- Myth 1: Content is less important than the number of links
- Myth 2: Content must be entirely original
- Myth 3: SEO optimization is only carried out once
- Myth 4: Only newly published material is ranked
- Myth 5: You must submit an application to Google to get indexed
- Myth 6: Ranking is improved by social signals
- Myth 7: The first search result brings the most traffic
- Myth 8: SEO is expensive
- Myth 9: Your website does not need to be SSL-encrypted
- Myth 10: Search engine rankings are influenced by meta descriptions
- Myth 11: PPC is ineffective
- Myth 12: High-frequency queries are the most crucial
- Myth 13: Pop-ups lower ranking
- Myth 14: The homepage has a lot of content
- Myth 15: Local SEO is outdated
- Myth 16: You can’t drive traffic to a new website
- Myth 17: A landing page alone is sufficient for promotion
- Myth 18: The text contains as many queries as possible
- Myth 19: It’s vital to have a lot of pages
- Myth 20: H1 is the most crucial component
- Conclusion
There are a lot of different myths in SEO. They might mislead you or waste your time. Let’s examine the most well-known urban legends.
Myth 1: Content is less important than the number of links
Sites attempt to increase their link density during optimization since links are a crucial ranking element. Links’ relevance and quality, however, matter more than their sheer number. Large amounts of “junk” links from unreliable sources will not help the site’s positioning in search results. You ought to favor pertinent texts from reliable sources.
Myth 2: Content must be entirely original
Duplicate texts are those that contain the same information that has already been posted. The range of copied content’s uniqueness is 0 to 85%. Low uniqueness of texts may result in a number of issues, including content that doesn’t appear in search engines, a waste of crawling expense, and a low hit rate, yet Google doesn’t penalize for it. Although low uniqueness causes optimization issues, achieving 100% uniqueness is not mandatory. Text that is too unusual may be harder to read.
Myth 3: SEO optimization is only carried out once
Regular SEO neglect causes traffic to gradually decline. This is brought on by fierce rivalry, fewer backlinks, and stale content. As a result, around 75% of SEO experts bill on a monthly basis. To see results, SEO must be continually invested in.
Myth 4: Only newly published material is ranked
The parameters of the query determine how recent the content is. Relevance and publication date are important in some situations. The content’s quality is impacted by several factors. Content updating is important for businesses that experience frequent change. Page traffic decreases if material is not updated for a long period of time. There is a sharp rise when content is refreshed.
Myth 5: You must submit an application to Google to get indexed
It is thought that a Google application is necessary for search ranking. However, with the aid of robots indexing content, the search engine can find websites on its own. The indexing of the website will go more quickly if you submit an application to the GSC. A sitemap can be included to hasten indexing.
Myth 6: Ranking is improved by social signals
Reposting content on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram enables you to increase traffic to your website and raise its position in search results. The relationship between social signals and rankings, however, is indirect. Social signals alone are not very valuable. It’s important to get feedback from real people who might eventually become consumers. Reposting on social media sites boosts traffic and raises business exposure.
Myth 7: The first search result brings the most traffic
Only 50% of pages in the top five rankings receive the majority of traffic, a research claims. This is because numerous keywords provide traffic to a page at once. Because they rank for more keywords, pages ranking second or third can see an increase in traffic. As a result, you should focus on growing your audience through link building, page authority, and original content.
Myth 8: SEO is expensive
SEO’s perceived cost is a relative term. The amount of work you put into growing your business, not the amount of money you spend, is what matters. Remember that many helpful SEO tools are available for free. Long-lasting outcomes are produced by a one-time investment in SEO. This distinguishes SEO from advertising, which has a limited shelf life.
Myth 9: Your website does not need to be SSL-encrypted
Some websites employ SSL technology (HTTPS). This protocol is used for sites containing sensitive information. It secures the connection using robust encryption and guards against data theft. The necessity of SSL encryption for SEO is clear given that the majority of users will refuse to view an unsafe website.
Myth 10: Search engine rankings are influenced by meta descriptions
A meta description sums up the page’s main points in a few words. Although they do not significantly affect the ranking itself, meta descriptions do affect ad clicks. Well-written descriptions influence rankings since they attract users to click the ad.
Myth 11: PPC is ineffective
Pay-per-click (PPC) is a display advertising model. This methodology has very little effect on search engine rankings. However, it enables you to create behavioral signals and backlinks. PPC is a useful addition to SEO promotion, but it cannot replace it.
Myth 12: High-frequency queries are the most crucial
More and more people are searching for complex terms. The Hummingbird algorithm (which analyzes full phrases instead of individual keys) was introduced in 2013, and BERT (which helps to understand long queries) will be available in 2019. It is advised to focus more on topic clustering. Use high-frequency terms for broader coverage and low-frequency terms to describe particular goods and services.
Myth 13: Pop-ups lower ranking
It is widely believed that pop-up advertisements lower a website’s search engine rating. However, they can be helpful provided they don’t take up a lot of room and don’t interfere with viewing content. Making effective use of pertinent pop-ups can help your marketing approach.
Myth 14: The homepage has a lot of content
The homepage serves as a company’s calling card. It should include details on the location and operations of the company. A customer may become confused by too much information. It is advised to review the top 5 rival websites while creating material for the main page.
Myth 15: Local SEO is outdated
Small businesses must invest in local SEO. It entails utilizing geo-specific queries (region-specific). It is employed to show the site to users in the area. For your business to appear in local searches, you should register for Google My Maps.
Myth 16: You can’t drive traffic to a new website
Many people think that search engines favor well-known providers and give low rankings to new ones. The topic at hand is not the website’s age, but rather its substance. Sites with helpful information and a solid reputation always appear higher in search results. However, you may bring a fresh site to the top with good SEO for 1-2 months.
Myth 17: A landing page alone is sufficient for promotion
With Google Ads, a single product can be effectively promoted on a one-page website (landing page). On the other hand, a landing page is useless for long-term promotion. It cannot offer all the details needed to draw visitors. There are few or no one-page sites at the top of the rankings.
Myth 18: The text contains as many queries as possible
Modern SEO guidelines forbid over-optimization with queries and call for careful keyword placement in the text. Visitors won’t find value in poorly structured documents that contain an excessive number of repetitive keywords. They might be caught by search engines filters.
Myth 19: It’s vital to have a lot of pages
For SEO purposes, a large number of pages with poor optimization and structure are of little use. It is possible to cut back on pages while improving their quality. The texts must meet a number of criteria, including readability, originality, headers and subheadings, pertinent keys, etc.
Myth 20: H1 is the most crucial component
The user should be made aware of the page’s content by the header. The existence of one meta tag or another is not particularly significant. The reader’s understanding of the text is what matters most.
Conclusion
Each of the fallacies is not particularly harmful, but their combination can skew our perception of SEO as a whole. You should adhere to the general rules of promotion: a mix of internal and external optimization techniques, legible texts, no keyword overuse, sleek design, proficient use of the HF and LF keys, meta tags, and pop-ups.
