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6 Common Complaints about SEO

While these are some common complaints about SEO, that doesn't mean they are necessarily true...

SEO has become an important part of running a business. It not only can tell you who is visiting your website (and what they're looking for), but also help you market yourself more efficiently. Even though SEO practices are effective for businesses, they can be tricky to perfect. For this reason, some companies would rather not bother.

Below you'll find a list of 6 common complaints of why companies don't use SEO, along with a few reasons why they are not necessarily true.

SEO is pointless because it's unpredictable.

Myth! Many people question SEO's reliability. This is generally because they can't have complete control over the results they receive. While this is true to some extent, it is also to be expected – an increased ranking is not solely the result of changing your marketing scheme. In addition, SEO is not a one-size-fits-all solution. In order to improve your website's rank, you must work hard and experiment with what works best for your specific niche and keywords. Until, of course, you hit your website's SEO sweet spot.

Those who question SEO's reliability are probably new to the idea and haven't gotten a grasp of the basics; however, after educating yourself, chances are you'll see SEO in a completely new light.

Why should I learn SEO since as soon as I do, it will change?

Myth! While it is true that SEO is constantly evolving, it doesn't mean that SEO techniques change so much that it's unusable. This couldn't be further from the truth. Search engine developers do tweak algorithms to help ensure the quality of search returns (and to make search engines run more efficiently) but that doesn't mean that every change will have an impact on the daily function of a given website. Most adjustments are so small that chances are you won't realize they even happened.

I can't use SEO, it's too expensive!

Myth! It's true that you'll have to spend to make SEO work for you. Not only will SEO cost money, but it'll cost time and effort on your part as well. That said, most businesses who employ SEO techniques say that the cost of SEO are much lower than using paid advertising. In addition, organic search has a better ROI than paid search. Therefore, while it may cost you money, SEO is not too expensive to give you great results and maximize your investment.

SEO is a waste of time because it takes too long to work.

Myth! Building any kind of company from the ground up takes time. The same is true with rankings and a company's presence online. Even though search marketing can provide a steady stream of website visits and leads, you do need to allow SEO time to bring the results we're all looking for.

I can't use SEO, I'm not tech savvy enough.

Myth! Although some parts of SEO are quite tech heavy, the vast majority of SEO lies in marketing. According to Forbes, these activities include "finding keywords to target, creating content that attracts visitors from search and pushes them down your funnel, monitoring keyword rankings, and analyzing traffic data".

I don't want to use SEO because it will change my website too much.

True, but necessary. Using SEO will require you to make changes to your website – sometimes even major changes. However, each change is necessary if you want SEO to reach its full potential for your business. Here are a few suggestions on how to set up your website for search engines.

We'll tell it to you straight – when you begin using SEO you will have some work cut out for you. But when you think about the number of people who use search engines every day to locate the things they want, SEO becomes invaluable to your business. Failure to use SEO to its full potential can leave you receiving less traffic than your competitors.

For more SEO information, please visit our knowledge center and search marketing blog.

About SEO Advantage^®

Led by Stone Reuning, SEO Advantage®, Inc. is an online marketing and search engine optimization firm that helps businesses turn their web presence into a powerful revenue generation medium. Our clients enjoy dominance on Google, Yahoo and Bing through a suite of unique pay-for-performance search engine optimization and online marketing services implemented by a multidisciplinary team of SEO engineers, copywriters and web designers. You'll find us referenced in books such as "Writing Web-Based Advertising Copy to Get the Sale" and the BusinessWeek bestseller "The New Rules of Marketing & PR," as well as the popular ebook "The Small Business Blogging Blueprint." Find out more today by calling us at 1-800-366-1639 or email us here.