Busting Outdated SEO Myths in 2024 with Crystal Waddell

0:00hello. Welcome back to the simple and smart SEO show podcast. I'm your host, Crystal Waddell. And today I'm here by my lonesome self, although I'm here with you. So I do not feel alone, but it is. The rare solo episode.

0:12Today I was going to share with you myths about SEO.

0:15So as we take a break from our regularly scheduled programming of interviews and fast and furious knowledge, I thought we could just talk a little bit about some of the misconceptions of SEO and how SEO really will help your business.

0:29So the first myth is that SEO is a quick fix for sales. And in reality, good SEO builds your brand and it establishes authority and increases visibility over time. But the key is over time. If your business is having a five alarm or four, what do they call that four alarm fire, or you are in crisis mode looking for a quick fix, please don't let anyone tell you that SEO is the cure for your problems.

0:57SEO is a brand building activity and it definitely can lift your brand over time. It can, increase awareness, which is that visibility where people remember your product or your service, or when they're searching for you, you eventually may pop up on the first page of the Google search results or the search engine results page.

1:16But at the end of the day, SEO is not a quick fix for sales. So let's talk about myth number two.

1:23SEO can sell a bad product. Actually, in fact, SEO cannot sell a bad product. So that's the truth. The reality is that SEO enhances your message and your brand, but it's not going to compensate for poor products or customer service.

1:38And so one of the things I was thinking in my mind is your customer service and your brand will find you out in the end.

1:44So that's why I think so many times we see brands come and go or products come and go.

1:50And then also, we've seen a huge influx in fake reviews.

1:55And if you if you don't know, they're actually coming out with some legislation and new rules regarding reviews.

2:01Because it's actually pretty easy to manipulate reviews for your website. It's definitely not something I recommend doing, but as a consumer, it's important that you are aware that in fact, all of those trusted reviews that you see may or may not be real.

2:16So you want to make sure that you take an extra look at that.

2:19And you're critical of those reviews that you're shown, because if a product was just created and you just heard of it in the last week and it's insanely popular.

2:28Is it really likely that they're going to have a hundred thousand five star reviews? Probably not. Just remember people are always trying to sell you something online and SEO cannot sell a bad product. Eventually that product will be found out.

2:43If you don't have a commitment to your customer and your customer service, all of the traffic in the world won't increase your sales.

2:50Once the traffic gets to your website, that's when your systems and your service take over. And win the customer and win the sale.

2:57Okay, here we go.

2:59Myth number three.

3:00SEO is limited to website optimization. The reality is that SEO extends to what we call omni channel strategies.

3:08Which means, social media, Pinterest, Google business. Podcasts.

3:13And more.

3:14And SEO is really a comprehensive online presence.

3:17And I like to say great SEO is great branding.

3:21And as the internet continues to evolve.

3:23Your brand and what the internet says about you when you're not online.

3:28Is going to be that much more important as you grow your business.

3:32So the myth is that SEO is limited to just your website optimization.

3:37The truth is that SEO is really about branding and creating a omni channel presence across the internet where people find the same you wherever they're at. All right.

3:49Myth number four, SEO doesn't require ongoing optimization. The reality is that successful SEO involves continuous improvement.

3:58Fixing technical issues and refining your messaging.

4:01So if someone ever, said, Hey, I can, do this stuff for your SEO and take care of it.

4:07And it'll be done forever.

4:08You're speaking with someone who's not telling you the complete truth.

4:11Because yes, there are some things that you can do for SEO that will continue to work for you in the future, but you're always going to have different issues pop up.

4:19Or if you create new pages, you're going to have to optimize those pages.

4:24So SEO is not a one and done. Quick fix. Wham bam thank you, ma'am, right?

4:29It's an ongoing process and it's ongoing Optimization.

4:33So the myth is that seo doesn't require ongoing optimization.

4:37And the reality Is that successful SEO involves continuous improvement.

4:41Which is a great time to plug the SEO squad.

4:43Which is why I have this small group for business owners.

4:46Because you can establish strong fundamentals of optimization on your website.

4:52And then, we meet once a week. Every week. To talk about our websites.

4:56So we're meeting those foundational needs of optimization.

