10 Truths about SEO

We all want to be at the top of the organic search engine results. Let's see 10 things we have to keep in mind.

This article is a continuation of our previous article on SEO. If you want to learn the basics of SEO, you can click here: What is SEO and why do I need it?.

1. It Takes Time

Yes. It does. This is something we need to understand.

SEO strategies take at least 4-6 months to pay off and start delivering results. Expecting results sooner will probably bring disappointment and frustration. In fact, for a new website that has just gone online, the time it will take will be even longer.

If this period of time seems long to some website owners and they believe that they do not have the necessary patience, then it would be better not to bother investing in SEO. They will lose their money and peace of mind.

Of course, we have to add another parameter: the competition we have to face. The more competition there is, the more effort we have to put in, at an extra cost in terms of time.

The key here is patience. SEO is very much like an airplane. It takes a lot of fuel, effort and time to take off and reach the right altitude. But what happens when we reach the right height? Do we stop? Let's take a look at the next truth.

2. It's a Never Ending Process

When we achieve our goal and finally get where we want to be, we may think that we are now satisfied with our results and can rest easy.

Besides, to continue the airplane analogy, when we reach 30,000 feet in altitude, we loosen the belt we put on for takeoff and relax. We certainly won't start free-falling from the position we reached, but just like with the airplane, if we don't take care of our website, don't add content, don't adapt to ever-changing situations, we will run out of fuel and slowly start falling from our position until we disappear.

Then, if we want the results we had when we were at the top, we will have to start the process all over again, which means we'll need another 4–6 months of work.

3. We Trust the Experts

As we mentioned in our previous article, What is SEO and why do I need it?, we can do SEO on our own. All the information is available on the internet, it's not a secret. But we will always be one step (or even many steps) behind the competition, without an expert by our side.

For example, choosing on our own the keywords or key phrases for which to try to improve our ranking is a risk with a high probability of failure.

SEO experts have access and familiarity with tools that look at Google's vast data and can find keywords that users actually search for in high volume.

4. Paid Advertising may be Necessary

If we operate in a highly competitive field, SEO may not be cost-effective after a certain point.

For example, if we are in the car rental sector of the tourist industry, it is very likely that 40 other agencies in the area offer their services. But there are only 10 spots on the Google search results page.

In this case, it would have a better return on investment to give our money to paid advertising to ensure guaranteed traffic to our website.

5. Content is our Greatest Weapon

Having a stylish, good-looking website that loads quickly is great, but Google needs content, i.e. text, to understand what our website is about and to rank it.

We therefore need content. Words. Lots of words. Ideally alongside targeted keywords. It's gold for SEO.

Websites with pages that have 300 words or more attract the attention of search engines more effectively. Search engines are always looking for websites relevant to their users' searches.

Therefore, the more we analyze in-depth issues that concern us and do it through original content, the better for our SEO.

6. We must have a Clear Understanding of our Audience

It is crucial that our audience can read and understand our content. All those to whom we appeal.

Even those who are not that "smart" should be able to understand our website. The more "low-level" our text is, the better for SEO. The simpler, the better.

Consider, for example, the article you are reading now. The topic of the article is SEO. SEO is a technical part of web development and professionals in the field use terminology and language that would not be understood by someone who is not familiar with the industry. Όμως επειδή το άρθρο έχει εκπαιδευτικό χαρακτήρα και απευθύνεται δυνητικά σε όλους, σκόπιμα έχουμε χρησιμοποιήσει απλή γλώσσα, χωρίς δύσκολους όρους και δυσνόητα αρκτικόλεξα. But because the article is educational and potentially for everyone, we have deliberately used simple language, without difficult terms and obscure acronyms. This way we keep both our readers happy and the search engines happy.

7. We play by the Google Rules

There is no point in trying to "cheat the system" and fool the search engines. That was 15-20 years ago.

Nowadays search engines are quite smart, so it would be better to stay away from anyone who promises us fast results with tricks that only they know. Στην καλύτερη περίπτωση θα χάσουμε τα λεφτά μας. At best, we will lose our money. In the worst case we will lose our money and Google will blacklist our website, removing us from the search results.

8. Local SEO is our Savior

In situations where there is high competition, local SEO is critical. This is because one of the main criteria of search engines is location. Both the location of the searching user and ours.

It is therefore important to list our company's headquarters, address and telephone numbers in (local) directories and on Google Maps.

At the same time, we create links from other websites to our own (backlinks), a process that is essential for the establishment of our website.

This is how we help search engines identify our location and show us to local users searching for services related to the ones we offer.

9. We aim at National (and not only!) Establishment

Our goal should be to reach the top.

And when we say the top, we don't mean being the first in our area.

Not even in our city.

We mean appearing on top in the results for our country (if not abroad).

Αν καταφέρουμε να βγαίνουμε στις πρώτες θέσεις για μια σειρά από λέξεις-κλειδιά, φανταστείτε τι ώθηση θα έχουν οι καταχωρήσεις μας σε καταλόγους αλλά και στις τοπικές αναζητήσεις. If we manage to get top spots for a number of keywords, imagine what a boost our listings in directories and local searches will get. Our traffic and our status will increase dramatically.

10. We'll have to pay

We would undoubtedly come to that as well.

Yes, we have to pay. With our money or with our time, which is also essentially money.

SEO services are not offered for free. They're charged. And quite a lot.

The reason they are charged handsomely is that SEO experts combine knowledge and skills from two professional disciplines, web development and marketing.

Of course, the market is free and we can find different prices. As long as we remember that what we pay, we get.

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