My article ‘3 Myths and Facts About SEO’ first appeared in the  Spring 2013 edition of TILT Magazine ~ Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology.

If there’s one think that bugs me no end, it’s the myths that abound about Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

In my work with therapists and coaches, I’m often hearing bizarre ideas about what people think SEO is and what they need to do to improve it.

SEO refers to the factors on and off your website that contribute to where Google and the other search engines rank you according to similar websites (aka your competition.)

Not many people are aware that Google takes over 200 factors into account when it’s ranking a website. So there is some incredible complexity involved and no one really knows exactly what their search algorithm contains, though many people dedicate their careers to researching SEO to try and understand some of the most important elements.

What’s more, there have recently been a number of updates to the Google algorithm in the last year, namely the Penguin and Panda updates, which have hurt some websites significantly in their rankings.

So let’s put some of these myths to bed once and for all.

Myth #1: I can get on the first page of Google if I pay someone a large monthly fee

Many of us have heard this promise from slimy SEO marketing companies that constantly harass and spam small businesses.

One of the ways they target small businesses is to prey on the lack of education or information that the general population has about SEO. And because many of us therapists and coaches don’t come from a business background, we can be vulnerable to being sold something that we don’t understand in the hope it will deliver results.

If you hear a company or individual promise they can get you on the first page of Google for many hundreds of dollars a month, what they are talking about is Google Adwords, which are the sponsored listings at the top and down the right side of the search results.

Adwords is very complex to set up effectively and you can potentially lose a lot of money in a short amount of time if you don’t know what you’re doing. Also, only a small percentage of people actually click on the sponsored links, so even if you pay to get on the first page with Adwords, you won’t get as many click throughs as if you are listed in the main search results, often called the ‘organic’ listings.

Fact: No one can get you to organically appear on the first page of Google, no matter how much you pay per month. If you want to improve your SEO, you need to do lots of your own study and research to make sure you understand what factors you need to focus on to make your website SEO friendly.

Myth #2: My website designer will do my SEO and I won’t have to think about it again

This is another big myth. Many people think you can just outsource the SEO and once someone else does it, you won’t have to worry about it again.

Fact: Most website designers understand very little or nothing about what SEO is and what effective SEO is for a website. Don’t blindly trust that your designer is taking care of the SEO.

Read and learn from the massive amounts of free information on the web about what you need to attend to onsite and offsite to help the SEO of your website. For a good place to start, check out this website: www.seomoz.org

Myth #3: Once my new website is done it will be on the first page of Google

A therapist said to me the other day “now my website is done, when will it be on the first page of Google?”

While this might sound naive, it’s actually a common misconception of many therapists and coaches.

I always say good SEO is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s something that comes from months and years of hard work.

Some of that hard work includes:

• blogging on a regular basis with interesting and desirable content that people want to consume and share
• guest blogging on related websites with your best content that adds value to their readers
• being active on other websites through adding engaging comments that contribute to the discussion
• building real online and offline relationships with other businesses related to yours
• building your community on different social media platforms (especially Google+, because they do own search after all)

In short, it’s not for the faint of heart. If you think there are shortcuts, know that there aren’t. Google is becoming so smart that any shortcuts people have found in the past are quickly removed and the result is often a significant drop in your rankings for trying to take short cuts.

Fact: Once your website is built, the work of improving your SEO begins, not ends. If you want to stop working on your website once it’s built, that’s fine, but just know that it won’t be appearing anywhere near the first page of Google anytime soon.

Google recently released this great website on how search works. Check it out here.

Clinton Power is a Sydney-based Gestalt therapist and the owner of Clinton Power + Associates- a private practice dedicated to helping singles and couples move out of relationship pain. He is also the founder of Australia Counselling Directory, a free directory for find counsellors and psychologists in Australia. Clinton is also a passionate coach and consultant for healthcare professionals. Find him on Facebook, Twitter or Google+

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