5:01But then we're also continually improving our websites and our online presence on other platforms.

5:07So definitely would love to invite you into the SEO squad. You can see more information about that in the show notes.

5:14Okay, let's go on to myth number five.

5:17Myth number five.

5:18SEO is separate from other marketing efforts.

5:21The reality is incorporating SEO principles into all channels strengthens your online presence.

5:27Some people say that the curse of entrepreneurship is that everything is on you.

5:32That's actually advantageous.

5:33Because there's no one fighting to get the credit, like crystal, the social media manager. Isn't fighting with crystal, the SEO strategist about who's going to get credit for the sale.

5:43Because I understand, as an entrepreneur, how those things work together.

5:47As large language models help us work faster. And, as technology just continues to improve, a lot of these things that were once separate are going to start merging, even for larger businesses.

6:00So SEO isn't separate from other marketing.

6:03It should be an integrated marketing effort, right?

6:06If you start with some of these SEO principles, like.

6:09Having an idea of what target keywords you'd like to rank for.

6:13Having an idea of what people are searching for online when they're close to purchasing.

6:18Those are the types of principles that benefit all areas of marketing.

6:22So the myth is that SEO is separate from other marketing efforts.

6:26And the reality is that SEO principles across all channels strengthens your online presence overall.

6:32So myth number six is that SEO guarantees immediate results. The reality is that effective SEO takes time.

6:40But it offers long term benefits like authority, expertise, and increased invisibility.

6:45And if you heard two of those words, authority and expertise.

6:49They might sound familiar because they are part of the EEAT acronym that Google has set out in terms of what they consider helpful quality content.

6:59They expect that helpful quality content has A level of experience, a level of authority, a level of expertise and a level of trust.

7:09Building trust with your business online is very similar to building trust in any other relationship.

7:16Before Google is going to recommend your website as the best option or one of the best options for their clients, which are the searchers online.

7:25They need to believe that they can trust your business. That you are an authority, that you're going to share expertise.

7:30And that you have the experience that's going to make their client's experience a great one.

7:36Which then reflects positively on Google, right?

7:39Back to the myth, SEO guarantees immediate results.

7:42They're not immediate. SEO is a brand builder over time.

7:47But it offers a lot of long term benefits and it helps you with your authority, expertise, and visibility online.

7:54All right, so how about, let's go, myth number seven.

7:59SEO is a standalone strategy.

8:02In reality, good SEO compliments the overall business optimization. And it contributes to a holistic online marketing approach.

8:10I was just talking about this yesterday with Jonas Sickler. And what's interesting is that. B and I, when we first started this podcast, her as a massage therapist, and, me as a solo entrepreneur wearing all the hats.

8:24We talked about the holistic nature of Marketing.

8:28For it to be effective, you got to have a little bit of social media. You got to have a little bit of evergreen platform like YouTube or Pinterest.

8:36And you obviously have to have your website.

8:37But you have all of these things that work together that then creates this holistic omni channel presence online, right?

8:45So the myth is that SEO is stand alone.

8:47The reality is that good SEO compliments overall business optimization.

8:53And it's more of a holistic approach than this department's responsible for that.

8:57That department is responsible for this. And they never intersect. That makes no sense.

9:02They call it the worldwide web for a reason, right? Because there's a web that means that things are crisscrossing all the time.

9:08Okay. So here's our next myth.

9:10SEO is all about keywords.

9:13Reality. Good SEO is far beyond keywords. It also involves user experience, quality content and technical optimization.

9:21And I'll even go a step further to say when it comes to keywords, it's not about optimizing for a specific keyword and trying to win traffic for that particular keyword.

9:29Think about it this way. If you optimized your website for, orange juice.

9:34And, just all of the things about orange juice and you had one article on your site about orange juice.

9:40And my website had a variety of articles regarding orange juice.

9:46Regarding its history, regarding where you can get it, regarding the types of orange juice, regarding the benefits of pulp and versus non pulp or low pulp.

9:56Or oranges from California versus Florida or South America.

10:00You see the difference.

10:02The site that has the more comprehensive topical approach to that particular keyword is going to win the day.

