fbpx

Top 5 SEO Myths You Need To Stop Doing Immediately

There is no doubt that 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. SEO changed considerably over the years as Google has tweaked and updated its algorithm.

Tactics that worked only a few years ago are now obsolete or could make your rank worse. We’ll examine the top five SEO myths and why they’re not good for your digital marketing. The world of SEO is complex and ever-changing but avoid these common myths.

These 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 important 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 sees if it works for the query.

It’s important 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, blog posts and using the hundreds of aspects to the algorithm, including AI, to decide what page should rank high for that query.

If you don’t do keyword research for your niche, compare search volume, and search competition and make a decision to place those keywords into your copy, then 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 are any less. If people place search queries into the search bar, whether it’s by keyboard or voice, search engines need to know the keywords for your web page to fit the query best.

Don’t Use Keywords in Anchor Text.

Text links, whether they are internal or external, are an important part of 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. There was a time many years ago when stuffing your content with keywords helped you with ranking. Those days are long over. In fact, you could end up penalized if you overuse keywords.

The same can be said for anchor text. A web page or blog should be a mix of primary and secondary keywords. They should be used sparingly, so search platforms don’t think you’re spamming the keyword.

There is no problem using a primary or secondary keyword as anchor text if you don’t overdo it. If you have five anchor text 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 some context as to 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 every day, your new blog post won’t get indexed instantaneously. 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 then sends it to the major search engines.

If you have your website connected to Google Search Console, then 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 back 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 bad. That’s not actually true.

The representative meant to stop putting low-quality content on low authority websites and expect to get better rankings. If you want Google to respect your content, it needs to be high on a high authority website.

SEO Happens Fast

Search engine optimization is a journey and takes time to work effectively. Many website owners think they can use SEO tasks for their site and dominate the search results within a few days. This 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 for a highly competitive and high volume keyword in the first week.

SEO can take months to truly have a major impact on your rankings for highly competitive keywords. The goal of SEO is to improve your rank and bring high-quality traffic to your site. That takes time, and you need to be patient and let the process work.

If you’re having trouble improving your ranking for a specific keyword, then try a less volume and less competitive keyword. A website doesn’t just SEO once 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 to learn more about SEO or interested in SEO management for your website, please contact us today.

The post Top 5 SEO Myths You Need To Stop Doing Immediately appeared first on Quick Web Designs.

Translate »