Let’s say that you’re an SEO newbie. You’ve been put in charge of Orange County SEO for your company website, and you’re learning on the fly. It’s been said that everyone can do SEO, just in the same way that everyone can write a novel if they put their mind to it. However, if you don’t have the expertise, then you’re going to turn out something illegible, and if you try your hand at SEO before learning anything about it first, it’s probably going to go poorly. That’s not to say that you should get discouraged if you don’t see the results you want immediately. It just means that you should temper your expectations and keep the following points in mind.

SERPs: Understanding What You’re Seeing

Search engine results pages have changed dramatically in the past few years, Orange County. When you look at a results page for a term or phrase these days, it’s essential that you understand what are organic results and what are ads. That way, if you don’t see your site climb as far or as fast as you’d like, you won’t be too disappointed once you realize that most of what’s ahead of it are paid results. Learn to know the difference between organic search results, paid ads, images, videos, news, etc.

The Long Game

You should also remember that SEO is a long game, Orange County. You may be able to score some quick and easy wins, but it’s more likely that getting the ranking you want for your site is going to take some hard work, and it’s not going to happen instantaneously. The fastest way to rocket to the top of the SERPs is through black hat SEO, but that’s never going to help you in the long run and is more than likely to call down Google’s wrath on your company. You don’t want that. Use white hat SEO to generate organic traffic. Feature awesome content and top-notch usability, and you will slowly climb the ranks. Be patient.

You Must Work With Google, Not Against It

When you start up a company website, you already have a partner, though you might not realize it: Google. This titan gets the vast majority of the search market, so you have to keep them happy if you want your site to rank. That means following their rules, whether you like it or not. If you go rogue and you don’t follow what’s thought of as basic SEO best practices, then you’ll hurt no one but yourself, Orange County. Google doesn’t owe us anything, nor can you force it to make you rank. Think of it like chess, or baseball, or any other game you care to name. There are rules, and if you want to win, you have to follow them. Just as in every other game, there are penalties for cheating or taking shortcuts.

If you keep these factors in the front of your mind, then you’re not going to be crushed if your site doesn’t perform exactly how you want it to right off the bat. SEO is about learning; it’s about trial and error. You can always look at other successful sites and get ideas from them, and you can peruse the best practices guide that Google itself has released. Play the game the correct way and be a little patient, and you’ll soon attain the rank of SEO master.