Bad SEO Advice – Are you listening?

Over the years I’ve heard lots and lots regarding SEO, and sometimes I let the words sink in, take home new ideas, and implement the latest and greatest. However, other times I see and hear really bad SEO advice, and it’s this advice that needs some words of caution.

You Need to Pay for Great SEO

This is the BIGGEST lie out there. Alright, let me back up a bit first – when’s the last time your phone rang with someone trying to convince you that your site was “really hard to find on Google” and “you need help”? It was probably recently! If you publish your phone number online (which, get a business one and definitely do it) – you probably get these kinds of phone calls. I still get them at least every other day. Just a part of doing business, I suppose!

These marketers are not trying to help you. They are trying to get your money. SEO ranking takes lots of time and energy, and perhaps you just don’t have that time + energy. If that’s the case, look into Google Ads, since they’re directly through Google and will place you at the top of the list (although in the paid section which doesn’t get as many clicks anymore), but please don’t pay someone who calls you or emails you about SEO. In all likelihood, they’re not doing you a service. They’re companies that employ the same old, same old techniques and don’t know anything about your actual ideal client.

Instead, invest your time and energy into learning SEO on your own – for the very reason I mentioned above. Only you know your ideal client and your true market. When you have SEO tools in your back pocket and MIX them with the knowledge you (and only you!) have of the most perfect client – that is when SEO really pays off.

It’s Impossible To Keep Up

I can see where this one comes from. Lots changes in the world of SEO, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming to know everything you need to know. Google is constantly getting smarter, but the good news in that is that Google is also becoming more and more natural in what it is looking for.

This benefits you as a small business owner, because you can learn the most important SEO principles, and keep your work and content natural, and you will be rewarded by Google accordingly. There is a lot to keep up with, and if you want to really be in-the-know, I suggest listening to some SEO podcasts or staying on an email list from Moz – they’re great!

You’ll Never Get To The Top – Because You’re New

Again, untrue! Google rewards GREAT CONTENT, and even if you’re new, you can qualify for that! Surely you are putting out work that resonates with a very specific market, right? If you have great content and combine it with the tried-and-true SEO techniques, you can go to the top of the search rankings as well.

One of the big pieces for ranking is Link Building, which is a large piece of SEO to tackle in this article, but if you’re new and you focus your energy on great links, then it will help you regardless of your businesses “age”