Some SEO myths are debunked over and over again and yet they never seem to die. For example, you hear all the time that ‘content is king’ and that is not completely untrue. However, good content on its own is not enough.
You also need to follow the best SEO practices, such as having an on-page SEO strategy, internal linking, image optimization, etc. Here are some other common SEO myths.
1. Keyword density plays a major role in ranking
Keyword density refers to how many times you use a keyword on a page. When a search engine like Google sees a keyword for the first time, it does give it weight. If it sees it for a second time, it identifies that the page is about a certain subject.
However, if the keyword is mentioned over and over, you are in danger of spamming and it could hurt your ranking. It is important to include keywords but they mustn’t sound artificial and your copy must flow smoothly.
2. You don’t need to do keyword research
It’s a misconception that if you produce great content, you don’t have to worry about keywords. If you want to be ranked on that first page of the search results, you will have to produce content based on people’s search queries.
Obviously, if you have a new website, you will have to go after long-tail, low volume keywords rather than competitive high-volume ones.
3. Backlinks are dead
A popular way of building backlinks in the past was to publish articles with a website URL link on article directories. Another way was to buy backlinks. As these links were generally low quality, these weren’t the best practices.
If a link is unnatural or it comes from an unrelated site or page, it won’t help you to rank. You still need backlinks but they have to be legitimate and relevant if you want them to help you to rank.
4. You need a large number of backlinks
The days where the number of links pointing back to your site was more important than their quality are over. Rather than focusing on how many backlinks you can get, you need to focus on their quality.
Backlinks need to be relevant and come from high-quality websites. If you have a website about garden equipment and you get a backlink from a site selling shoes, it isn’t going to help you. Get a backlink from one of the top sites selling garden equipment and it’s another story.
5. You don’t need a sitemap
For humans, it’s easy to type in a search query and find what they’re looking for. For a machine, it’s complex. A sitemap provides information about the pages on your site, and how they relate to one another. Google reads the sitemap to find content that it may not otherwise find. Google ranks your web pages, not just your website.
If your site’s pages are linked properly, Google will usually discover most of your site even if you don’t have a sitemap. However, in most cases, your site will benefit from having a sitemap.
6. Write only short content
The myth is that people have very short attention spans and so you should only write posts of about 300 to 500 words. This may ensure that people read your whole post but it does not make sense for SEO purposes.
Research from Co-Schedule reveals that the best-performing posts on Google are between 1500 to 2200 words. Google wants comprehensive content that provides the best answer to a specific search query.
This is why you need great writers, like at essay writing service, who knows the art of creating the right content that can rank and bring you traffic.
7. Write only long content
Writing only long content will not necessarily get you ranked higher either. Your content is not judged on its length but on how well it answers a search query. A long, meandering, incoherent post that doesn’t answer the search query won’t rank well.
Use only professional, expert writers to manage your content. The experts know how content optimization is done and how it works. The small tricks make a big difference and this is why they are the best people to handle it. Go through the EduBirdie reviews to hire top writers or essay writers from a custom essay help to help you with your writing needs.
8. If the big brands do it, it must be right
What works for another site may not work for you. Big websites suffer less when they get it wrong. You don’t want to make decisions for your website based on every step they take,
Your users may have different intent and different queries. Find out what works best for your site and stick to that. If you A/B test an idea, data will show what works best for you.
9. Algorithm evaluations are the same as penalties
Google keeps updating its algorithms but not every site is devalued as a result of these processes. Some may even see positive changes.
A penalty happens when you are in violation of the Webmaster guidelines. In this case, you will find a message in the Google Search Console and you can find out why your site has been devalued.
10. Google rewards you if you run paid AdWords campaigns
Running an AdWords campaign is separate from improving your organic search results. Perhaps a Google AdWords campaign increases the flow of traffic to your website and so more people link to your content.
Your ranking may improve because of this. However, your website is not ranked more highly by Google just because you use their AdWords service.
A final word
SEO brings you evergreen traffic and it can add up every month like recurring revenue in a business. On the negative side, it can take time to see tangible results. Stop following the myths, focus on good SEO strategies and your website will benefit.
