Attention: Here’s What Experts Talking About SEO Myths In 2021! Many businesses get into SEO so that they can be number one and grow their business. But many SEO myths are existing within the space of marketing that are simply not true.
As the SEO landscape is constantly changing and ever-evolving, the global market for SEO services may grow from around $43.3 billion to $86.0 billion(2019-2023), which is 18.7% annual growth.
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It can be difficult to understand and easy to make mistakes. So, today we will talk about those common SEO myths that have been plaguing the Internet. Here, we will bust them one by one.
10 Common SEO Myths 2021 That You Should Know To Avoid Mistakes There are some SEO myths and facts out there that everyone should know to avoid business marketing troubles.
1. Keyword Stuffing #Myth:
Some SEO believes keyword stuffing is a legitimate way to rank higher. They have a keyword in their hand and start using it all over like title, h1, h2, h3, first sentence, anchor links, footer, body, etc.
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So, what you think- is it the right way to use the target keyword?
Busting:
Well! It is a good thing to use keywords on your page for ranking, but it is nowhere true keyword stuffing is a legitimate way.
Besides stuffing, you should do it in a way where if someone reads it looks natural. You need to use keyword variations. There is no need to use the same phrase over and over or again and again. Moreover, if you continue to do so, Google might penalize your page.
Use variations of that keyword, use relevant information; Google can connect the dots, and it will understand that you should rank for that if you do it gracefully.
Figure Out how SEO myths Can Cost You Further!!
2. Link Building Overshadows Content #Myth:
Link building is the most crucial step in SEO; it even overshadows content, and marketers should focus on building links for their websites while ignoring the relevancy and quality content.
Busting:
That’s not true!
However, links improve your ranking but only when it is natural, relevant, and reputable to your page. If you are religiously focusing on building links despite creating quality content, what would happen?
Users will leave your page and thus increase the bounce rate. Keep in mind a few, but quality links can drive more traffic than massive ones with poor quality. Further, you should give priority to informative content than sharing content for the shake-off buying links.
Try to do link building from a relevant and reputable source; it is an incredibly valuable asset.
3. PPC Advertising Boost Rankings #Myth:
Practicing PPC is the quickest way to increase rank. Google will prioritize those who can spend money on advertising for getting a top rank in an organic search.
Busting:
This is ultimately a myth about search engine optimization.
Google ranking does not depend on a single factor; however, the algorithm for ranking on organic search results is different from the Paid Ads placements.
One can only acquire the benefits if they follow other SEO activities and PPC side-by-side. But depending directly on the paid campaign won’t help in boosting your organic search result.
Read More: SEO Vs. PPC: Roaring Debate Over Web! Let’s Find Out Which Is Better?
4. Mobile Optimization Isn’t Important.
#Myth:
What if your site is not responsive to a mobile device? Some say nothing matters; Google doesn’t care whether your page is optimized or not. It will rank just because it has relevant content.
Busting:
Well, you are mistaken!! This is the common SEO myth that today’s digital marketers hold in their minds.
Surprisingly, 71% of mobile searchers expect a page to load faster than the desktop (Hubspot). Whereas, as per the Smart insights report, mobile accounts hit 50.71% of searches.
Image Source: smartinsights.com
Google favors those sites that pass the mobile-friendly test. Yes, you heard it right. Your business would not get lead in today’s mobile-oriented world and won’t show up in local search until it is optimized for mobile.
5. It’s a One-Time Thing #Myth:
I should stop paying to the expert after getting a good position in search results. Can I find an SEO magician that can solve ranking problems in one go?
Busting:
Well, it would be great if we have such a magician that can wave a magic wand and our site rank on top permanently. Unfortunately, we don’t have such a solution yet.
SEO is something that needs continuous hard work, research, adjustments, and even regular reporting. I know it is painful for those who are searching for the magic to happen. But, it’s true, SEO is not one day or one month or six-month practice.
However, you might see the results in a few months, but if you stop at that point, it can fire you back. As algorithms are constantly changing, you need to follow them to win the race.
6. Domain Age Is a Ranking Factor #Myth:
My website is old, and it is ranking well; this means domain age plays a role in ranking.
Confusing, isn’t it?
