Top Five SEO Misconceptions

Some of you may have seen this, but I couldn’t resist re-posting it. It’s a piece on SEO I wrote for the company I work for’s blog. It’s been reproduced in a few places (not always in my name either, but that’s another story) so I thought it’s well worth an airing here.

The Top Five SEO Misconceptions

With any cutting edge or continually changing industry, there’s always going to be a gap between what the professionals and the clients know. When that industry’s in constant flux, the knowledge gap can suddenly become a yawning chasm of misunderstandings and misconceptions.

Therefore, it’ll probably come as no surprise to a great number of people that sometimes people just don’t get SEO. It’s this lack of understanding that lets people call us “Snake Oil” salesmen, and to disparage the hard work that we do. But before we tackle these misconceptions, we need to identify them.

1) Meta Keywords are the Holy Grail.
Any of you with even a basic understanding of SEO are about to type something along the lines of “1995 called – they want their search algorithms back.” The sad fact of the matter is that some clients have still told us that their last SEO company just filled their meta tags full of spam and pocketed the fee. The more people that understand the much-maligned meta keywords tag, the less opportunity there’ll be for unscrupulous and uninformed types to take them for a ride.

2) SEO companies have access to a Search Engine Hotline.
“Can’t you just call Google and get them to index my site today?” As ludicrous as this question seems, it actually makes some sense. Do any other complimentary industries have the same lack of direct communication that Search Engines and SEOs have? Explaining that we can’t call Yahoo head office is an important part of managing client expectations – especially when it comes to the next misconception.

3) Results are instant.
We’ve optimised the content, sourced some quality links and made sure the site’s as accessible as possible – “so why haven’t my listings changed? It’s been a week!” In a world of instant communication, instant gratification and instant coffee, it’s hard to explain to a client that the Search Engines might not even index the site for up to a month. Making sure everyone knows the timescales involved in SEO is key to avoiding disappointment.

4) Being a market leader automatically entitles you to the top spot.
“I’m a 5* hotel, they’re a pokey b&b – so why are they top and I’m on page three?” Explaining that your word of mouth reputation isn’t automatically linked to your online reputation is crucial to helping newcomers to SEO understand how the process works. By showing them that time, effort and patience can get the underdog to top spot, you’re showing them the power of SEO and managing their expectations.

5) There’s a magic “Top of the SERPs” code.
The number of people that think they can hit the top of the SERPs without making changes to their website is staggering. It’s enticing to believe that there’s some magic button that can be pushed so they can reap rewards with minimal effort, but it’s important to let them know that there’s no cheat code. Even though it is tempting to tell them that if they put into the code, their competition will be Doomed.

As SEO professionals, it’s our job to educate and inform our clients about how what we do works. If we’re open and transparent about our efforts, and tackle these misunderstandings head on, then the industry as a whole can benefit. Can’t it?

Website Optimisation Hints: Three Key Areas of On-Site SEO

With billions of people searching every day, getting to the top of Google is now seen as the Holy Grail for anyone with a website. The problem is that getting there can be costly, confusing and time consuming. Luckily for the biosphere, the millions of words that have been written in the name of website optimisation hints have been written online as opposed to on dead trees, so there’s a glut of tricks and tips out there for anyone looking to boost their online profile.

From my searching, I’ve managed to cobble together some website optimisation hints that will provide strong foundations for any blog or website.

The Three Key Areas

1) The site’s URL: The first thing Search Engines look at is the site’s URL. If you want to be found for “website optimisation hints”, make sure your url has the keywords in. Obviously if you can register keyword.com instead of random.wordpress.com/date/time/squirrel/keyword, you’ll be better off, but let’s do the best with what we’ve got.

2) The site or article’s Browser Title: Make sure the keyword’s in the title too – because the SE crawlers look at it next, and your searchers look at it first when it pops up in the rankings. People are more likely to click on a result mentioning their query than one with your attempt at caustic humour.

3) The site’s Content: The most authoritative website optimisation hints I’ve seen all mention keyword density – even if they never agree on what the optimum density is. A rule of thumb is to sneak the keywords in about five times per 200 words. Just remember that Google doesn’t get punctuation, so in the interests of keeping your copy fresh, try and be a bit clever with your website optimisation. Hints on how to do that can be found pretty much anywhere.

The Test

Now of course there’s a myriad of other factors to consider – number of backlinks, quality of backlinks, age of domain, reputation – but I have seen proof that these three key areas can have a dramatic effect.

Let’s take a look at our two contenders – one a heavyweight giant of online information, one a contender that sabotaged its own chance at world domination. Ladies and gentlemen, let’s welcome to the ring Wikipedia and h2g2. Wiki has the edge when it comes to links, but URLs don’t come much more reputable than Auntie Beeb. An even fight, surely?

One bout – to see who ranks highest for the search term “Battle of Waterloo” on a google.co.uk search, and to see just how applicable these website optimisation hints are. Ding ding, lets rumble.

Ladies and gentlemen, a clear winner.

Position 1 – Wikipedia
Not anywhere on the first ten pages – h2g2

The Tale of the Tape

URLs
wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Waterloo vs bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A5403881
A clear victory for Wiki as h2g2′s quaint A-Numbering system gives the Search Engines nothing whatsoever to work with. Also, the fact that wiki’s article is only three layers down as opposed to hootoo’s four must count against the Beeb’s offering.

Browser Titles
Battle of Waterloo – Wikipedia, the free encylopedia vs BBC – h2g2 – The Battle of Waterloo, 1815
Wiki leads with the keywords, whereas the Beeb’s need to self promote first and inform second counts against it massively. Keyword order looks to be a factor, so get the important keywords in first.

Site Content
Wikipedia has four exact instances of the key phrase in the first two paragraphs, where h2g2 can only muster two exact instances throughout. Unfortunately for the searcher, h2g2′s article is actually more engaging and interesting, if lacking wikipedia’s onslaught of data.

Rematch?

Interestingly, if you change your search to “Battle of Waterloo 1815“, h2g2 springs to 5th in the table thanks to having 1815 in the browser title (and the fact that there are fewer results). Proof positive if any more was needed, that some website optimisation hints should be followed by the BBC’s powers that be, and that the trinity of URL, title, content can work wonders for your listings.