The Truth About Optimization - 6 Common SEO Myths Debunked
Gaining good positioning with the search engines is one channel for increasing your online business but its not an end in itself. Your ultimate goal isnt higher traffic, but higher sales, and thereby, profits. Will Reynolds of SEO consulting firm http://ThinkSeer.com, sheds some light on common misconceptions regarding search engine optimization:
Myth Number One: I have to submit my site to the engines to get ranked.
Truth: The search engines have advanced to the po...
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Gaining good positioning with the search engines is one channel for increasing your online business but its not an end in itself. Your ultimate goal isnt higher traffic, but higher sales, and thereby, profits. Will Reynolds of SEO consulting firm http://ThinkSeer.com, sheds some light on common misconceptions regarding search engine optimization:
Myth Number One: I have to submit my site to the engines to get ranked.
Truth: The search engines have advanced to the point that theyll find you on their own. Youre wasting money by paying a service to submit your name to the engines.
Myth Number Two: I need to optimize for ALL the engines.
Truth: There are only three search engines that matter: Google, Yahoo!, and MSN in that order. Google is by far the most important in terms of driving traffic. Nearly every other search engine feeds off one of these three, so if you do well in any of them, youll show up in the other engines as well.
Myth Number Three: If I use pay-per-click ads, I dont have to worry about natural rankings.
Truth: Up to seventy-five percent of users dont even consider clicking paid ads, so if you rely solely on pay-per-click for your business, youre losing out on a huge section of the market.
Myth Number Four: My goal should be to rank well for all related keywords.
Truth: Certain words and phrases produce better results than others. You need to look at your keyword ROI and conversion rates, not just your rankings. Says Reynolds, Ive seen sites rank highly for terms that result in no conversions. That ranking might be getting you some exposure, but its not getting you sales. Analyze your keyword campaigns so you can see what your expenditures are doing for your bottom line.
Myth Number Five: My web design doesnt affect my positioning.
Truth: Your web architecture has a tremendous impact on the search engines ability to read your sites content and, therefore, on your rankings. For instance, Google assigns the most importance to your homepage. If you have a flash intro, the search engines cant read it they see a blank page. If theres no Skip Intro button that allows the search engines to get past that, the rest of your sites content may not even get indexed. Bringing in a consultant to work with your web developer may help you avoid navigation and structural pitfalls that make your web site difficult for the engines to read.
Myth Number Six: Increasing my traffic will automatically increase my conversions.
Truth: Your web site must be user friendly as well as search engine friendly. Advises Reynolds, Dont butcher your site for the engines, in terms of the verbiage or text size. It wont read well or connect with your customers. If you don't look credible, people arent going to feel comfortable purchasing on your site or giving you their information online. You may rise in rankings, but it will cost you in conversions.
Increasing your web sites visitors through search engine optimization is important for your E-Biz and its equally important to make sure your sites structure, design, and navigation are conducive to converting those visitors when they land.