Catapult Busts These Common Website Myths

We recently had a new client come to us with an enormous website, confused that he wasn’t ranking on Google. It’s not the first client we’ve had come through our doors with that same problem. So, for all the business out there, here’s an alert – a big website DOES NOT automatically equal high rankings. Anyone telling you different is blowing smoke. While a big website can help you in ranking for different keywords, it’s not an automatic guarantee.

Along with that, here are some myths about websites and why they are exactly that – just myths.

1. If I Have Big Website, My Website Will Rank Highly

If your advertising company tells you the only thing you need to rank is a big website then you better run. More pages don’t necessarily mean good rankings. In short, having a big website CAN help you rank for more products or services IF they are optimized properly for search engines.

Just having more pages, however, doesn’t mean anything. It takes hours upon hours of work to optimize a page properly for search engines. If you have to pick between a few pages that are well-optimized versus tons of pages cranked out in a few hours, then pick the fewer pages.

You’ll get more return on investment on the few optimized pages because your customers will actually find you for the products or services that they need.

2. I’ll Get Leads Immediately After I Launch My Website

We try to explain this to every new client, but sometimes it’s a hard pill to swallow. Launching a website does not mean you will immediately show up in search results. Publishing your site is a good first step, but organic search engine optimization takes time to build. Not only do the search engines have to index your new site, which can take several weeks, but your site also has to build the trust of the search engines and customers.

Think of meeting someone new: you don’t automatically trust a stranger with your deepest secrets. Search engines work the same way. They don’t know if you are legitimate, if you can be trusted to not deal out spam, or that you are doing what you’re saying. Once you prove your business over several months, you may begin to start getting traction. Remember to stick with it because all good things take time!

3. Once I launch the Site, I Don’t Have to Do Anything Else

Many of our clients suffer as a result of believing this myth. They think that once they launch their website, they don’t have to work on it anymore. A website, however, needs maintenance and needs to be tweaked and perfected over time.

Remember, your website is ultimately for your customers because it has to speak to them in a way that convinces them you are the right choice. If we know anything, it’s that human beings change their opinions, preferences, and trends often and without warning.

Just because a page works for what clients are searching for during one month doesn’t mean it will work for the next month. Staying relevant is key and to do that, you need to keep your website up to date at all times.

There you have it: the three most common myths we see about websites at Catapult Creative Media, and why they aren’t true.

Curious about any other website myths? Ask us on our Facebook, we’ll be happy to steer you in the right direction.