5 Misconceptions for Search

Engine Optimization Picture this scene, an adolescent boy walks into a barber shop and says to the

barber, “Don’t touch me, I’m only here because my mom forced me.” Search

engine optimizers are sometimes put into the position of the barber.

They are knowledgeable and willing to work on their client’s site, but the client

doesn’t want any modifications done to the text that is visible on her web

pages. This kind of dilemma occurs due to general misconceptions about

search engine optimization. Let’s look at these misconceptions.

1. Search Engine Optimization is Prohibitively

Expensive

While it is true that very large organizations, ordering services from the top

SEO companies, can end up spending thousands of dollars on their

optimization campaigns, search engine optimization can be the most

inexpensive and cost-effective option for web site promotion.

If you launch a modest pay per click campaign and pay five cents per click and

get 100 clicks per day, then your cost is $5.00 per day or $1825 per year. If you

learn how to optimize your pages by yourself you may be able to get natural

search engine traffic without paying the pay per click fees.

This is in fact what many webmasters do. Or, if you opt for a modest search

engine optimization package from a professional you can end up spending less

than the pay per click fees.

2. SEO only involves writing meta tags and working on

“invisible” code

Many people want to get a high ranking for various keywords or keyword

phrases, but if you look at the text on their web pages you can hardly find

these vital words.

They come to a search engine optimizer and think that he or she will sprinkle

these words into the meta tags and it will work like magic. This is a major

misunderstanding.

It is true that your main keywords and key phrases should be in your title tag

and your description meta tag, and even in the keywords meta tag, but they

must also appear on the page itself and they must appear in some strategic

places on that page.

Some clients say, “But I like the way it looks now.” You may like the way it

looks, but the search engines will not recognize that your page is truly about

Electronic Widgets unless these words appear in headlines on the page, in the

opening paragraph, in the file or domain name in link text and in the body text

of your page.

So, by all means if you already have copy that works, that can convert visitors

into buyers or otherwise accomplish the purposes of your site, keep it. But you

should also be ready to listen to what the optimizer has to say about

modifications that will enable search engines to select your site when a

potential buyer makes a query for your key words or phrases.

3. Search Engine Optimization is Tricking the Search

Engines

Some clients say, “Don’t touch the visible copy but put in the modifications

invisibly.” Using invisible text is something that can get you banned from a

search engine. The main purpose of search engine optimization is to give your

website the best possible chance to come up in good positions when someone

makes a query for your keywords or key phrases.

The key to doing this is to design web pages and write copy that is intelligible

to search engines, without sacrificing the experience and understanding of

your end-users, the people who visit your site.

So, don’t ask your SEO professional to try to trick the search engines, but work

with him or her to present your website in the best possible way.

4. Search Engine Optimization works instantly

Don’t expect to get a flood of traffic right after your site has been optimized.

Some search engines work in a fairly rapid manner, but the main search engine

at the present moment, Google, is believed to have deliberately put an aging

delay into its algorithm.

This means that it may take several months before your site makes it into the

top results for your particular category, especially if it is a newly created site.

During this initial period you will also have to consider using other promotional

methods such as pay per click advertising, article marketing, joint ventures,

paid advertising in ezines and offline advertising.

5. Search Engine Optimization deals mainly with

onsite modifications

Even if your website is well designed, has proper meta tags and has keyword-

rich text, this alone does not guarantee that your site will rank high in

competitive queries.

All of these factors, design, meta tags, and copy, are on-site factors. Search

engines certainly take them into consideration, but they also value off-site

factors such as how many high quality or authoritative websites link to you.

This means that hand-in-hand with your on-site optimization you and your

promotion team will have to embark on a campaign to get links to your

websites coming from websites that are already highly regarded by the search

engines and by the public in general.

More guides available at:

www.stoppayingppcads.com