If you have a website then you have probably spent some time thinking about Google Ranking. You may have heard people talk. You may have even done some research. There is a lot of misinformation about how to rank higher on google, and there is a lot of information that used to be true that is now either less true or false entirely. Being that, most of my clients, who happen to be small business owners, ask most often about their google ranking, I thought it was time for a quick myth buster! So - here are my 10 top myths about Google Ranking.

“If you do the right things, you will instantly be number one."

Consider gaining in Google rank as a plan to lose weight. You do what you know works and sometimes it takes time to get those pounds to start dropping. But if you stay the course in what you know to be a good game plan, then with time you are going to see the results you want. Everyone is different. It may take you twice the time it takes your friend to lose the same pounds. But, no one has gotten fat by working out regularly and eating healthy foods.

The truth is that all efforts to increase your google ranking will take time. Depending on many factors, this could be a short wait or a longer wait, but it is certainly not instant. I have never not seen a steady climb with my clients who have hired us for SEO. Sometimes that steady climb takes a month or two, and more often 4-6 months, and sometimes it could even take 12 months to get to where they want to be. Even when we make it clear to our clients that it takes time, we sometimes get a call within a week of starting a client who wants to know why they aren’t number one yet. So, remind yourself that it takes time and what you want to see is a steady climb not drastic swings that do not last.

“The only desirable Google position is number one on page one"

The truth is that there is often a better conversion rate for number two or three than number one. While the first option always seems best, the viewer often looks at a couple sites before they settle on one, so being 2 or 3 on the list is often the more memorable listing for someone ready to make a purchase.

“Google ranking is consistent"

The truth is that your google ranking can change daily, geographically, and sometimes by the moment. Consider that when you are analyzing your results. You can’t check your rank every day and think that you are getting a clear picture. An analysis once per month considered over time is the best way to determine how your efforts are working and how to move forward.

“Magic tags will get you right to the top"

There is no one thing that will make your site rank highly on google. It takes a variety of tactics and it takes time. Sure, there are tags that will help guide Google’s crawling engine to make the right assumptions about your page, but putting any number of tags is only one small piece of the google ranking puzzle.

“Link building is in the past"

While spammy versions of link building is certainly in the past and could actually hurt your google ranking at this point, link building is a vital part of the google ranking puzzle. If no one ever linked to you, why should Google think that you are worthy of ranking? Even the lamest websites get some links. Non-automated, relevant, and whitehat link building can make all the difference in the world to your google ranking.

“SEO services are a scam"

I think in every industry you are going to find scammers. There will always be people who want to make something for nothing, or portray to have a skill set that they do not have. There are some warning signs like “I will guarantee you will be on the x page of Google” or “money back guarantee”… But SEO services are not only not a scam but often vital if you want to gain business through your website and increase profits. Remember that you are paying for a service not a result, and that SEO takes time and effort to increase your google ranking.

One fantastic benefit of SEO services is that there is a carryover of effort. Whereas if you run a PPC ad campaign, as soon as you stop running that campaign the work you have done and the increase of traffic stops. If you run an SEO campaign, there is a carryover long after you stop service. While - depending on your industry - it may not be advisable to completely stop service or you will eventually drop down below your competitors after a hard fought battle to get ahead of them - once you stop service it would be rare to not enjoy a carryover of google ranking that not remains but could possibly even increase if your site has good content.

“Stuffing pages with keywords"

There is a web tag called “meta keyword” that people used to use to stuff a crazy ton of keywords into. They would literally type keyword after keyword onto this tag and it would help their page rank for said words. Until… a day in the past… when Google flipped their algorithm. Now, I am 99% certain that the Google Algorithm skips right over this meta tag. So most developers no longer use it at all. Additionally to skipping it, Google ranking wants to have each page focus on ONE search phrase. Your page is not capable of ranking high for one keyword phrase if you do not focus on that one keyphrase, therefore - keyword stuffing is invalid. Note that the meta tags Title and Description are very important for both your Google Ranking and click through rate from your google results.

“Purchasing a ton of keyword focused domains"

One of the more recent tactics to increase google ranking is to purchase a ton of website domains and point them all to your site. The problem here - is that your content is your content - if Google sees the same content under two different domains, then it will call it duplicate content. The result of duplicate content is that the first one Google found is considered legit and the other is ignored. So this takes the power of picking what domain google is considering you for out of your hands. The best plan of action is to have one keyword focused great branding domain and stick with it.

Now here is my exception clause… you can take those additional domains and use them in a way to benefit you. You can create landing pages for those domains on your website and link to it as the domain, and use the link to those pages in marketing campaigns. However, this does not increase your Google ranking on your existing website since it is placing the page on a “different website”… so yes those keyword focused domains can help your traffic increase if you use them properly… but will not increase your google ranking.

“Buying Google Ads will help my Google Ranking"

This has been proclaimed over and over but we still hear people say otherwise. Purchasing Google Ads will have zero affect on your organic Google Ranking. Google Ads are a great tool to get people to see your website while you are working on building your organic ranking. Though there is nothing in Google’s ranking algorithm that will calculate the Google Ads that you purchase. So. Just. No.

“If I am not where I want to be, then my SEO company is doing something wrong"

See number one. But also - consider this. Your SEO company is working on your Google ranking based on a service that you have purchased from them. Did you pick the least expensive package that they offer? While anything is better than nothing… your competitors may have the best SEO package their provider offers, and if you expect your company to get you to the top while purchasing the lowest level of service, then your expectations may not be reasonable. This is not to say that a smaller company or package of one company compares exactly in a certain way to another company… but… if your service is not bringing you what you want, but you are seeing a steady increase, then either give it time or increase the service level you are purchasing. If you have paid for years and not seen a hint of change, then perhaps it is time for a change.

These myths may be things you have held as truths or you may already have learned them to be false. If you have any additional questions about google ranking, contact us and we would be glad to help. Additionally - if you need SEO and do not already have a provider then request a quote for SEO now!