Myths circulate around everything in life, and SEO is one particular topic that is swarming in them.
The main reason for this is that no one is completely sure how search engine algorithms truly function, so a lot of ideas and concepts end up being wrong or misinformed,and then circulated around.
Though it may seem like quite a complicated thing to get your head around, SEO can easily be learnt, but it is important to make sure you know the facts from the myths, so you can focus your learning and ensure that your SEO is working for you in the best possible way.
Here we are going to look at just a few of the biggest myths surrounding the topic of SEO, and what you should be doing instead in order to become an SEO expert.
Some Very Quick Words on SEO
Just before we get into some SEO myths, it is worth just noting a few very quick facts about it:
- SEO stands for search engine optimisation. This is the process that is carried out to optimise a website so that it ranks highly on search engines, contains relevant content and is easily findable. It basically improves your site’s visibility on result pages.
- People have been practising SEO since the 1990’s, but it has never been more important than it is today.
- It is a very broad topic which takes a lot of skill and practice to nail, but there are lots of beginner-friendly steps that you can take to start improving the SEO on your website too.
With those said, let’s get into some of the biggest SEO myths that are circulating,and what you should do instead:
Myth Number One: The More Keywords You Use, the Better Your Page Will Rank on Google
It is easy to see why you would think this- after all, one of the basic elements of SEO is keyword research. Though whilst it is incredibly important to have a set of keywords that you use throughout your content, incorporating them too many times can lead to a negative ranking factor, called keyword stuffing.
Keyword stuffing is what is known as a black hat SEO tactic, and Google especially views it very negatively for going against their guidelines.
What you should do instead:
Use your keywords tactfully, but sparingly. Ideally 3% of the words in your content should be the keyword, the rest not. They should flow in the writing and not appear that they have just been shoved in there as much as possible for the purposes of SEO.
Myth Number Two: Content is Irrelevant When It Comes to SEO
A lot of people tend to believe that SEO is all about the technical, intricate things that you do on your website to optimise it, and that the actual content they are writing is irrelevant in the SEO process.
This is definitely wrong- content plays such a huge role in improving your site’s SEO, so that it is recognised as relevant and therefore ranks highly on the search engine result pages (SERPs).
If your content is not relevant to what the searcher wants, they will click on your page and then swiftly leave- this is called a bounce rate and can hurt your SEO ranking on Google.
So, the content you write is just as relevant as anything else when trying to have good SEO on your site, and it should be treated as such.
So, What Should Your Content Be Like?
Your content is just as important in the SEO process as anything else, and there are a few things that it must have in order to do so.
As mentioned just above, if a searcher clicks on your website and then decides that your page does not offer them what they were looking for, they will immediately click off it and go and find a different page.
Therefore, your content has to be relevant, it must include the answers that are being looked for when someone searches for your keywords in Google.
Read also: Content Writing Tips for Beginners
Visually, you want to make sure that your page looks like the type of page you would want to see when you were searching for something on Google. Clear, concise, visually appealing and easy to understand content will do just the job you need it to.
Google assesses this user experience on your page, so if someone sticks around because what you wrote is just so fantastic, then yay! You are more likely to rank higher because you are a relevant and useful page. Good job.
Myth Number Three: Titles and Meta Descriptions Can Be Neglected
Another common SEO myth is that you don’t need to worry about optimising your title or meta description when you publish your content.
In reality, the title and meta description are two very important bits of SEO information, and also two of the first things that an audience will see when they are choosing a web page to look at.
In case you’re not sure what the meta description is- it is the small piece of text that comes up under the title of a webpage on a search engine’s results page. This is what users will look at to determine if your page answers the question they are looking for, and therefore if they will click on it or not.
If you don’t optimise these two things properly, your page naturally won’t rank as highly on the results page, nor will you get much organic traffic from it.
What You Should Do With Your Titles and Meta Descriptions
When coming up with your title and meta description, it is crucial that they are relevant to your content, and also what the user is searching for.
If you write a title that has absolutely nothing to do with what your content is saying- how will users know to click on your page?
To them, and to Google, it won’t seem relevant, and therefore it won’t rank highly.
The same goes for the meta descriptions- they should include relevant information so that the audience knows to click on your page to find out what they need to.
It should really be no more than 160 characters, and both the title and the meta description should include your main keyword. This is important for optimisation and relevant rankings.
Top tip: if writing meta descriptions is quite new to you, do some random searches on Google and take a look at what the highest ranking pages for your search query have in their descriptions. Take note of how long they are, the words used, how the sentences are structured etc and maybe practice writing a few too.
Myth Number Four: If I Implement SEO Once, I Won’t Have To Do It Again
Whilst I’m sure many people would love for this statement to be true, sadly, it is not. SEO is a long process that gives long term results, and the biggest mistake you could make is not treating it as such.
Whilst some initial optimisation is great to get the ball rolling, and to get you used to implementing SEO methods, you need to keep up with it to maintain your ranking position and keep driving new, organic traffic to your site.
It is a continual process that may need refining and changing over time. There is a reason why people implement SEO strategies because this is exactly what they require- strategic and informed moves to optimise your site in the best way possible.
What You Should Do with Your SEO Instead
Coming up with some kind of SEO strategy that takes you from initial optimisation through to long term results is the best way to make sure that you stay on top of your SEO, and don’t just take the mentality of doing it once and never again.
It is important to remember also that SEO strategies can sometimes take time to show results, but this doesn’t mean that it isn’t working, so you have to keep optimising to keep driving that fresh traffic and to ensure that your content is relevant and worthy of a high ranking on search engine results pages.
Conclusion
There are a lot of myths that circulate around SEO, mostly driven by a general misunderstanding of how search engines work and what techniques and tactics actually show results and which ones don’t.
Whilst each and every website will have its own tips and tricks for optimising their specific site in the best way possible, there are lots of general things that you can do in order to debunk the myths and make sure that your site is ranking highly.
Remembering to keep your content relevant and well-written with your keywords relevant and effectively integrated properly is a great place to start, and then you can look at other elements such as writing optimised titles and meta descriptions.
Remember, SEO is a long-haul process for long-term results, but with a good strategy in place and a good understanding of what you need to do, your hard work will be paying off before you know it.
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