The world of Search Engine Optimisation can appear complex and sometimes baffling, so it’s not surprising that even in 2014, some people still cling to ideas and practises that are no longer relevant, misjudged or simply obsolete.
Listening to these SEO mistruths can seriously damage the success of your resort’s online marketing campaign. So let’s take a look at the top 3 myths to sort fact from fiction.
Myth 1: Content is Everything
This has become one of the favourite mantras of online marketers in recent years. Simply build a great website full of amazing content then watch the traffic start to roll in.
In reality, while engaging, well researched content is a crucial part of SEO, even the best written content in the world does not stand up to Google’s algorithm without a strong technical base of links, solid navigation, fast page downloads and much more to support it.
Of course you should focus on making the best content you can – but remember other SEO tactics are needed too if you actually want your guests to land on your site and see it.
Myth 2: Link Building is Dead
Links are far from dead – in fact, search engines still monitor the volume and quality of links directing to a website and use this information to decide where it should rank in the search pages. What have died are many of the old, manipulative tricks marketers once fell back on to artificially inflate these metrics. Sites that may once have been able to game their way up the SERPs with the help of link farms or paid link schemes are now seeing their traffic suffer or even finding themselves removed from the search index as Google tightens its rules to improve the search experience for its users.
By working with an experienced marketer to create a strategic link acquisition plan tailored to your property, you can generate a wealth of quality links directing to your website in a way that appears natural, and avoid coming under fire from the major search engines.
Myth 3: Ranking Isn’t Important Anymore
With the arrival of personalization, geolocation, and other factors that have changed the face of search in the last few years, some have argued that search ranking is not as important as it once was. True, you can no longer be sure that the top 10 results you’re seeing when you make a search are the same as the results everyone else is seeing for those same search terms. But that doesn’t change the fact that the difference between the first and tenth result significantly impacts the volume of traffic that flows to a website. Even if it’s no longer possible to know exactly how each of your guests are seeing your property’s website in the search results pages, by following keyword trends you can still keep close track of opportunities for traffic increases and identify where any drop offs in traffic volume might be happening.
While your site’s ranking in terms of a concrete numerical positioning in search results may not matter so much anymore, your website’s general positioning (towards the top or bottom of the crucial first pages of the SERPs) absolutely does.
Can you think of any more SEO myths that should have been put to bed by now? Let us know in the comments below!
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