In this age of information overload, there are rumors all over the SEO world. Due to these misconceptions, the efficiency of SEO reduces to a great extent. Do you want to know what the SEO strategies that are nullifying your SEO efforts are? You could be following some optimization techniques that are no longer valid. In this article, we’re are bursting top SEO myths for being successful in 2021:
Keywords are obsolete
After the Hummingbird algorithm, SEO marketers started thinking that they need not focus on keyword optimization. But is it so? Now, Google focuses on search intent and displaying results according to user’s queries. And the importance of keywords has shifted towards the user’s court but not ended.
You can consider these factors:
- Your target audience may be comparing similar products or services. So, you can give detailed information about that.
- Customers with purchase intent will look to descriptions and reviews of the products. Thus, mention these details along with the product images and brand data. It will be easy for them to make decisions.
- Good landing pages are the ones where you can put your brand-related information and means to contact you. So, target keywords accordingly.
Also, keywords are a must for eCommerce websites for customers to find relevant products. Businesses can access Ecommerce SEO services to discover competitive and latest keywords in the industry and optimize their websites from all angles.
Long-form content is a must.
Long-form content is one of the methods for gain rankings but not a sure shot method. Many websites provide long-form, in-depth, and detailed content but still struggle to come top on SERPs. The primary things remain the same, like quality, usefulness, and relevancy.
Are you providing quality content? You can add hundreds and thousands of words, but at last, quality rules over quantity.
Is your content relevant to the topic? The point is the interlinking between paragraphs is of utmost importance. The smooth flow of content from one section to another makes it easier for readers to understand the context easily.
Ok! You’re providing a beautiful piece of content. But, what is the reader’s view? Feel free to ask for feedback in comments, social media, or team members. They’ll tell you the actual picture.
When users find the content useful, they’ll spend time on it. So, what will happen? It will increase dwell time, and your rankings will automatically improve.
On the other hand, users won’t spend time on random content. It will only increase the bounce rate. Thus, it will negatively impact your website indexing.
SEO is a one-night effort
Approaching SEO consultants claiming to give you overnight #1 ranking is a bluff. Achieving a good ranking on search engines takes time, effort, consistency, and patience.
With time applying the right SEO strategies, ranking can shift upwards. But, top rankings are not a guarantee. There are millions of websites uploading their content every minute. Search engines will index which website is on top; it is not at all fix.
SEO experts can guide and help you find the right keywords, optimize images, audit, and fix other SEO issues. And keeping on designing your website as per the latest SEO guidelines will boost your rankings.
Guest blogging is of no importance.
Guest blogging is of value is a popular myth amongst SEO marketers. The reality is that many big data websites like Quora, Washington Post, BBC, Mashable, and others rely on freelancers and guest bloggers for their regular content.
What is the difference between content written by the author and guest blogger? Technically no difference at all. It is the anchor text; it should be natural and relevant.
Can you imagine a website owner writing content by himself but crap content? Google will not rank it on top.
The factor that matters is Guest blogging should focus on relationships rather than collecting backlinks from other sites. A relevant and niche-specific pays much more. And a guest blog for any Xyz website is a black hat SEO. Google algorithm may detect and penalize it.
Also, the anchor text is the deciding factor in guest blogging. Are you using the same anchor text multiple times in the same article? Or you’re using anchor text just for the sake of using it.
The other side of the coin is that use natural anchor text and its synonyms. Natural usage of anchor text seems editorially correct. Users and search engines can sniff the difference between natural text and stuffed one quickly.
So, guest blogging is essential and how we use it; this makes a lot of difference.
The domain name is a ranking factor.
The domain name can earn you a higher ranking; it’s not true at all. Top-level domains (TLDs) like .com, .org, .edu, .gov can expand your outreach but it is not a rank determinant.
Domain names are there for users. Design the domain name such that your target audience can understand what you intend to serve. But, thinking that buying TLDs will take you on top of SERPs is not feasible at all.
Also, some of the SEO service providers advise including a keyword in your domain name. But, it doesn’t make much sense. Devise the name as per user reading convenience and remembrance.
Updating recent dates will boost SEO.
One of the funniest SEO myths is updating the latest dates will be sufficient! Many digital marketers think that publishing the old content with recent dates will act as an SEO boost. It is more like respinning to your previous content.
You’re just making minor changes to the words here and there, And you’re making tweaks in the image size. It won’t suffice and won’t take you ahead. Google checks whether the content is as per the latest updates in the market or not. Then only it indexes the website at a higher position.
But, you can repurpose your content by increasing its online presence. It is possible through sharing on different platforms like social media, online journals, approaching influencers, and building public relations.
The number of Backlinks only matters.
For some SEO managers, only the number of backlinks counts. But, the reality is the other way around. Websites can get backlinks from many websites that have low domain authority. Will it impact rankings much? No! It is because search engines see the quality of backlinks.
When backlinks come from reputable websites, it means that the website provides helpful information for the readers. For example, a website covering content from all the target reader’s aspects, providing credible and trustworthy data, will automatically move on Top of SERPs. Many industry leaders will also follow that website.
Assuming that meta description doesn’t affect rankings and paying no heed to meta tags in HTML is a big blunder. Meta tags contain Title tags, meta descriptions, and canonical tags.
Meta tags are there in the head tag of the HTML code. Talking about Title tags, it appears along with the domain name on the search results. It enables search engines and users to understand what the topic is about. Designing to the point title tag with hyphens dramatically helps.
Further, the meta description is an element for giving a brief of your topic. For instance, how can users find the subject beneficial? In short, it is a set of words to attract customers to your website with zero-click results on SERPs.
Additionally, canonical tags are necessary to differentiate duplicate content. When Google bots crawl on similar content, it doesn’t know which one to index first. Moreover, it could lead to a Google penalty as well. It becomes to assign canonical tags so that identical text doesn’t intermix.
Image optimization has no use.
Some analysts consider image optimization as redundant for SEO. Let’s consider the hypothesis as accurate. But, what about these factors?
- If the image size is full HD, will it not take more time to get loaded? It will have the worst effect on the user experience.
- Due to the absence of an image alt tag, how will visually impaired persons understand what it is about?
- What about an image XML sitemap? Image sitemap enables Google to display an image in the image search option. But if the sitemap is not there, users can’t find those images in the search results.
Other than that, using free and random images from the internet doesn’t illustrate the text. And the pictures that complement the content are the best ones to be used.
Conclusion
In brief, SEO is such a dynamic field that keeps on changing with time. If you’re at the same place, your website will likely stink and not produce the desired results. So, it is better to move rather than being stagnant. Stop paying attention to unnecessary myths as:
First, image and video optimization are not required.
Second, getting backlinks is a rat race.
Third, optimization doesn’t require regular inputs.
Next, meta descriptions are no more part of SEO.
Last but not least, keyword optimization has no impact anymore.
So, which one of the myths did you find helpful, and how are you planning to repeal its effect?
