Top five SEO Myths you need to stop doing immediately. Undoubtedly, search engine optimization is a vital part of your overall digital marketing strategy. It’s the primary method of gaining traffic to your site via search engines. However, SEO changed considerably over the years as Google tweaked and updated its algorithm.
Tactics that worked a few years ago are obsolete or could make your website rank worse. Next, we’ll examine the top five SEO myths and why they are unsuitable for your digital marketing. The world of SEO is complex and ever-changing but avoid these common myths.
These SEO myths may seem legitimate but won’t help you get traffic to your site.
Websites Don’t Need to Use Keywords.
For over a decade, there has been a myth that keywords are no longer critical for website SEO because Google’s algorithm is so complex it understands what your site is about and can pull everything together.
While it’s true that the algorithm is complex and gets better at understanding the context of your site each year, the need for high-quality keywords is still vital. The method that Google and other search engines get their information is through crawling a site.
When someone types in a search query, the Google bots check the index and see what websites fit best, they look at every piece of code, understand your site, and see if it works for the query.
It’s essential to have high-quality keywords exactly or closely matched to the search query because that’s what the bots look for. They’re checking the H1 headers, web copy, and blog posts and using the hundreds of aspects of the algorithm, including AI, to decide what page should rank high for that query.
If you do not do keyword research for your niche, compare search volume and competition, and decide to place those keywords into your copy, the Google bots may not know your site connects to that query.
While how many keywords, where they should be, and other factors have changed over the years, that doesn’t mean the impact of keywords is any less. If people place search queries into the search bar, whether by keyboard or voice, search engines need to know the keywords for your web page to fit the question best.
Don’t Use Keywords in Anchor Text.
Whether internal or external, text links are essential for digital marketing. When you place a link on text, that’s considered anchor text. Anchor text can be anything, but there has been controversy about whether the anchor text should be keywords.
The correct answer is yes and no. Many years ago, there was a time when stuffing your content with keywords helped you rank. Unfortunately, those days are long over. You could end up penalized if you overuse keywords.
The same can be said for anchor text. A web page or blog should mix primary and secondary keywords. It would be best to use keywords sparingly so search platforms don’t think you’re spamming the keyword.
Using a primary or secondary keyword as anchor text is no problem if you don’t overdo it. If you have five anchor texts that all use the same keyword, that isn’t good and will negatively impact your site. If you have five anchor texts using five different keywords, that’s fine and helps your site.
The anchor text should provide context for where the link will take you. For example, if your anchor text is “contact us,” it should lead to a contact page. If it’s “heating and cooling systems,” then it should send you to a page relating to heating and cooling systems.
If you don’t, then it can impact your ranking. Anchor text should also be natural and not forced into the content.
Google Indexes New Content Right Away
Many people assume that Google bots constantly seek out new pages to index. For the most part, they are, but with billions of web pages creating new content daily, your latest blog post won’t get indexed instantaneously. Instead, it can take several days.
Google bots love new content, but you must give them a little nudge if you want it indexed fast. The best way is to use an XML sitemap generator plug-in that automatically creates a new site map and sends it to the major search engines.
If your website is connected to Google Search Console, you can manually request expedited indexing.
If you place the new link on your social media accounts in a post or tweet, it also increases the chances for speedier indexing.
Don’t Bother with Guest Blogging.
We know that high-quality backlinks and high-quality content dramatically improve your rankings. One of the most popular methods of getting backlinks is through guest blogging. Guest blogging is when someone from an outside website writes content and a different website allows them to place it on their website, usually with a link to the original website.
When a Google representative mentioned in 2014 to stop using guest blogging to get links, it set the industry on fire, and suddenly everyone said guest blogging was terrible. That’s not true.
The representative meant to stop putting low-quality content on low-authority websites and expect better rankings. If you want Google to respect your range, it must be high on a high authority website.
SEO Happens Fast
Search engine optimization is a journey and takes time to work effectively. Unfortunately, many website owners think they can use SEO tasks for their site and dominate the search results within a few days. Unfortunately, this SEO Myth isn’t the reality of the situation.
SEO takes time to implement. It takes time to do the keyword research, develop the content, have Google index the content, and then compare it with your competitors. People want to be number one in the first week for a highly competitive and high-volume keyword.
SEO can take months to have indeed a significant impact on your rankings for highly competitive keywords. SEO aims to improve your rank and bring high-quality traffic to your site. That takes time, and you must be patient and let the process work.
If you’re having trouble improving your ranking for a specific keyword, try a less volume and competitive keyword. A website does not just do SEO tasks once and stop but continues to improve the content and SEO month after month.
Don’t Fall for These SEO Myths.
SEO is a constantly changing landscape that often depends on the whims of Google. Tried and true methods will improve your rankings and drive traffic to your site but avoid these myths and misconceptions.
If you want SEO experts near me or are interested in SEO management for your website, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
