SEO Misconceptions: Top 5 Myths You Need to be Aware Of
Article by J.C. Yee
Graphics Design by Vargheese Martin
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is probably one of the most discussed aspects when building a presence online, and rightly so. Without search engine presence, businesses are wasting effort into creating beautiful websites, social media campaigns and other digital marketing practices. However, along with its popularity comes the many SEO misconceptions which people are surprisingly still clinging to. This, in turn, hinders their progress to achieving the much-esteemed Page 1 rank on search engine results pages (SERPs).
This article outlines some of these SEO misconceptions and explains why they are misleading, or why you shouldn’t believe in them anymore.
Keyword research isn’t necessary
One of the most prevalent SEO misconceptions is that keyword research isn’t necessary. Sure, if you know your industry very well, you probably have enough knowledge and understanding of what your target audience wants.
However, this doesn’t necessarily translate that what they want is what they would type in on Google search. Remember, SEO primarily thrives on keywords. The best way to understand the keywords that you need to use on your website is by doing proper keyword research guided by an SEO professional to ensure that you get the best results for your website.
SEO already requires a lot of time and effort to succeed. Ensure that you’re starting your campaign with the proper words to avoid wasting any efforts in the future.
More keywords, more rankings
Yes, we mentioned that SEO thrives on keywords. But that doesn’t mean that you should flood your website with the keywords that you need to rank with. In the world of SEO, there’s what we call keyword stuffing.
It basically means spamming your page with keywords to rank higher. Truth is, once Google detects that you are keyword stuffing, your website will run the risk of being de-indexed. Worse, you can get temporarily banned on major search engines.
Nowadays, search engines have become smarter and their algorithms change every now and then. In fact, Google is reported to change their algorithms 500 to 600 times a year. So, there’s really no such thing as a shortcut if that’s what you’re looking for in your SEO journey. Search engines always focus on content that is unique, relevant, and helpful, hence your keywords should also be aligned with those.
It’s all about having more links
If you have a rough understanding of how SEO works, then you’re probably aware that it also thrives on links. Meaning, if an external website links a keyword to your website, then it would contribute to your website’s search engine rank.
However, link building is just another thing at the tip of the SEO iceberg. Too often you’ll see small business websites having plenty of links in one page, with some having the same links on the same keyword or anchor text.
What they don’t know is that the quality of the links is what matters more, and not the quantity. Besides, who wouldn’t be irritated by the sight of a handful of links on just one page?
Similar to keyword stuffing, try to avoid overdoing your link-building initiatives as this may also disrupt a reader’s experience. Otherwise, it could impact your conversion rate and eventually your SEO performance.
SEO is all about words
The above-mentioned points talk about keywords, links, and content and they all share a common theme: they are established on words. But the thing is, SEO is not just about words. Your website must also consider site speed, good hosting and image optimization in order for SEO to kick in and deliver the results you want.
Site speed. Since July 2018, Google has been including site speed as a factor in ranking a website in the SERPs. If your website loads slow, then Google will have a hard time crawling your website, which might influence your indexation.
Good hosting. A good hosting provider will provide you with at least three things: speed, uptime and security. Your website must load fast, be always available (99.9% uptime) and be safe, especially if you’re operating an eCommerce website. Without a reliable hosting provider, all your SEO efforts will be wasted.
Image optimization. Optimize your images in terms of size and resolution so that it won’t affect your site speed and user experience. Never upload images in either super high or low resolution. Always put alt tags in them so that search engines will be able to categorize them properly.
Related: 10 Common On-site SEO Issues and How to Resolve Them
You don’t need an SEO professional to succeed
Keywords, optimization, and link-building are all factors that can be researched on the internet. However, reading and watching videos about them can only do so much. As mentioned above, SEO requires a huge amount of time and effort in order to succeed.
And it will be undeniably much easier to achieve your SEO campaign goals if you are guided by a trusted SEO professional. In the world of SEO, it’s highly important to never assume that you already have ample knowledge of how things work.
With Google’s frequent updates, it’s almost impossible to be confident if you’ll work on it alone. With a reliable SEO professional like the ones we have at Gotafflair, propelling your site to the top of SERPs will be a much more productive journey.
Need help in your SEO journey? Contact us at sales@gotafflair.com for a free, no-obligation consultation!
