Inbound Marketing & Technology Blog

SEO Expectations vs. Reality: What to Know and Do

Written by Thirumalesh Prasad C G | May 28, 2019

Majorly all business owners know what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about, and they all have the same expectations from using SEO tactics. When most of them are asked what they know about SEO, majority of them reply with 'Utilisation of keywords on webpages, or 'it gives them an appearance on Search Engine (Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc.)

The two answers are right. SEO is majorly about using some particular keywords to optimise a website so that it will show on Search Engine Results Page (SERP). But this is just like a basic knowledge about SEO, with this simple understanding are attached some misunderstandings about SEO. Here are some of the widespread expectations of business owners when they get involved in an SEO campaign:

Expectations #1: It will generate massive Traffic Overnight.

This particular expectation is widespread among many business owners, and they think adding keywords to websites will boost them to a higher ranking the following day. Most of them based their expectations on different emails and advertisements signs they see saying 'We will rank your business #1 in Google!' or other messages related to that. As a business owner, you need to be careful when you get messages or emails bearing similar information.

Reality

The truth is SEO campaigns takes time. Even if you go through with expected guidelines and produce contents of high qualities, it will take at least a period of three to six (3 – 12) months. Do not expect any high traffic on your website before then. Google has also stated it in a YouTube video tagged 'Hiring a good SEO Company' that SEO campaigns start to show initial positive feedback between the period of 4 – 12 months. SEO can be labelled as one of the long term investments one engages in for a business.

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Expectation #2: SEO is easy to do and master in little time

Reality

The truth is that SEO requires constant reading and practising. Just like preparing for a practical exam, you will have to conduct frequent experimentations. Mastering the SEO tactics do not just happen like magic; it requires and hardworking and determined mind. As said earlier, the ability to master SEO takes years, but still, there is no need to learning as it keeps evolving.

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Expectation #3: Allocating money for SEO

Many have the notion that since SEO has to do with Google, it will require a considerable cost to implement.

Reality

You should know that no cost whatsoever is required from you if you conduct the SEO the right way. Do not confuse promotions of social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) to SEO on search engines (Google, Yahoo), and this is because the way they operate is different from one another. You do not have to reserve any budget for SEO. But if you want to observe positive results, you will have to dedicate time.

Expectation #4: SEO is a one-time thing

Reality

Performing an SEO campaign is not a unique thing like most business owners think. You need to keep yourself updated concerning developments, especially the fact that algorithms of the search engines are continually changing. You need to keep yourself up to tabs with constants changes, or else you will fall behind in your ranking. Changes in your industry, likewise in the SEO algorithm, ensure to implement the changes to hold on to your ranking. With the changes and updates in mind, your contents too should be always be updated keeping them optimised.

This can be compared to keeping a pot of flower, and you don't just plant it and ignore. You will keep feeding it, adding water when needed, and also trimming it edges when it starts growing out of space. So your continuous evaluation and inclusion of recent contents all result towards increasing your website.

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Expectations #5: Linking internally is a Waste of Time

For SEO, people see an internal link as a waste of time. They believe that if the whole point of conducting an SEO campaign is to build external backlinks, why they bother including the internal linking?

Reality

You should know that internal linking helps to direct users through your website. Not only that, but they also help search engine crawlers (Google) to have a better understanding of your contents, the leading text provided in your internal link is used.

Expectation #6: Fill your Content up with just Keywords

Reality

This particular method is outdated, and can even lead you the one having a poor ranking on Google and coupled with some penalties. There is a regular change in the search algorithm for Google, and this is done to make sure that the quality of the content is what will determine the website's ranking. Although there is no standard ratio of content to keywords, it is advised to keep its usage below 5% (ranging from 1- 3%). You run the risk of having your posts tagged as spam if you stay too many keywords, and having too little can make you lose ranking.