None Can Guarantee Google Ranking, What Does SEO Agency Sell?

In the current digital era, Google stands as one of the most extensively utilized sources of information by internet users. Consequently, many businesses are striving to enhance their online visibility to reach new clients through this platform. This idea underscores the significance of website ranking on Google for businesses.

Due to the intensifying competition for top rankings, various methods can be employed to achieve this objective. One such approach is through search engine optimization (SEO).

In practice, numerous companies or individuals offer SEO services with a guarantee of achieving a top ranking on Google search engine results pages (SERPs). However, can such assurances be realized?

We, at cmlabs, believe that no one can guarantee a website will attain the top rank on SERPs, given the constantly evolving nature of search engines in updating their algorithms.

Here's a statement provided by Google to support our previous argument:

Not only Google, but other search engines such as Bing also openly explain that no one can guarantee ranking. Here's a quote from Bing Webmaster documentation:

So, be cautious with companies making such promises because a reliable SEO company will not promise a #1 ranking, quick results, or other commitments that sound too promising.

Taking that in mind, what do SEO agencies like cmlabs do when Google itself clearly states that no one can guarantee a #1 ranking on SERPs?

Furthermore, if indeed no one can guarantee ranking, what is the actual goal of Google, which often shares numerous optimization recommendations with users?

This article will address these questions while debunking myths in SEO. So, let’s dive deeper here.

Search Engine Optimization Myths

Google often shares guidelines regarding SEO in its documentation because SEO is one of the crucial factors that can influence website ranking on the search engine.

The SEO guidelines shared by Google often cover various aspects, ranging from the basics of SEO to more advanced SEO techniques.

Although no one can guarantee a first-page ranking on Google, these guidelines can help webmasters understand how search engines work.

Moreover, the guidelines provided by Google also aim to assist webmasters in creating quality and useful pages for users. Thus, they can increase the chances of appearing in strategic positions of SERPs.

This is often misunderstood and considered as a ranking factor on Google. Apart from the guarantee of the first rank, there are many other myths that website owners should be aware of. To know more about it, we have gathered some SEO myths that need to be debunked below.
 

1. SEO is a One-Time Job

The statement "SEO is a one-time thing" is one of the common misconceptions about SEO. Many people believe that achieving success in SEO is as easy as hiring an SEO agency, optimizing the website once, and creating some content. However, this perception overly simplifies the complex and dynamic nature of SEO.

SEO is a continuous and evolving process that requires consistent effort. This strategy is not just about completing a checklist and then expecting long-lasting results.

Effectively increasing online visibility and maintaining a good ranking in search engine results require continuous optimization on all aspects of the website, such as on-page, off-page, and technical side.

Treating SEO as a one-time task can result in a gradual decline in online visibility because search engines constantly update their algorithms and users' preferences change.

Therefore, website owners need to understand and embrace the dynamic nature of SEO, which is crucial for long-term success in the digital realm.
 

2. Longer Content Leads to Higher Ranking

Another myth is about the length of content. Many believe that longer content will have a better ranking on search engines.

This myth has been circulating for years, but there is no evidence to support it. In reality, the length of content does not directly influence the ranking in search engines.

During Google's SEO office-hours broadcast on February 26, 2021, John Mueller stated that the number of words on a page is not a determining factor of quality or ranking.

Therefore, adding length to content without considering the relevance has not been proven to improve ranking. Instead, Google and other search engines pay more attention to the quality of content rather than its length.

This myth needs to be clarified because Google also does not have specific recommendations regarding content length. Here is what Google says about it.
 

3. High Domain Authority Affects Ranking

Many websites rush to measure domain authority (DA) under the pretext that this metric is a ranking factor. However, Google has never explicitly stated that DA is a ranking factor.

Domain Authority itself is a tool developed by Moz to predict the likelihood of a website having a good ranking based on its authority. Thus, it can be concluded that this metric does not originate from Google.

Through its representatives, Google acknowledges the presence of Domain Authority as a tool, not a metric or ranking factor.

Here is a screenshot of John Mueller's comment on a Reddit discussion.

Furthermore, here is a tweet from a user who has proven that DA is not a ranking factor.
 

From the above images, it is evident that even if a website's DA score is relatively low, the content from that domain still has the opportunity to occupy a high ranking.
 

4. Ranking can be Manipulated with Certain Techniques

The myth that Google rankings can be manipulated is a long-standing one. Some believe that by using black-hat techniques, such as keyword stuffing, cloaking, and buying links, they can improve a website's ranking in search results.

Let's dissect each of these black-hat techniques that are believed can boost ranking.

A. Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is a technique where a website excessively uses keywords in its content. Google can detect this technique by checking the keyword density of the website's content.

If the content is aimed at gaining the highest ranking by cramming in many keywords, then it's categorized as spam which holds no value for readers.

