Myths About SEO – Search Engine Optimization
There are some myths about SEO that are so repeated around, end up becoming a “truth” that ends up spreading without anyone contesting. We can say it’s Fake News about SEO.
The big problem with these SEO myths is that they end up harming companies and people who try to get prominent positions in the response pages of major search engines, such as Google, for example.
In this article, I’ve selected ten of the top SEO myths I’ve heard or read on the web so you can avoid them and focus on what really works.
Top 10 Myths About SEO
Check below what are the main myths about SEO and avoid these practices that will not contribute anything to your brand getting better exposure in the organic results area of search engines.
1 – Google’s top positions are only for large companies
This is one of the SEO myths that often causes brands to abandon one of the best sources of traffic in a digital marketing strategy. Google’s top positions are for everyone who is skilled enough to master them.
One of the interesting things about digital marketing is that it’s an extremely democratic environment. All brands are on the same level, regardless of the financial volume they have for their online marketing actions.
Many small businesses dominate Google’s answer pages, simply because they’ve correctly applied site optimization techniques to search engines, and didn’t give a damn about these SEO myths.
2 – To do a good SEO it is necessary to know programming
One more SEO myth that has its origins in ancient times, back in the beginning of the century, when SEO techniques and tools available in this area were just taking their first steps.
If you’re using a good content management platform like WordPress , for example, all the SEO features will be available, even if you don’t know how to program a single line of code.
In the case of e-commerce SEO , for example, most high-end platforms also offer website optimization features for search engines. Again, no programming to place your site in the top positions of Google.
3 – Doing keyword research is wasting time with details
Well, that said, it shows that you have no idea how the SEO process works. Choosing the right keywords is the essence of working in search marketing, whether in the area of SEO or sponsored links.
When we create an SEO project , we seek precisely to understand the user’s search intention, precisely to be present in the right place at the right time. Without thorough keyword research, you don’t get it.
In content marketing, for example, we guide the material to be produced according to the stage of the consumer’s journey that the user is at. To identify this, you need to do a very well-designed keyword research. Another one of the myths about SEO detonated.
4 – If I do a basic SEO my site will be listed on Google in good positions
This is a double error. The first is one of the most common SEO myths, that there is such a thing as basic SEO . This is definitely nothing more than “talk to sleep ox”. This basic SEO thing just doesn’t exist.
In a professional environment as competitive as search marketing with a focus on organic results, believing that doing a half dozen things in terms of optimization will bring you some return is doing what we call the SEO of Hope .
Nowadays, either you do serious SEO work, based on the most advanced and up-to-date techniques, and manage to highlight your site in searches, or save your time and money and do nothing.
5 – Just repeat the keyword many times to get a good position on Google
This I don’t know if it’s a myth about SEO, or a complete statement of ignorance about what the search engine optimization work is, and Google’s guidelines on keyword usage.
What we call On Page SEO , the techniques applied to the internal elements of a page, involves much more than just the number of times the keyword is mentioned.
What we call Keyword Density , needs to be very well managed, because if you go beyond technical limits, you can even be punished by Google, for the practice of what we call Keyword Stuffing .
6 – Any type of content can be ranked on Google
This is definitely not how it works. Not all content is listed on Google, as the algorithm very well selects what makes sense to display on your response pages and what isn’t relevant enough to do so.
It’s common for some people to complain that Google doesn’t list one or, in more severe cases, all pages on the site. When we do an analysis of the content, we find that it either lacks quality or that the proper techniques were not used.
Among the myths about SEO, the one that you just write half a dozen things to appear on Google, is one of the most damaging to brands. It’s no use. If you don’t develop quality content you won’t have space.
7 – The more pages the better for the site
This is also another of the SEO myths that have been around the Internet for a long time and it certainly has no technical foundation. It’s no use inserting tons of content on your website if this content lacks quality.
Almost nothing in terms of SEO has to do with quantity. Google and other major search engines are interested in quality and good user experience when visiting a website. Other than that it is pure waste of time and even loss in terms of Crawl Budget .
If your website or blog has only thirty contents, but these contents are very well optimized, with quality text, images and everything else that is taken into account by Google’s algorithm, the chance of being ahead in search results will be very great. .
8 – Any kind of links pointing to my site helps with SEO work
Another of the myths about SEO that I get tired of hearing around, and that definitely has nothing to do with the reality of the techniques and good practices of Search Engine Optimization, quite the contrary, toxic backlinks can even harm you.
The amount of links pointing to a site is an important factor in what we call Off Page SEO , but for them to have an influence on your placement, they need to be quality links.
To positively impact your placement on Google’s answer pages, these links need to be within your site’s main theme and originate from sites with high Domain Authority .
9 – It’s not worth investing in image optimization
Images are often overlooked in the SEO process by those just starting out in this area, which is one of the biggest SEO mistakes you can make as you’re wasting a good element for your ranking.
One of the myths about SEO is that they don’t deserve that much attention, as they are just images. The approach error in this case is to ignore that Google sees the content as a whole, not in isolation.
Matching the filename to the keyword you want to highlight in SERPs is one of the best practices in this case. Going further, it is possible, and interesting, to optimize even this image’s metadata.
10 – Once a position has been conquered, the SEO work is finished
This is one of the myths about SEO that causes many brands to be surprised when they start to lose positions on Google, and consequently the hits generated by a privileged position on search engine response pages.
In the same way that you want to be among the top places in Google, your competitors also pursue this objective. So be sure that right now someone is wondering how to get to the top spot on Google.
Now that you know the main SEO myths , it is possible to escape some pitfalls and position your SEO strategy in a more technical and professional way. Keep up to date with this and other topics related to SEO by subscribing to our Newsletter .