If you have a website on the internet, it is difficult if you don’t know the importance of SEO. For most website owners, SEO or search engine optimisation is the most searched and talked about topic. After all, if you want to rank high on search engines, you need to ensure that you have a smart SEO strategy in place.
So, if you want to make a mark on the internet, it is vital to get your SEO strategy right. Formulating a robust SEO strategy is an uphill task (not an impossible one), but what makes things more complicated is the myths that surround the world of SEO.
Yes, there are many SEO myths and misconceptions that are floating around, which makes your job even more difficult. Hence, if you want to formulate an effective SEO strategy, you need to know some of the SEO myths that are floating around.
But before getting into SEO myths and misconceptions, let us try to understand the meaning of SEO.
What is SEO?
According to Neil Patel, “SEO stands for search engine optimisation. Which is the art of ranking high on a search engine in the unpaid section, also known as the organic listings.”
SEO is the process of optimising your website or online content so that the search engines throw it up as the top result when people search for a particular keyword.
Top SEO myths you need to know
In case you want to do well in the online landscape, you have to get your SEO strategy right. And, to do that without a problem, it is important that you steer clear of SEO myths. Here are the top SEO myths that you need to know:
Search engine optimisation or SEO is a scam – It is a myth that SEO is a scam, and that SEO consultants charge astronomical fees for doing absolutely nothing for your web presence.
What you need to be careful about are the dodgy SEO companies that promise you instant success and sure-shot ranking positions. For example, if an SEO company is charging you peanuts and assures you of a top spot on Google, then you need to be wary of it because this certainly is a scam.
There are no easy quick-fix solutions for SEO. It is a long-drawn process, and you need to be patient. If somebody promises you instant success and guaranteed results, it should be a red flag for you.
You need to react quickly to every algorithm update for more success – Another SEO myth that is floating around is that you need to react quickly to algorithm updates, or else it gets difficult for you to stay ahead.
Search engines continuously work to improve their search algorithms. Google approximately alters its search algorithms 500 times every year. But you don’t have to worry about all of them; you should only be concerned about the major algorithm updates.
And, when there is a major update, you don’t need to rush in with changes. You first need to wait and watch how it impacts your website, and then change your SEO strategy if there is a dip in your rankings. If your SEO strategy is right, then it is highly unlikely that an update will have an impact on your website.
You also need to remember that if there is any major algorithm update that is going to impact your rankings, the concerned company will surely announce what you need to do to adhere o those guidelines. Hence, it is prudent to wait for some time and check on reliable sites what and how you need to proceed ahead after an update is announced. You can visit Google Webmaster Central Blog to keep yourself current on all the latest web news.
SEO is a one-time exercise – This is another SEO myth that can have a far-reaching effect on your web presence. SEO is never a one-time exercise; you have to keep working on it to stay at the top of the SEO game. If you want a steady inflow of organic traffic, you need to work on your SEO strategy continuously.
You need to keep working on your SEO strategy because you should keep publishing new pages, work on your outdated content, and keep abreast with the competition and the ever-evolving search algorithms, and link degradation, among others.
There are many things you need to work on to maintain your top ranking in the search results. And, doing it once will not help you stay at the top for long.
Optimising for Google will cover you up for all the sites – It is another myth that has no basis at all. If you optimise for Google, how can you be sure about other search engines? It is true – Google has the major share of the search market, but if you want to target 100% of web traffic, then you need to optimise for at least the top three search engines.
Bing is another search engine that you can target because its share is improving steadily. For example, backlinks for Bing are not all as important as is the case with Google. Bing ranks your site on the parameters like user engagement, click-through rates, social signals, keyword domains, and page authority. Things are slightly different for Bing than what it is for Google.
Hence, if you are interested in targeting 100% of web traffic, you need to target the top three search engines, which means you cannot avoid Google.
Don’t bother about link building as it is a thing of the past – Another myth that has no basis. Link building is certainly not dead, and you need to do it naturally to do well on the search results.
Don’t forget that search engines use link authority and anchor text signals in their search engine algorithms. Also, you need to remember that white hat link-building is not a thing of the past and is considered a safe and time-tested practice.
What you need to avoid is unfair means of getting the links. Every natural link is sure to add more value to your SEO efforts.
Content is the only king – There is no doubt that content is the king, but it is certainly not the only thing that can assure you of a top spot in the search engine rankings. Creating high-quality content is essential if you want to improve your search engine rankings, but there are other parameters as well.
It is important to publish timely, relevant, original, and well-researched content to rank high on the search engines, but you also need to ensure that other website factors like quality backlinks, responsive web design, and excellent user experience are some other factors that also contribute to your ranking.
Hence, it is vital to create high-quality content, but also make sure that your website as a whole is optimised for better results.
Google dislikes SEO – It is another myth that has no basis. On the contrary, Google states that SEO can “potentially improve your site and save time”, SEO agencies “provide useful services”, and Google advises “if you’re thinking about hiring an SEO, the earlier the better.”
There is no doubt that Google seems to encourage SEO, but what it dislikes is the manipulative SEO practices, which you need to avoid to climb the search engine rankings. If your SEO efforts are only aimed at tricking the search engine, it is sure to penalise your site. White hat SEO practices can surely improve your search engine rankings and Google does not dislike them.
H1 tags improve your search rankings – When it comes to SEO practice, using H1 tags is a must. It is another myth that has no basis. H1 tags do not contribute to SEO rankings directly.
H1 tags are important because they make your content more organised for the viewers and help web developers to design your website, but it does not contribute to SEO rankings directly.
According to experts, it does not matter whether you use H1 or H2 tags. What is significant is whether your page contains useful and relevant information for your viewers or not.
H1 tags were an important SEO factor a few years back, but today they are part of the basic best practices that do not influence your search engine rankings.
SEO is nothing but all tricks – It is another falsely propagated myth. SEO is all tricks only for those who try to manipulate it. But if you do SEO legitimately, then there is more to it than just tricks. If you follow SEO best practices, you are sure to improve the browsing experience and content organisation.
If you follow SEO best practices, it can make your content more discoverable, improves accessibility, structure your data, optimises social sharing standards, improves website performance like page speed, helps search engines to categorise and serve your content to the right audience, and share content with the right audience, among others.
All these actions are important for page ranking. When you follow SEO best practices, you optimise your web content, which can improve your search engine rankings significantly.
Social activity has no impact on SEO – It is true that Google does not use metrics like Facebook shares or Twitter followers for ranking purposes directly.
But you need to understand that successful social activity can have major secondary effects on your overall SEO efforts. Social activity helps you on two SEO fronts – search engine discovery and indexation and content distribution that leads to links and shares.
With successful social activity, you can reach your target audience easily, improve user engagement, increase visits, and improve traffic. Also, the more your content is shared and linked, the better it is for your SEO efforts. These are the secondary effects that can improve your search engine rankings. Hence, never overlook social activity.
If your SEO efforts are not giving you the desired results, you can get in touch with vStacks Software Solutions now. We have been in the business of SEO for a long time, and we know what it takes to improve your site’s search engine rankings.
