It’s probably the biggest misconception I hear from people looking to promote their site online – “free” traffic from the search engines.
It doesn’t exist. It’s a myth. Forget about it.
I understand the confusion. You probably think if someone clicks a link to your site in the natural search engine rankings (as opposed to the sponsored pay-per-click (PPC) ads) it doesn’t cost you a dime. And you’re right.
However, getting your website ranked high enough in the search engines so that you’ll get a significant number of quality clicks from the natural search results will cost you – usually a lot more than a dime.
Welcome to the world of SEO. For those who are not familiar with the term SEO, it stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s the process (art? science? magic?) of optimizing your website for certain keywords so that your site will appear high up in the natural search engine rankings.
A few months back, I blogged about the 7 Potential Pitfalls of SEO which explains why SEO is not really free and is not as appealing as you might think. A recent blog post on Search Engine Land titled “SEO is Not Free Traffic” looks at the true costs that are involved in SEO.
Bottom line: While it can be very rewarding, it’s not easy and it’s definitely not free.
The article also talks about a compensation model you should definitely consider if you’re going to hire an SEO firm. Read the full article here.
Related posts:
- 7 Potential Pitfalls of Search Engine Optimization
- The 4 Ingredients For Effective Search Engine Optimization
- Google Local Search Update: Lowly PPC Guy Gets A Big Slap And An Important Reminder
- Monkeys Eating Red Bananas
- Google Local Search: How a Lowly PPC Specialist Beat The Local SEO Firms at Their Own Game