10:10It's not just about trying to rank for one particular keyword anymore.

10:14And then you layer in the fact that, just getting the traffic is no longer enough.

10:18So SEO is not all about the keywords.

10:21It also involves. Topical authority, user experience, quality content and technical optimization.

10:28All right. Let's see.

10:30Myth nine SEO is solely about ranking higher.

10:34Negative. Here's the thing. If you ranked higher for 400 keywords.

10:41How is that going to change your business? It probably is not going to change your business.

10:45If that's just the sole outcome of your SEO strategy, right? Just ranking higher.

10:50The reality is that SEO should aim to drive relevant traffic and conversions.

10:55Not just ranking positions.

10:57So a lot of times people will look and say, Oh I'm ranking for 50 more keywords. And it's okay. That's great.

11:03In a way, that's like brand awareness. Possibly. If those keywords are relevant, right?

11:07But we also have to consider the commercial application of those keywords. Is it helping our business grow?

11:13Is it helping us become more profitable? Is it helping us become more efficient? Those are the things that make the keywords that you're ranking for more powerful.

11:22Versus just the. Making us feel good that the numbers are going up on a graph, right?

11:26So myth number nine, SEO is solely about ranking higher.

11:30Those days are over. SEO needs to drive relevant traffic and conversions.

11:36Not just ranking positions. All right. I like this one.

11:39Myth number 10. SEO requires complex technical knowledge.

11:44Actually, in reality, basic SEO understanding combined with current best practices.

11:50Can get you significant improvements.

11:53Now, the best thing that I found about using say, a non WordPress website is that.

11:59Let's say you're using something like a Wix or Shopify or Squarespace.

12:03Those website builders are also called CMS content management systems.

12:09And what that means is they take a lot of the technical knowledge. And the, the technical requirements.

12:14And they take care of it for you.

12:16That's where the coding comes in. That's where all of the back end set up of the actual function of the website comes in.

12:23And then you come in and fill in the blanks.

12:25You add your images, you add your text, you add the pages and the blogs and the products.

12:31So you get to take the technical piece that they've already built and then build upon that.

12:36Now, SEO is Kind of a technical piece of the website.

12:41But it's also common sense, right? Because if you think about having, a purpose for the page and having that purpose relate to how that page could show up in search.

12:53It really just makes sense. It's not a complex computer language.

12:58Search engine optimization is simply understanding like what people are searching for that relates to what you sell.

13:05And then making, making that connection for the person searching for the product that you have or the service that you provide.

13:11SEO does not require complex technical knowledge. Although the myth says SEO requires complex technical knowledge.

13:18The reality is that basic SEO understanding combined with best practices in 2024.

13:24And also the technology like chat GPT and other things.

13:29Help us work faster so that we can still yield significant improvements without any technical knowledge.

13:35All right, the next myth.

13:37SEO is only for large businesses. I was a victim of this thought process for a long time. Because number one, I never even considered SEO.

13:45I thought I needed to start with social media, things I was familiar with, things that I was comfortable with.

13:50And again, I thought I needed complex technical knowledge to do anything with a website.

13:55But in reality, SEO benefits businesses of all sizes.

13:59Because it helps you become visible. It helps you show up as a result when somebody is searching for your product or service.

14:08And it also helps you show up for the particular audience that needs you.

14:13Not everybody on the internet is going to need your product or service.

14:16But if you know what they need and what they call that thing. Then you can position yourself as a solution to the problem that they have.

14:24So the myth is that SEO is only for large businesses. The fact is, the reality is that SEO is for businesses of all sizes.

14:32So here's another fun myth.

14:33SEO is just about beating competitors. So I know I just said that if you're not doing SEO and your competitors are, you're setting yourself up to lose and fall behind.

14:43But the reality is that SEO is primarily about meeting user intent and providing valuable solutions.

14:49Our number one focus all the time has to be our end user.

14:53It has to be the person that is going to buy your product. It has to be the person that wants to find and use your service.

14:58It has to be all about meeting their needs.

15:01And of course, secondary to that is doing all of these things better than our competitors.

15:07And The myth is that SEO is just about beating competitors, getting to the top of page one.

