Common SEO Myths & Facts

Search Engine Optimization in spite of fetching the desired results time and again often falls prey to many meaningless rumours, misconceptions and confusing terms. This blog attempts to clear few but most common SEO myths that people need to have a clear understanding of and move on with their digital marketing strategy without any fear or second thoughts.

SEO Myths:

Myth 1 – SEO is dead:
SEO, as we all know, is an ever-evolving technique and many equate that to being volatile to be dead. Have you ever realized, so long there is the internet, people will develop their websites for their online presence, businesses will promote their content through websites thus SEO will always thrive!  If you don’t optimize your website then how do you think you are going to be found in search engine results?  Doesn’t this sound like the basics of SEO? Therefore we say, SEO is not dead- it’s just evolving.

Myth 2 – Our SEO firm is approved by Google and we ensure #Rank1:
Dime a dozen SEO agencies may claim to be approved by Google and assure rank #1 in little to no time. Do not fall into this trap. Google being the leading search engine, very often alters and advances its algorithms. Give us one good reason why Google will leak its Rank #1 algorithm mix?  Google has very clearly stated that it is possible to get Rank #1, but it not possible to remain there for long. They do not approve or certify any agencies for SEO. So now you know what to do if an agency claims to assure you a google #Rank1, show them THIS BLOG! If still not convinced do spare some time after reading this blog to read Google’s SEO guide.

Myth 3 – Quantity content over quality content:
There used to be a time when, search engines could determine the success of a website by the number of backlinks on a page or number keywords that were used on a page. As a result of which, SEO experts back then would look up to the quantity of various predefined parameters to bump up your website for top rankings. This is not the case any longer. Search engines prefer quality over quantity, and they can now tell the difference. The only way is to create quality content. Frequently updated and fresh content will not only keep your existing visitors coming back for more but also bring in new visitors who could be your potential customers. Don’t you wish for that? Google wishes the same.

Myth 4 – Buy backlinks for higher ranking:
Some SEO agencies encourage their clients to fall for this unethical practice of buying backlinks to increase their Google search engine rankings. Search engines are smarter than you think. In case google flags you, it won’t monetarily penalize you, but will directly stop indexing your website.

Myth 5 – SEO is a one-time activity:
To keep up with the cut-throat competition, SEO has to be an ongoing effort with planned, periodic activities. As mentioned above Google algorithms are volatile and hence best practices of the past soon become outdated or obsolete. As when Google’s algorithms go through a change your SEO strategy may also need a little tweak.

SEO Facts:

Fact 1 – Speed does matter:
Do you know? Pages that load within two seconds have an average bounce rate of 9%, while pages that take five seconds to load have a bounce rate of 38%. The bounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page. Conversion rates are expected to fall by 12% for every extra second that it takes for your website to load. We all are living in a fast-paced world and hence Google will give you extra marks if you satisfy these visitors wish of quick solutionizing.

Fact 2 – Blogging is the most important content marketing tactic in SEO:
Blogging in itself will not affect your SEO ranking. You need to introduce relevant topic information on a timely basis as this directly serves a few important SEO ranking factors. Blogging keeps your website fresh and up to date which encourages people to stay on your website for a long time.  A blog with great content gives you ample opportunities to nest long-tail keywords and also enables you to bag some great external links. Most importantly it allows you to connect with your audience by asking them to like, comment, share your blog post. Nurture the relationship between Blogging and SEO, it is sure to pay you well in the future.

Fact 3 – Relevant and Authoritarian backlinks – cherries on the SEO cake:
Most SEO experts understand that links to websites count as “votes” by Google. This means more the votes on a page, the better are the chances of that page ranking in search results. Google has now altered its backlinking algorithm which determines 2 factors: Relevance and Authority i.e. what is this page about and does the page give a trusted answer for the user’s search query? Therefore, to rank well in Google, it’s not as simple as the number of votes you receive from popular pages, but the relevance and authority of those links.

Fact 4 – Capitalize long-tail keywords:
Did you know? 50% of search queries are four words or longer. When it comes to keyword research and keyword optimization, you must know that most users are searching for something very specific, what we call in SEO language “long-tail keywords.” Your website content needs to reflect these long-tail keywords to reach the search engine results page. Try these search queries individually: SEO, What is SEO and How to do SEO?. All these queries will surprisingly give you a whole new set of results. A user expects different results for each of these different queries and that is exactly what Google is here for. Lives up to the user’s expectations.

Fact 5 – Leveraging Competitor Untapped Keywords unlocks another possibility of being found:
Start writing blogs on the topics which are nothing but most frequently asked questions in your niche found across various forums or discussion sites. Do your keyword research properly, find out those untapped keywords, implement them on your website or a blog that unlocks another possibility for your website to be found for the most frequently asked queries in your niche if not for your products or services.

We have cleared some unbacked myths of SEO and also realtered a few facts which we need to take advantage of in 2020. The only way to stay above the SEO curve is by adhering to Google rules, choosing your SEO expert carefully or keep on experimenting.