Busting the Top 10 SEO Misconceptions and Myths
Just as SEO misconceptions and myths keep getting more ridiculous, the people that actually buy into them will continue to be misinformed and ill-advised as they battle to be on Google’s first page in search results. It’s really easy to just go with the flow and believe whatever’s plastered all over the internet, especially when there’s a majority of people promoting it as standard practice. In the case of SEO misconceptions and myths, we’re referring to black hat methods like keyword stuffing, cloaking, link farms, doorway pages and other common techniques that are still being used today.
However, don’t think that black hat tactics are the only maneuvers making up the bulk of SEO misconceptions and myths. There’s a great deal of beliefs and strategies involved in the myth movement that may have been acceptable in the past, but in today’s world are regarded as SEO misconceptions and taboo.
Myth # 1: Well, It Worked Back Then…
When desperate times call for desperate measures, sometimes instead of thinking we just rely on common SEO misconceptions to push us further. Many websites can’t claim that they aren’t guilty of at least one black hat SEO trick, because at one point or another we all strive to win over Google and do anything we can to rank higher in search results. But just because certain tactics worked before, like aggressive SEO misconceptions, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be updated. Black hat SEO tricks may provide quick solutions to your search engine rankings, but, according to Matt Cutts, cloud your ability to think for yourself.
Myth # 2: Dropping Internal Links All Throughout Content Will Improve Click-Through Rates and Attract More Page Views
Obviously, more clicks and views to a website is something that every business or company wants to have. However, doing it by flooding pages with tons of internal links isn’t the answer. It can come off as messy and disruptive to visitors if your internal links aren’t kept to a minimum amount per page. So despite your motives and SEO misconceptions, they’ll probably end up leaving your users in frustration instead of clicking on your massive amounts of internal links.
Myth # 3: Paying Your Way to the Top with Ads
Just because you use Google AdWords to improve your search rankings doesn’t mean that it’s actually generating the results you want. Out of all the other SEO misconceptions and conspiracy theories, we all probably remember the one that claims the key to higher organic search results is refraining from using ads period. With that being said, which one are you supposed to believe?
Myth # 4: Constantly Updating Your Website with New Content is Vital for High Rankings
Typical SEO misconceptions, like frequent updates and adjustments to website content, are difficult to avoid once you’ve convinced yourself that they’re necessary for overall internet success. If you think that the most successful sites implement updates every day, you’re highly mistaken. Believe it or not, some websites that are dormant and unaltered appear on Google’s first page. Aside from your crawl rate potentially increasing, switching up your site on a daily basis and updating content won’t affect your search result rankings if your content isn’t valuable.
Myth # 5: Keyword Density Has to Match and Be Absolutely Perfect
Aside from the other SEO misconceptions mentioned, this myth can be tied to the popular black hat tactic called keyword stuffing. When your website becomes unbearable to follow due to excessive keywords used throughout content, no one will want to stay on your site, let alone read robotic content geared to please Google. Yes, it’s important to use keywords in the appropriate manner to achieve better search results, but not by stuffing your content with them.
Myth # 6: Terrified of Duplicate Content with my Mobile Site
Stop stressing out about your mobile site and relax! Unless you’re purposely copying content and publishing it as your own, you won’t be flagged for duplicate content. Google has the capability to discern mobile content from main content, so you can kick this myth, and other SEO misconceptions, to the curb.
Myth # 7: Thanks Panda 4.0, The Days of Press Releases Are Over
Remember that time when press releases actually highlighted company services and promo products instead of subtlety sneaking in thin content and links? Sure, no one can really deny that Google’s Panda update affected plenty of press release sites. However, it’s probably because they were stuffed with keywords and links (common SEO misconceptions) instead of addressing what a standard press release is desired to do. Since the application of Panda 4.0, you can’t mask your press releases with SEO misconceptions like low-quality content and a river of internal links.
Myth # 8: Nofollow Links Are Useless
Even though nofollow links may appear to serve no purpose because they contain no link juice and can’t improve your PageRank or SERP location, they actually provide value. Since your mind has been influenced by SEO misconceptions and myths, you probably never knew that nofollow links still generate referral traffic, providing your business with potential leads and conversions.
Myth # 9: Now That I’ve Done SEO for the Week, I’m Good for a Few Months
One of the worst SEO misconceptions is that SEO is just a project that can be finished in a few days. We all use the Internet and plug our questions and concerns into search engines, but are the results the same every time? The answer is no because the Internet is always fetching new content and displaying favorable websites over subpar ones. It’s always changing and evolving… kind of like how your SEO should.
Myth # 10: I’ve Found The Key to Business Success and It’s Solely SEO! (Said no one ever…)
SEO is an extremely important element that helps boost your search engine rankings, but don’t think it’s the only solution out there. Keywords and clever meta descriptions can only take your website so far. If your business continues to suffer from low sales and your website isn’t easy to use, there are other things to focus on. Try your very best to ignore this myth, and all the other SEO misconceptions that obstruct the thinking process, in order to appear natural to search engines and raise your rank.