15:12But in reality, it's about meeting user intent and meeting their needs and providing solutions that actually help them solve their problem.

15:21Okay, so here's another good myth. All right, SEO guarantees top rankings forever.

15:27Unfortunately, the reality is this.

15:29That SEO is dynamic and maintaining those top rankings requires ongoing optimization and adaptation.

15:36Not to mention, there are some elements that are now outside of our control.

15:40There's something called sERP features, which are search engine results pages features.

15:45And you can search for anything.

15:47And like for instance, right now I'll search for balloons just to give you a real time example.

15:52If I could spell balloons correctly. When I search for balloons, this is what comes up.

15:57The first thing is I've got some bubbles across the top that help me refine my search.

16:02Because sometimes if I'm looking for a balloon, I might be looking for a balloon that I can print and cut out so my kid could color it. Or, for an art project or something like that.

16:11Then I also might want to shop. Or I might be looking for balloon videos for a presentation.

16:16So there's a whole bunch of different options, filters at the top of the search engine results page that I can use before I even look anywhere else.

16:24And then now Google has more custom filters different tools. And so I'm not going to go there.

16:29But then, under that layer of options, then there are further refinements available where I could get it fast. Balloons that are nearby.

16:37Then they have options for birthday balloons, for latex balloons, foil balloons, arch balloons, graduation balloons, animal balloons on sale, congratulations balloons.

16:46And then. Balloons in a number count, say one to six count.

16:50So that's okay, we still haven't even gotten to what we consider a traditional search engine result.

16:57Which is a blue link with a paragraph underneath of it, right?

17:00Next we've got the sponsored links, which is You know, Google ad speak for advertisements.

17:05And so I have a variety of ads right in front of me that talk about 300 piece balloons.

17:10One latex balloon that could be customized, promotional balloons. And then I've got like a hundred balloons.

17:16It's 281 next to a promotional balloon. That's one cent. So there's a lot going on right there.

17:22I've got one more sponsored display ad underneath that.

17:26And then the Google business listings start.

17:29So I've got, a balloon artist.

17:30And then two party stores.

17:31All of those things show up before I get to the very first organic search results.

17:37So the thing is you could do everything right with your SEO.

17:41And you could be the number one search result and you still may not show up at the top of the page.

17:45And someone may never even get to your blue link because they've already found what they need in those other places.

17:52And that's why. It's important to understand the elements of a search engine results page so that you can plan For ways that you could show up in more areas, right?

18:01So the myth is that seo guarantees top rankings forever. The reality is that seo is dynamic.

18:08Not only could you lose your search position to a competitor?

18:11You could also lose Search real estate on that page to these new features that google is rolling out.

18:19And we didn't even see anything with search generative Results, right?

18:23That's when that little paragraph pops up at the top. And you could you know expand that or whatever.

18:28So even without sge the search generative experience those organic links were pushed down.

18:34So it's important that you remember the seo's dynamic.

18:38Maintaining those top rankings and getting to the top of the page.

18:41It's going to take a little bit of innovation as well as adaptation to whatever search engines throw at us in terms of how they're displaying those results.

18:49Okay. Okay. Working through it. All right.

18:51So the next myth is that SEO is expensive and unaffordable.

18:56When in reality, SEO can be tailored to fit various budget ranges effectively.

19:01So in the past, if you were to have hired an SEO agency.

19:06Many believe that you're not getting anything worth value under 2, 500 a month.

19:11I don't know where that number came from or what's included in that particular package.

19:16But that's the industry standard. 2, 500 and above, and it often will go far higher than that.

19:22Now, due to the nature of, innovative tools, SEO is actually more accessible to the average business owner than ever.

19:31And, obviously you've got YouTube, we've got different influencers on Instagram or different educators all across the internet.

19:38So you can learn from different people. But Again, I'll plug the SEO squad here.

19:41If you're a business owner and you want to do it yourself.

19:44And you want to create a strategy that you can execute and be held accountable on a weekly basis to, to do that.

19:50And just have someone like hold space for you to work on optimization.

19:55I'd love for you to be a part of the SEO squad.

19:56Because that's exactly what we do every week.

19:59So SEO is always going to be something that's going to either cost you money or time.

