6 SEO Myths You Probably Still Believe (But Definitely Shouldn’t)
We all learned back in school that myths just aren’t true, but we have all fallen for a few untruths in our days, even when we should have known better. Search engine optimization (SEO) has long been a valid and beneficial digital marketing practice, but there are still folks out there that are falling for some of the following SEO myths. Don’t be one of them!
1.) SEO is a One-and-Done Deal
Unless you are a small local business that already has a loyal following, this statement simply is not true.
As a business owner, you have to make sure that you are staying relevant, and not falling behind the competition by updating your content regularly, publishing new pages, and following other essential optimization guidelines.
2) Google Will Take Care of SEO for Me
Many business owners are tempted to just create as many links and pages as they can, throw them at Google’s site crawlers, and hope for the best.
Sorry, but that’s just not gonna cut it, folks. Google is smart, but not magical.
Google (and other search engines) strive to mimic human behavior when it comes to evaluating the content, so it’s all about being unique and valuable. The old adage of “quality, not quantity” remains true in your optimization efforts. You want to stand out from the crowd of billions of sites on the Internet, not blend right in with the masses.
3) SEO is All a Bunch of Tricks
“Tricks” are what professionals call bad, manipulative SEO practices – and those will get you put in the search engine corner.
Real SEO makes every part of the browsing experience better. This includes:
- Creating valuable content
- Making content more discoverable
- Improving accessibility through site structure and user experience
- Optimizing for social sharing
- Improving site speed
- Sharing content with the right audiences
By optimizing your web content from every angle, you may not even realize you’re optimizing you’re being a true SEO, but you’ll certainly reap the benefits!
4) Google Hates SEO
This is just simply untrue. Google definitely encourages search engine optimization.
In fact, Google readily states that SEO can “potentially improve your site and save time” and that many agencies “provide useful services.” However, it hates manipulative practices, so take the time to familiarize yourself with the available information.
5) Social Media Activity Doesn’t Affect SEO
While not a complete myth, this statement is true only at the most basic level.
Google does say that they don’t use Facebook likes or Tweet counts to rank websites. However, successful social activity puts your content in front of the right group of users, which increases visits, engagement, and the number of users searching for your site.
The simple act of more people visiting your content can lead to more links and further sharing, thus the cycle repeats itself. These “secondary effects” can significantly boost your efforts.
6) I Have to Rank # 1 for My Chosen Keyword
Put simply, no, you don’t.
The truth is, when you create solid content focused on industry-related topics, you almost always receive more traffic. So what, if you don’t number one when someone searches for what you consider to be your core keyword?
The magic happens when visitors reach your site because the content matched their needs, but not necessarily when you matched the right keywords.
Our hope is that we have been able to put some of these SEO myths to bed, once and for all. Do you have an SEO question or myth that you would like to share? Let us know in the comments section below!
If you have further questions about SEO myths and strategies, feel free to reach out to us here.
SEO No To The Quo
