Debunking The SEO Myths That Just Won’t Die
There’s a lot of information available online about SEO. But sadly, not all of that information is correct. Half of the information lose context on their retelling and become what you may say “Zombie Myths.”
Zombie Myths are myths and misconceptions that, despite being quashed over and over again, never seem to die. They acquire the status of urban legend and leave marketers confused as to what is true and what is not.
Some of them are very funny, but some can be damaging. They can even hinder the best efforts of marketing in Greenville, SC.
That being said, this article is going to look at some of those SEO myths that never seem to die, and explain why you need to stop believing them right now.
Myth: SEO is a Fraud
This myth is probably rooted in the false notion that SEO delivers instant results.
Unfortunately, this myth never dies because there are many unreliable SEO companies out there making profit spamming sites with your links, leading to a quick boost in traffic that rapidly drops when the sites linking back to your website are declared spammy by Google.
However, just because there exist fraudulent SEO companies that make big promises and then leave you disappointed, doesn’t mean SEO is a scam.
For companies working hard to do search engine optimization in Greenville, SC, to boost website traffic for their clients and improve user experience, SEO is an ongoing process that helps them rank higher in Google.
Myth: Content is All You Need
While content is definitely the king, it is not the only factor that helps you rank better in Google’s SERPs.
Mostly, content and links are described as the conjoint twins of the SEO world. Content and links are like peanut butter and jelly, you can have one without the other, but it won’t be as good. So while content is special, content needs links. Similarly, links need content.
You might have seen that some long-tail keywords rank without links. This is because these keywords are so unique that there exists no competition for them, so links don’t play an important role for these keywords as they do for keywords that have high competition.
For example, if you want to rank for “JOKER,” you must have links, or you won’t rank at all.
Myth: Only High Search Volume Keywords Matter
Many beginners make the mistake of focussing entirely on keywords with extremely high search volume. After all, wouldn’t it be amazing to rank on the first page for a keyword that gets searched like a thousand times per month?
Well, the answer is definitely yes! But in most cases, that’s simply not a good strategy. Considering the high competition for these keywords, creating a strategy around them might not boost your traffic — or produce any significant rankings — at all.
Instead, it is wise to focus on keywords that have less competition and decent search volume. And if you think adopting this strategy is a waste of time, just consider that long-tail keywords account for 70% of searches.
Since it’s easier to rank for these keywords, the chances of seeing a boost in traffic within a reasonable time-frame are higher — making them worth your time and money.
Myth: SEO is dead.
Many marketers try to drum up clicks on this sensational headline, but SEO is not ‘dead.’ It’s not even a zombie; it’s a shapeshifter; it’s an ever-evolving organism.
The only thing constant about SEO is change. There are so many developments in the world of SEO – mobile search, semantic search — that it becomes one of the few scalable channels of growth. It is such a gigantic field of established and modern practices that it is foolish to believe SEO is dead.
However, if you adopt some of the outdated techniques that are no more effective and are punishable by the new Google algorithms, then you are more dead than SEO could be.
In The End
There exist so many more SEO myths, but these are the ones that are confusing amongst digital marketers, webmasters, programmers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses.
SEO is a hard nut to crack, and since the digital landscape is constantly changing, it’s not much of a surprise that there’s a lot of misinformation out there. But to stay ahead of the SEO curve, marketers need to stop investing time and energy in SEO strategies that have no substance behind them.