20:04But there are certain things that you can do Right now best practices that you can put in place right now that are going to give you a high return on investment in terms of your time.

20:13And they're not going to cost you those four figure a month amounts to have somebody do it on your behalf.

20:20So the myth is that SEO is unaffordable.

20:22And the reality is that with current SEO tools and resources.

20:27My membership, the SEO squad.

20:29You can implement strong SEO tactics and implement an SEO strategy for your business. That's gonna have a high ROI at a very reasonable cost.

20:38All right, next myth.

20:39SEO is solely a technical endeavor.

20:43I think we've talked about this enough so far that you realize that myth is not true.

20:47Because in reality, effective SEO Combines technical aspects with strategic content creation.

20:53So yes, you want your pages to have the basic on page elements that Google would expect.

21:00And honestly, I don't play poker or different card games or whatever, but basic technical gosh, I don't know, like a basic website that's technically sound is like. The cost of entry, right?

21:13It's like table stakes. It's the very bare minimum that Google expects at this point.

21:18Because again, with all of the SEO tools that are available out there, there's no reason why your website should have broken links.

21:26That it should have 404 pages, that it should have Missing meta descriptions that it that image sizes should be so big it takes 10 seconds for your site to load.

21:35Those are a lot of technical things that once you learn like the application, like where you can fix those, you'll find that it's pretty easy to do it.

21:43Again. It just takes time. So those technical things are just monitored on a regular basis.

21:48But what's really going to set your website apart is your strategic content creation.

21:53And how you set your site up for user experience.

21:56So the myth is that SEO is solely a technical endeavor.

22:00The reality is that it's so much more than that.

22:02And I have Celeste Gonzalez coming on the podcast next month and she shared with me a very simple guide.

22:10Like that historically, SEo has been split into three separate categories.

22:15Content, technical and links.

22:18And so when you think about it and then allocate every piece of optimization to one of those three areas.

22:26It really simplifies All of the mystery surrounding SEO.

22:30Which leads us to the next myth that SEO is a mysterious black box.

22:36And in reality, understanding SEO basics empowers businesses to make informed decisions and drive results.

22:43And I can give you I can give you two examples from my business, collage and wood. com. You've heard me say this before, if you've listened to the podcast.

22:50But initially when I had set up my website, I thought I sold a couple of different products. I thought I sold Senior night gifts like collages and sports gift ideas or whatever.

23:01I thought that was one thing and then I thought I sold wooden letters.

23:04And it didn't take me long when I started doing keyword research that I realized.

23:08Okay with senior night you have Football senior night. You have soccer senior night. You have volleyball senior night. You have water polo senior night. You have lacrosse senior night. You have basketball senior night. You have golf senior night.

23:18And most of the time when people are searching for You themselves.

23:22They're not thinking about everybody else. They're not thinking about senior night as this, whole, they're thinking of their specific event that's coming up.

23:31And so it didn't take me long to realize that instead of having, sports senior night as a key word that I needed to optimize individual pages for individual sports.

23:40Now, likewise, with wooden letters, I thought, Oh, all wooden letters are created equal, right?

23:45In fact, they're not, because you've got wooden letters that people might use for crafts. You've got wooden letters that people might use for events.

23:52You've got marquee lighted letters that people might use for weddings and engagements and special photo shoots and that type of thing.

23:59I also make senior photo props, which are different from children's photo props.

24:04Which are also different from wooden wall lettering. So I hope I'm giving you a bunch of different examples of how SEO actually empowers you to make informed decisions.

24:13So I can take each one of those products. And then create a content strategy that supports them to drive even more targeted, relevant traffic directly to that product listing.

24:23So the myth is that SEO is a mysterious black box.

24:27I actually see it as a beautifully wrapped gift.

24:30Because once you understand SEO basics, it's going to empower you to make informed decisions that actually drive results and grow your sales.

24:39Next myth.

24:40SEO is necessary for every business. And you know what?

24:43The reality is SEO is not necessary for every single business.

24:48Sometimes if your business is a local business, it could be completely sufficient to have a Google business listing. It could be completely sufficient to hand out flyers or sponsor events in your local community.