It's worth noting that through one of Google's guidelines, content is indeed advised to use some variations of keywords. However, the goal is to capture more diverse queries from user search behavior. This is vastly different from the implementation of keyword stuffing.

B. Cloaking

Cloaking is a technique where a website displays different content to users and search engines. A website might display content optimized with specific keywords to search engines, but show different content to users. This technique is done in hopes of achieving a higher ranking for those keywords.

By deceiving web visitors, this technique can be categorized as spam and violates Google's policies.

C. Buying Low-Quality Backlinks

Another widely believed myth is that the more backlinks a website has, the higher its ranking will be. This myth is based on the assumption that backlinks are one of the main ranking factors in search engines. 

However, in reality, Google has stated that backlinks are just one of many factors considered in its ranking algorithm.

Many website owners buy backlinks without considering the relevance to improve their ranking. Unfortunately, Google can detect unnatural backlinks and degrade websites’ ranking from its behavior.

Google uses various factors to detect unnatural backlinks, such as the number of backlinks received in a short period, the quality of linking websites, and the relevance of backlinks to website content.

In its documentation, buying and selling backlinks are categorized as link spam and violate Google's rules. Instead, websites should have quality backlinks that are relevant and organically sourced. Here is what they say:
 

The black-hat SEO techniques mentioned above can result in a decrease in a website's ranking in search results. In severe cases, websites can even be removed from Google's index.

With these myths in mind, it can be concluded that no strategy can guarantee a first-page ranking on Google.

This also serves as a brief explanation that while Google's guidelines cannot guarantee ranking, they can serve as a foundation for appropriate optimization practices. From various Google guidelines, website ranking can be determined by various factors, such as:

• Quality and relevance of content: High-quality and relevant content to user needs tends to receive a good ranking.
• User experience: Google also considers other factors, such as the time users spend on the website, the frequency of user visits, and user satisfaction levels to determine rankings, although these are not direct ranking factors.

In conclusion, although no one can guarantee a first-page ranking, Google's SEO guidelines can help website owners present content that fulfills user needs. The more relevant the content is to user needs, the higher its quality is in Google's eyes.

By following ethical and sustainable SEO strategies, you can increase visibility, trust, and sales on your website.

What Does cmlabs Do to Help Clients' Websites?

After reading the explanation above, you might wonder. If no one can guarantee a first-page ranking in search engines, then what do SEO agencies like cmlabs do or sell?

An SEO agency is a company specializing in helping businesses improve their online presence and achieve better rankings in search engines.

Although no one can guarantee a first-page ranking, SEO agencies can help increase your website's chances of ranking well for specific target keywords.

At cmlabs, we always prioritize assisting our clients in addressing website performance issues in search engines that can affect their business operations.

Here are some common strategies we implement for clients and how these strategies can affect website performance.
 

1. Market Analysis and Research

The first important step is market analysis and keyword research to understand the most relevant industry trends. This step helps us design strategies that align with the client's goals and needs.

Moreover, through the industry trend analysis we conduct, we can understand changes in user behavior and market needs.

For example, for a client in the retail building materials sector, we conducted several market analyses and research at the beginning of the project until we could map seasonal traffic trends for the brand.

Through this analysis, we successfully identified traffic patterns in 2022–2023. Additionally, we also found a decrease in ranking during certain seasons, allowing us to create plans to anticipate performance declines with the data collected.

As a result, website performance remains stable as SEO is implemented.
 

2. On-Page Optimization

From the results of market analysis and research, we proceed with on-page optimization using keywords and previously collected data.

This step is crucial as it informs search engines and users about the content of the client's web pages. The forms of on-page optimization we perform include:

• Crafting compelling, relevant titles and descriptions with keywords.
• Ensuring pages and content align with search intent.
• Refining the use of heading tags (H1, H2, etc.) to provide a good hierarchical structure to content.
• Identifying image issues in content and optimizing them.
• Improving the quality and relevance of content on pages, including using keywords as needed by readers.

Through this strategy, we can increase website relevance to what the client's target audience is searching for. Thus, while there is no guarantee of ranking, we can enhance its visibility in search engines.

3. Technical Audit and Fixes

The next step we take for client websites is to conduct a technical audit to identify technical issues.

The site audit also includes comprehensive technical audits to identify issues such as page speed, URL structure, and indexing errors.

In this regard, we use SEO tools that are capable of providing detailed audit results so that we can detect problems as early as possible with complete data.

For example, the technical site audit we conducted for our client when we found that their e-commerce website structure did not comply with SEO standards.

Based on the audit results, we recommended our client restructure all product categories according to SEO values and prioritize user needs. Here's what we did:

• Making product category names more SEO-friendly.
• Setting canonical URLs to better align with SEO standards.
• To speed up indexing, we divided the sitemap into 3 parts: products, homepage, and blog.

