Once in a while, every marketer encounters some popular, but completely false, beliefs concerning web development services. Actually there are so many myths out there, that it’s a real challenge to pick the most ridiculous one. Nevertheless, we will try to limit our blacklist to four most dangerous pieces of advice that can really sabotage your marketing efforts.
1. Pick a cheap development services provider – anyone can build a website.
Źródło zdjęcia: Searchfactory
Sure, every developer can build a mediocre website but is that what you want? Remember that there are thousands of business websites competing for customers' attention. Not only should a website be mobile friendly and SEO-optimized but it needs also an intuitive interface, easy navigation and attractive layout. Do you really want to entrust this complex task to your company’s in-house IT specialist, a summer intern or a neighbor who happens to be an amateur developer?
Good advice:
Think of your website as a long term investment and choose a team of professionals who will be able to provide a great visitor experience. Reliable web development services provider will help you find an optimal solution considering your needs, goals and budget.
2. Keywords and directory links are the best way to rank high in search engines.
Źródło zdjęcia: Searchfactory
Not quite. Nowadays, search engines have become pretty clever and can easily detect (and penalize!) any black hat SEO attempt like buying links or stuffing content and meta descriptions with long-tail keywords. What matters is not quantity but quality of your content or links.
Good advice:
First of all, don’t try to buy any links and don’t ever hire a SEO agency or a developer who promises you a high Google rank in a very short period of time – it is simply impossible. Unfortunately there is no shortcut to boosting website’s ranking. Instead of keywords and poor quality links, focus on publishing and promoting a quality content. If it’s good, people will link to it. It takes time but pays off huge in the end.
3. Once you launch a good, SEO-optimized website, all the hardwork is done.
Now, that would be the Holy Grail of digital marketing – building an optimal website once and for all. Unfortunately, it’s just a pipe dream. Not only because browsers’ algorithms and Internet users’ habits are constantly evolving, but above all because your website: offers, content, portfolio, etc. will expand with time. Actually, the only thing that should remain is the positive user experience.
Good advice:
Once the website is built, it needs to be maintained. It takes time and a great deal of testing to get the best results like high conversion rates or a good rank in search engines. Therefore, you still need your development services provider to keep an eye on your website’s performance, add fresh content or visual elements and make sure that your website stays SEO-optimized.
4. If you outsource your website development, you can sit back and relax.
At first glance, this may seem pretty reasonable. You pay for development services so you can expect everything to be done for you, right? Not exactly. Truth be told, you need to stay engaged with the project on every stage of its realization. If you give your developer a completely free hand, the website will reflect his vision, not yours.
Good advice:
Cooperate with your development services provider. Make sure he understands your goals, expectations and pain points. Nobody knows your company, its clients and the industry better than you do. The more details you provide, the more satisfactory the end product will be. Consider it a partnership. Your ongoing cooperation is essential to the overall success of your company.
Sources:
http://www.yodelpop.com/blog/the-worst-seo-advice-ive-ever-received-and-what-you-should-do-instead
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Szymon Binek
