What SEO Is vs. Isn’t (Let’s Debunk 3 Myths )

Introduction

This is an excerpt from Delightful Sites — a weekly email series helping therapists, coaches, and entrepreneurs build sustainable, values-aligned businesses, through the power of website marketing. 💐

When it comes to your website, you’ve probably heard that “good SEO is important” - but you might not know what that actually means.

(Quick refresh: SEO = Search Engine Optimization - your site’s visibility on search engines like Google. 💡)

SEO is a buzzword these days, and it can be hard to sort through what info is relevant vs. what’s noise. I want to debunk a few myths about SEO – as a therapist (turned website strategist) whose private-pay practice has been built & sustained by strong SEO.

🐉 MYTH #1: “SEO is mysterious & complicated.”

📋 FACT #1: Many people hear SEO and think it involves deciphering hieroglyphics. But in truth, SEO is more common-sense & straightforward than you might think. It comes down to: intentionally using specific words & phrases, in specific sections of your website, that match the words & phrases that your ideal clients are typing into search engines like Google.

Yes, there are some tech-y components (as there’s both on-page SEO & back-end SEO) - but ultimately, SEO is about using clear & consistent language, in the places that count, throughout your website.

🐉 MYTH #2: “SEO leads to instant results.”

📋 FACT #2: Some business “gurus” out there might make it seem like you can flip a switch, set up good SEO, and then overnight, your site shows up on page 1 of Google and the inquiries start rolling in. The reality is far less exciting & more nuanced. I think of SEO less as a magical switch that flips on and off, and more as a foundation being laid brick by brick. 

Every page on your website that is written, structured, and optimized for SEO - that’s a brick. Every strategic decision on top of that - like SEO-optimized blog posts; or updates to your Google My Business profile - adds more bricks. All of that takes time & intentional effort to build, so instant results are not guaranteed. The timeline for results - like more page clicks; and more right-fit clients reaching out to you from Google - varies for each website & each business.

🐉 MYTH #3: “Good SEO fixes all marketing issues.”

📋 FACT #3: SEO is important, but it’s just one piece of your whole marketing ecosystem. Good SEO helps bring clicks to your website - which is essential, because no one can book with you if they don’t know that your business exists. However, once people are on your site, that’s when the copywriting + design need to do their job: actually show your ideal clients why you’re the right fit for them. 

In other words: before I optimize a website for SEO, I’d want to first make sure that the pages are worth optimizing - i.e., written & designed to convert ideal clients. 

🪄 The good news I want you to take away from this? SEO is a doable & learnable marketing strategy, if you choose to DIY. 

If you need help figuring out an SEO strategy for your business, I’m always happy to chat about working together on a website project.

Until next time,

Liz 

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