We’ve told you about the most common SEO myths, but now it’s time to discuss the truths. It’s a fact- SEO is necessary. Prominent thought leaders in the industry have differing opinions on which parts of SEO you need to know and what businesses simply can’t afford to ignore. Here are a few of the truths we found.
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Truth: It’s All Connected
A Search Engine Land article by Trond Lyngbø talks about the 7 SEO truths every business leader must understand. The boundaries between SEO, content media marketing, social media marketing and more are disappearing, says Lyngbø. What you do offline and online is no longer disconnected. For example, offline you could be calling customers to come to your restaurant while online you could be tweeting out about the latest dinner special, even at the same time. 
“What people say about you offline can influence your visibility online, and what people learn about you online impacts offline sales. Your offline and online presence need to be unified to create a consistent brand experience for your customers,” says Lyngbø.
Another great opinion comes from a Keep Marketing Fun post by CT Moore. You need to be smart with tactics to help your business not only online but off.
“SEO is both a science and an art, and that means that there’s a technical side to it. Simply put, all the great marketing and content in the world isn’t going to help you outrank the competition if your site isn’t up to par,” Moore explains.
Truth: It’s Not All About the Rankings
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It’s great for your business to rank high in the search engine results, but it’s not everything. Yes search engines are important, especially in the buying cycle. If you lose your search engine rank, it could make a real dent in your finances, according to Lyngbø. But having your website ranked by Google is a privilege and not a right. Don’t expect special treatment from Google just because you spend a lot of money or your business is important or successful.
As we learned, it’s a myth that if you buy ads you’ll rank higher on Google. Cutts strongly disputes this and the opposite theory that not buying ads makes you rank higher. Think about impressing the users searching for your business, not Google. Don’t just trick Google into giving your pages high rankings. It’s better to think about how to actually change and improve your content and think about how your sites can reach Google goals, says Jennifer Slegg in a . Give searchers what they want, not Google.
Truth: SEO Is Never-Ending
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You can’t just fix one thing on your website and expect SEO to work its magic. It’s not something you employ for your business short-term. Moore agrees. It takes time to earn organic rankings, and you’re not likely to see progress for three to six months or even a year before you get that “return on your investment.”
“SEO isn’t just a one-time implementation of website changes. It’s a strategic initiative with many moving parts,” Lyngbø says.
From the title tags to the multimedia to the keywords, everything works together and is interconnected. Don’t use shortcuts, get an SEO specialist’s help and don’t expect results or rankings overnight.
Truth: You Don’t Need Money Honey
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It’s not all about the money. Your business doesn’t need to spend a ton of cash on SEO and marketing ploys to be successful in the search rankings. Google doesn’t value how much money you spend. Google’s Matt Cutts recently discussed this. Cutts reminded webmasters that Google isn’t just thinking about money when it comes to how they present their organic search results.
“It’s kind of interesting how a lot of people just assume Google’s thinking about nothing but the money, as far as our search quality. And truthfully, we’re just thinking about, how do we make our search results better?” Cutts explained in his video on SEO myths.
There are many more SEO truths and myths to debate, and we’re sure you have a lot to say. Let us know if there are any truths we missed in the comment section below or message us on social media with your thoughts.