Myth two: My site is already optimized for organic search
This is almost not a myth since, at its heart, it is true. There is nothing more valuable than organic search (a.k.a. search engine optimization [SEO]), as it is free. However, doing this in a way that makes the company’s website consistently stand out amongst competitors can be difficult.
With organic search, a company’s website ranking is never finished—it needs constant care and updating. Further, everyone who develops a website today builds it to be optimized for search engines; therefore, any advantage is hard won and even harder to hold onto.
Unlike paid search, Google, Yahoo, and other search engines do not share their algorithms to determine rankings. Even if a business manages to get to the top of a particular category, the next time Google modifies its algorithm (which it does regularly), the website may suddenly disappear.
It gets worse. Within organic search, Google is actively choosing winners and losers, and with a bias towards larger players and bigger brands. Google views larger companies as a sure bet over most local providers. While this may change, it is still a major frustration for many local pool and spa/hot tub companies.
Finally, many SEO firms trumpet their successes all the time. They delight in showing a business owner their website now ranks high on specific terms in their particular town (e.g. pool installation, Ajax, Ontario). While this appears to be a success, reality often tells a different story. The term ‘pool installation Ajax Ontario’ may only attract half a dozen visitors for an entire year.
In this case, the SEO firm has essentially spent a lot of time, effort, and money to get a company’s website half of a visitor per month. In effect, the website is leading a race no one else has bothered to run.
This is not to say a company’s website should not be optimized in this manner, it is just that at this point in the evolution of Internet searches, doing SEO is table stakes—the price of just being in the game.
Here are the factors that matter most when it comes to SEO:
- Longevity: The website/domain age is what matters most in the eyes of Google. So, while the firm hired to improve the company’s SEO will hopefully do their best, the website needs to be in the game for years, not months, before it can reach the top.
- Inbound links: This refers to links from other websites that link back to a company’s website over the course of time. Essentially, this is a sign that others like the website. Even though there has been talk about how inbound links and link history are losing their importance, this is still a significant factor in organic search rankings.
- Quality, fresh content: Google likes active websites with active pages. The more posts there are about pools and spas the better.
Other factors come into play as well, but these are the top three when it comes to organic search rankings. Keep in mind, these three factors are hard to achieve quickly and reliably. This is not to scare or dissuade business owners from paying attention to organic search, but more so to point out where this fits in the mix and to be clear on what can and cannot be achieved.