24:59And build up your referrals and all of that type of thing.

25:02SEO's impact on your business depends on how people find you.

25:06If people are searching for what you sell online, then SEO can definitely help you get in front of those searchers, right?

25:12But if, your clientele is not Searching for the product or service that you sell.

25:19There are other ways still offline that you can use to market them.

25:22So the myth is that SEO is necessary for every industry.

25:27And the reality is that sEO isn't one size fits all for everybody. You have to figure out where your customers are and meet them there.

25:35Okay, here's a myth. Good SEO is Stuffing keywords everywhere.

25:40And the reality is no, that's not good SEO.

25:44Good SEO is that good user experience. So when we optimize a page on our websites, yes, we want to put certain things in certain places so that the computers, the computer crawlers, the search engine crawlers.

25:59Can find what our page is about quickly.

26:02So they can catalog it and categorize our page quickly so that then they can serve it up where it's appropriate.

26:08But we then, after we get those technical elements in place, everything should be about the person on the other side of the screen.

26:15How can we make the experience better for them? How can we make it easier? How can we make less friction? That is the truth about SEO. So SEO is no longer about.

26:25Stuffing keywords and hiding things and, trying to manipulate the system.

26:30The system is probably as smart or smarter than we are, right?

26:35And so now we've got to get back to where we're putting that user first.

26:38We're making sure that our site is technically sound, but after it's technically sound, we are making sure that we are creating the best possible experience for people who visit our websites.

26:49All links are created equally or all links are created equal and the more links, the better.

26:55When in fact, the reality is all links are not created equal.

26:59This isn't something that, is officially from Google, but over the years it's become an accepted practice to assign domain authority to certain websites. So again, a larger website who has been established, let's say like a walmart. com or something like that, it's been established for a while.

27:17They're going to have a higher domain authority than a new business that pops up on the internet.

27:21And so a link from an established website is going to mean a lot more than a link from a brand new website.

27:29Or website that doesn't demonstrate those elements of EAT. They're not demonstrating expertise.

27:35They're not demonstrating experience. They're not demonstrating authority. And where it really gets dangerous is when they're not demonstrating trust.

27:44So when you get a link from a website, you may want to celebrate.

27:48But first you want to figure out, okay what is happening on this website?

27:52Is it a good user experience?

27:54Just know that all links are not created equal and where a lot of businesses get in trouble Is that they hire a company to do their seo and part of the seo is link building.

28:03And so in order for the link building company to meet promised Keep performance indicators or KPIs.

28:11They get links that are low quality. And if you're the typical business owner, you don't know anything about link quality right?

28:19Until the day that your site crashes. Because Google says that your site and the links that are pointing to your site are Bad links, right?

28:29And that's happened to a lot of people over the last year or so.

28:32So not all links are created equal. It's better to spend time building links to quality websites.

28:39And also building internal links throughout your own website.

28:43Than it is to go out and just buy cheap links just to say you have links from different websites.

28:47That is no longer a winning strategy for SEO.

28:51Okay, for real this time, the last myth.

28:54SEO is a one size fits all solution. Absolutely not.

28:59As we've already talked about, different businesses have different needs. Some businesses don't even have a need for SEO.

29:05But an e commerce business is going to have different optimization needs and require a different optimization strategy than a, Website that a public speaker might have.

29:18So it's all about the goal of the website.

29:20It's all about the goal of each page.

29:22And it's important to tailor whatever you're doing SEO wise to the goal of the website.

29:28And to the user experience goal that you want your site visitors to have. So the myth is that SEO is a one size fits all solution.

29:36The reality is that you've got to tailor it to your unique business goals.

29:41So this was a super fun episode, just to go through some of the myths and things that I've heard.

29:47If you're talking to friends about website optimization, they may look at you like you've grown a second head, right?

29:52It's not typical conversation of business owners, but because the internet is becoming such a prevalent force, for connecting with our customers.

30:02I think that for most businesses, optimizing your website is going to be a great investment in the future. So again, would love to have you in the SEO squad. If you'd like more information about that, I'm going to have it down in the show notes.

30:15And thank you for joining me today and I hope you have an amazing week.

30:20See you next time.

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