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The Top 12 SEO Myths

Web Ignite Corporation
April 7, 2002

Myths and misconceptions pervade the industry. Here's the top 12 exposed.

  1. In-House SEO Is Cheaper

    2. Less than 1 percent of the marketing budget goes to SEO, leaving corporate Web sites improperly optimized. SEO pros can get better rankings faster because submission is complex, technical, ever changing, and has a steep learning curve. Outsourcing is cost-effective because the pros get economies-of-scale after initial outlays in personnel, technology, and process development. In-house SEO lacks cost maximization.

  2. It's a One-Shot Deal With Submission Software

    3. Submission software promises the moon. But how can software get the same kind of results reputable vendors provide for a fraction of the cost? There's no way software can identify keywords automatically or optimize your content and HTML coding. All the engines have specific submission guidelines that change regularly. It's not one size fits all, and no software program can customize and update to the degree required to maintain top listings.

  3. SEO Leads Are Inferior to Traditional Media Leads

    4. This is the opposite of reality. SEO leads are the most qualified leads you can get because people searching for products and services on search engines are in "action" mode and ready to buy. Search engine traffic is qualified because users initiate the search with a purpose, making these leads targeted and more valuable than those from "broadcast" advertising methods used by traditional media.

  4. SEO Traffic Isn't High Quality

    5. Ideally, it'd be nice to have an integrated marketing campaign with TV ads, direct mail, email, banner ads, and search engine marketing, but not everyone can afford this. When your marketing budget is limited, the place to start is with SEO. A properly optimized site can produce leads and sales within a short time period. Case studies have shown that search engine traffic is equal to or better than traffic from more expensive sources.

  5. Top Rankings Guaranteed or Your Money Back

    6. Money-back guarantees are worthless in search engine positioning because outcomes are always unpredictable and ever-changing. Technicians cannot control the search engines.

  6. We'll List You in Thousands of Search Engines

    7. Submission software claiming to "Submit to 1,500 directories and search engines" gets you listed in many FFA (Free For All) engines. FFAs don't compare to directories and engines like Yahoo! and Google, and your name gets on email spam lists.

  7. Once You Achieve Good Rankings, You're All Set

    8. Search engine positioning requires trial and error, and success is ephemeral. Today's top listings will change tomorrow or even on an hourly basis. Maintaining positioning requires constant monitoring and tweaking. It can't be guaranteed, and it's not permanent once achieved.

  8. SEO Doesn't Give a Good ROI

    9. The ROI for SEO is excellent compared to other marketing methods. A Marketing Sherpa case study clearly illustrates this by comparing the results of banner ads, direct mail and SEO. With SEO, you get better conversion rates, lower cost-per-click, and lower acquisition costs.

  9. Professional SEO is Too Expensive

    10. SEO is cost-effective compared to banner ads direct mail, email marketing, and print advertising. For instance, SEM deliverables are half the cost of keyword banner campaigns, and SEO can provide specific measurable results.

  10. All SEO Services Are Alike

    11. SEO is striving for ethics and standards although there are a few questionable providers giving the industry a bad name. Services and pricing vary widely. Ask your provider to define services, pricing, contracts and reporting. Verify the provider's experience and proficiency by interviewing past customers.

  11. Save Money With Pay-Per-Click Engines

    12. You hear about buying PPC traffic and getting featured listings for free in the major search engines. This is partly true because of partnership deals, but your best results come from a well-integrated SEO campaign that includes optimized pages for both human-powered and crawler-based search engines and enhanced link popularity. A PPC campaign can be expensive without cost management, and some users will avoid featured listings because they consider them ads.

  12. A Buyers Guide to SEO Vendors Is Reliable

    It would be nice to be able to depend on a buyers guide, but the industry changes too rapidly for such a guide to be current and remain accurate, even with updates. A much better solution is to find out for yourself by asking people you know and by interviewing prospective vendors in depth.