Our firm has been providing SEO services since 1999, so as you might imagine, over the years we’ve had to do a lot of explaining about exactly what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) really is. To make matters worse, on any given day you can read a number of false claims that can lead you to believe SEO is something that it isn’t. In other words, in an attempt to woo customers, a lot of intentional confusion and clutter has flooded the marketplace. This post is my attempt to help eradicate some of the confusion.

Common Misstatements and Misconceptions About SEO

1. SEO is not a catch-all phrase meaning “to increase your online visibility.” It only recently struck me that many people — oftentimes business owners — use the phrase “SEO” interchangeably with what should be “online marketing” or “improve my Web presence.” In other words, SEO has finally entered the public vernacular but is being used improperly. To avoid confusion, I now ask what this person thinks they means when they say “SEO,” and help clarify exactly what SEO is and is not if they don’t have the right understanding.

2. SEO is not paid search. Another frequent interchangeable use of SEO I hear is when the person talking about wanting to advertise in search (a.k.a. “paid search,” “PPC,” or “AdWords”). SEO is not the same thing and therefore should not be used when referring to this kind of advertising. Per the screen grab below, paid ads typically appear at the top of a search engine result page (a “SERP,” if you want to get hip to all the right acronyms), and they are denoted by a shaded background (usually light pink) and there is usually a small statement disclosing that they’re ads (see the words next to the arrow). Below these paid ads follow the search engine results affected by SEO.

3. SEO rankings can be guaranteed. Beware of anyone making claims of “guaranteed SEO rankings.” The word “rankings” implies unpaid or “organic” (also known as “natural”) search, and no one can guarantee any rankings…not even Google. Typically those peddling guaranteed rankings are actually roping you in for paid search (see above) or some other do-baddery such as promising you top rankings for your own brand name (generally speaking, a ranking like this is almost a given) or for some bizarre, obscure keyword phrase that you had no control over picking and for which no one is searching. What good are those kinds of guarantees when the purpose is to connect with searches in the moment they’re looking for what you have to offer?!

4. “SEM” is not SEO. Some might debate this with me, but the acronym “SEM,” which stands for Search Engine Marketing, to me means all things search marketing, not exclusively search engine optimization. So again when I hear someone talk about “wanting SEM,” I ask to get clarification if what they really mean is just SEO or both SEO and paid search ads.

5. “My web designer SEO’d my site.” Yes, your web design firm may have built your website with SEO best practices in mind, but one of the most common misconceptions is that SEO is a one-and-done proposition. True SEO — the kind that sustains top rankings over time — has to be done in an ongoing fashion. These days in particular, it’s not just something that’s built into a website; in fact, you’d better be prepared to routinely generate fresh new content and engage in aspects of social media to help bolster your rankings.

6. “I’ll wait to finish re-designing my website and then I’ll SEO it.” BAD IDEA! The very best time to optimize a website is while it’s being built, not after! Why? Because the very process of building a website might put into place barriers to what the search engine spiders can or cannot see, and if those spiders cannot see the code and content they need to reach in order to index your website in their massive databases, you should not expect to see your website in search engine results.

7. “SEO is all smoke and mirrors.” True (“white hat”) SEO is no more smoke and mirrors than an experienced doctor trying to cure a virus. The normal course of treatment for this virus may have been a common anti-biotic, but then the virus mutates and what used to work in the past no longer does. The doctor must keep up his education on the latest medications so he can adjust his treatment of the patient accordingly. In other words, his efforts are part science and part art. The same is true for SEO. If we practitioners do not keep up our education on the latest search engine algorithm changes, we are no better than doctors who are still trying to cure patients with leeches!

Do any of these misconceptions remind you of someone you know? Do you feel you need a dose of honesty when it comes to your SEO provider? Are you still looking for real organic search engine optimization ranking results? Do you work with a web design firm that might benefit from a strategic relationship with Web Ad.vantage (our firm does not build or design websites)? If so, please use our Contact Us page and get a conversation started!