If you’re trying to handle your SEO efforts on your own, there’s nothing wrong with that – but, if you’re just getting started and don’t have any previous experience, letting these misconceptions get in the way of your SEO strategy can be damning from the start.

SEO Word Graph Common Misconceptions

  1. You Must Use Certain Phases to Appear in the Search Engines

Google’s latest updates make sure that search results are influenced not just by keywords, but also by where the searcher is located. While not every search will focus on location, different users might search using various phrases, all of which could matter to your business. Many people use over ten words when searching. Since Google now bases searches on the user intent and the overall context of the query, rather than just the main keywords, it’s crucial to conduct keyword research but also stay on topic and pay less attention to those keywords and the meaning they hold in relation to user intent as you develop content.

  1. You Can Beat Search Engine Algorithms to Get Higher Ranking

Google’s search engine algorithms are very advanced. If you try to buy a lot of links (don’t do that!) to trick the system and improve your ranking, Google will catch on. They monitor how quickly links are coming to your website, and if you suddenly go from zero links one day to 500 links in a week or even a month, Google will know something is off. Nowadays, link selling services also claim to deliver those links slowly, so they appear gradually. But Google is still smart enough to notice this. It’s best to do things the right way. You never know when Google might get even smarter and penalize sites. Just because something works now doesn’t mean it will always work.

  1. SEO Negates the Need for Publicity

One of the biggest mistakes you’ll make is assuming that because you have a well-optimized website that people will easily be able to find you. Even if you’ve landed number one in various phrases related to your business and are getting plenty of organic traffic, you should still be focusing on publicity, too. People are bombarded by countless results and ads on search engines, so unless they’ve heard of you or trust your brand, chances are they’ll pass right by you. Keep working on those PR efforts to build brand awareness (and use them to help drive traffic to your website too, which helps with SEO.)

  1. You Must Rank #1 in Relevant Google Searches

While that’s what we all want, it’s just not possible to achieve for each keyword or search query. When you consider things like domain age, the people who’ve been online longer will always have the best shot at the number one rank – and if you let that stop you from trying, you’ll be missing out. Google is known for adjusting results pages to make results more personalized to the user, so it’s still possible you’ll rank higher for some of your customers – and that’s precisely why you need to keep making an effort on your SEO.

  1. Google is the Only Search Engine You Need to Think About

Google is the most used, but it’s not the only game in town. Plenty of people use Microsoft’s Bing search engine, and there are still people who use Yahoo as their primary search engine. Focusing solely on Google’s guidelines and recommendations could prevent you from getting a decent ranking in other search engines. As a general rule, good SEO practices help with all the search engines, but it’s not a bad idea to check your site in Bing Webmaster Tools and Yahoo’s Webmaster resources to make sure you’re on the right track for those, too.