As a result, in the third month, we were able to reorganize the website's categorization and structure to be more SEO and user-friendly.

Additionally, we also conducted technical audits regarding the rendering of our client's blog content in October 2023. During this audit process, we found that the blog content could not be displayed on Google since they use the Client Side Rendering (CSR) approach.

Subsequently, we changed the rendering approach to Server Side Rendering (SSR) so that the content could be found by search engines. The impact of resolving this technical issue was an increase in website visits in the weeks that followed.

4. Content Strategy

Because we believe that quality content can act as a bridge between users and the client's website, linking them to product or service pages, we can help create targeted content strategies.

Designing content that meets the needs of the target audience and SEO goals requires data and strategy. In practice, we produce high-quality and relevant content that attracts readers to the product or service pages offered.

After years of involvement in this field, we are confident that the content we create has helped many clients improve their search performance.

To date, cmlabs has produced over 14,801 high-quality pieces of content with an average ranking of 14 in search results. This data will continue to evolve and be updated with our clients' latest achievements.

Does the content we create always yield positive results? The answer is relative. However, we have plenty of data to prove that content strategies can improve rankings.

For example, our client in the financial technology sector had only 2% of keywords that managed to rank 1-3 in SERP.

With such a low average ranking, we devised several strategies to improve this value. Here are some personalized strategies we implemented for this particular client:

• Keyword research to select keywords suitable for the business niche to make content more relevant to the products provided.
• Analyzing the intent of keywords to create relevant content.
• Creating tidy and comprehensive keyword clusters so that content can meet user needs in this business niche.
• Creating several new pages to support the user experience when navigating the website.

Through the personalized content strategies above, our client managed to increase the percentage of keywords with a ranking of 1-3 from 2% to 47% in 6 months of collaboration. From the latest available data, as many as 55% of all targeted keywords for our clients managed to rank 1-3 on Google search pages.

From this, it can be concluded that the right SEO strategies can improve website ranking organically.
 

5. Monitoring and Performance Analysis

In addition to being consultants and strategy makers, SEO agencies can also help clients continuously monitor website performance through analytics tools.

We analyze data to track changes in rankings, organic visits, and user behavior. Based on the analysis results, we can adjust strategies to improve website performance.

Thus, working with cmlabs can simplify monitoring optimization results with transparent data reported regularly.

Monitoring is not an easy task for businesses as it requires expertise and in-depth analysis. Therefore, this activity can hinder businesses from being more productive.

This becomes very crucial when clients need to focus more on their business, and we can be a partner in monitoring their website in search engines.
 

6. Adapting to Search Engine Algorithms

As an SEO agency, we always keep up with continuously updated search engine algorithms.

Thus, if there are updates, we can help clients promptly update their SEO strategies to remain in line with the latest search engine requirements and preferences.

When many businesses are affected by algorithm updates, we can be a trusted consultant in facing these updates by providing improvement steps.

7. Education and Communication with Clients

cmlabs communicates openly with clients and provides an understanding of the efforts made and the results achieved, such as the latest SEO practices and how these efforts can yield results for clients.

In this regard, we hold regular meetings or consultations with clients to discuss reports, answer questions, and provide information about the applied strategies.

Moreover, if clients are directly involved in content management or carry out specific activities that support SEO, the cmlabs team can provide guidance in line with Google guidelines.

By conducting effective education and communication, SEO agencies can ensure that clients understand the value of their SEO efforts and can collaborate more efficiently in achieving common goals.

Conclusion

While there is no absolute guarantee of continuously achieving a top ranking in search engines, SEO practices remain a crucial element in efforts to improve online visibility and attain higher rankings.

SEO can serve as a strong foundation for attracting organic traffic, enhancing user experience, and boosting the authority of a website. Through consistent and planned efforts, SEO can create opportunities to compete more effectively in the competitive digital market.

It's important to remember that there are several myths surrounding SEO. One of them is the belief that a top ranking can be guaranteed with certain actions.

In reality, SEO involves a dynamic and complex process that requires continuous analysis, adjustment, and adaptation to changes in search engine algorithms.

Therefore, realistic expectations and a deep understanding of the nature of SEO are crucial. Moreover, be cautious in selecting an SEO agency as many misconceptions can influence your decision. 

A reliable SEO agency should have a profound understanding of effective SEO strategies, provide transparent reporting, and have a proven track record in improving the performance of client websites.

They will not promise guaranteed top rankings or any other outcomes that are the sole decision of search engines. Therefore, cmlabs always assures clients that the activities we undertake to enhance success in search engines are ethical SEO strategies.

Are you in need of experienced Professional SEO Services? Contact cmlabs for further consultation and discussion!