckily, with proper search engine optimization (SEO) techniques, you can make sure this doesn’t happen.
First Things First
First of all, you have to make sure that you have the right kind of information about SEO, and the right amount. Compare it to a driver’s license. When you were going through your tests, you did not have to learn how to build a transmission, how to time a valve, or how a combustion engine works. All you needed to know is how you can safely drive your care, how to pay attention to the world around you, how to read traffic signs and so on.
Lesson 1 – You Cannot Steer a Car If It Is Parked
Unfortunately, the world is full of misinformation. Essentially, you will find professional looking information telling you that you need something and, surprise, surprise, you then come across something that offers you exactly that! So why is this?
- SEO experts, online marketing gurus, and ‘consultants’ want you to think that SEO is so complex, only their big brains can understand it. They want you to think that there is no way you can do anything yourself, and that you have to pay them thousands instead. This is how they make their millions.
- The information telling you that you need something, and the seemingly independent solution are written by one and the same person: a clever internet marketer.
- There are some companies out there who genuinely want only what is best to you, and they want to use their considerable knowledge and education to help you make the most out of your website. However, they are often so technical in their jargon that it actually all becomes a whole lot more complex, rather than less.
Dispelling SEO Myths
A couple of things that you need to know about:
- SEO is hard but not rocket science. You can do it yourself, if you apply yourself to learning something and if you are ready to spend a lot of time dedicated solely to SEO (and not to your actual work).
- PPC is not necessarily faster, nor quicker. It works only so long as you continue to invest in it. Proper SEO, by contrast, works all the time, so long as it stays up to date, which does not necessarily require a financial investment.
- SEO results do not have to take a long time to result. One way to tell whether you’re working with a good expert is by seeing whether you managed to see results within a day.
- You don’t need hundreds of links to get your site found. You simply need the right things.
- The Google Algorithm can be understood if you apply yourself to it.
With this in mind, you should be able to find out whether or not you need an SEO company and, if so, which one will actually work for you, and not for themselves.
Kidal Delonix is a contributor to Mr. Hoffman's blog. The views and opinions are entirely his/her own and may not reflect Mr Hoffman's views.