Busting:
Google itself debunks this myth several times. They say there are no such factors.
Image Source: growwithstudio.com
The reality is older websites have worked for a long time. It is evident if we compare five-year-old websites that are continuously working on building valuable links with those who have just spent 5-months, five years, will win because link volume is high.
It is hard for new websites to effortlessly outrank huge websites because backlinks are key parameters for ranking. The new website would not have equal or more backlinks than an older one.
7. Image Optimization Is Not Needed
#Myth:
You don’t need to optimize your images anymore.
Busting:
This is so wrong!
Image optimization is crucial for your website. You can get people coming to your site from image search results.
You need to be optimizing your images to be found in image search results. It is that simple. Make sure you name your images when you save them and give them a good description when you upload them to your website.
Images help draw the eye and provide a visual representation of what you are offering, so they are crucial for SEO.
8. Social Media Doesn’t Affect Your SEO #Myth:
Over the years, there’s been a debate in the digital marketing community about whether Google uses social media signals in their algorithm.
Busting:
Social media affects your SEO. Social shares increase the number of links you have, but it also shows Google that you are more popular and give people valuable content.
People will only share your stuff on social media, and they will only like you and follow you if you have something valuable to give them. So you want to make sure that your social media strategy is aligned with your search engine optimization strategy. You need to have a plan on how to boost SEO using social media marketing.
9. Longer Content Is The Only Way To Rank Higher #Myth:
You need to write a lot of content to rank on the first page of Google.
Busting:
This one is really common because it used to be true about ten years ago. You had to write a lot of content, and Google looked at consistency in quantity.
That’s not the case at all, and it’s very much the opposite these days. Today it depends on the quality of the content you write. So you could write lots of content, but if it’s not quality content or not engaging people or not serving anybody, or not bringing value, Google will not look at quality over quantity of content.
One of Google’s member- John Mueller tweets:
Image Source: www.searchenginejournal.com
Yes, of course, content is king, but good content on a bad website will equal no traffic. How quickly your site loads, how many of your images have alt tags, and how great your site looks on mobile will play a huge part regardless of how long your content is.
Read More: Content Marketing | What, Why, and How?
10. SEO Is Inexpensive #Myth:
If you are in the market for SEO services, one of the common things you keep on hearing about is that SEO is cheap.
Busting:
It is a fake rumor, you might see cheaper SEO alternatives in the market, but it is not cheap. Some small agencies offer affordable service from others, but that doesn’t mean it is inexpensive.
These 10 Top SEO Myths Need Your Attention If You Want To Grow!!
Wrapping UP!! These are the ten SEO myths that continuously confuse some marketers. I try to address those myths here for everyone. So if you find some of these things overwhelming or want to learn more about them, please reach out to us by commenting down.
FAQs Q1: Is SEO illegal? A1: SEO is legal if you follow all guidelines of the search engines. If you are trying to fool or mislead Google at any time, you are opting for ‘black hat,’ which is illegal. The blackhat SEO technique can lead to falling of rank or disappearing from search altogether.
SEO is not illegal until you follow guidelines; if you are rigorously opt-in of the black hat, Google can penalize your site.
Q2: Is SEO Dead 2021? A2: SEO doesn’t work; that is completely wrong in itself as well. SEO is far from dead. It is still one of the marketing areas that’s successful in maintaining your position, having quality traffic, and increasing conversion rate.
It is not something that has simply died; in fact, it is getting harder. Moreover, old tactics and shortcuts no longer work, but it’s not dead.
Q3: What is the best SEO strategy for 2021? A3: Some of the effortless and yet effective SEO strategy are as follow:
● ● ● ● ● ●
Write a Compelling Title Tag and Meta Description. Optimize Your Images. Optimize Your Page Speed. Use Internal Linking. Improve the User Experience on Your Website. Include Keywords in Your URL.
● Focus on Getting More Authoritative Backlinks
Q4: Which SEO techniques are popular? A4: Learning good SEO techniques is crucial for increasing their web traffic and boosting brand awareness. Besides these benefits, you should know that 40% of website traffic starts with a search query.
Therefore, you should follow few of SEO technique that is popular among the marketers and also helpful:
● ● ● ● ●
Improve User Experience Across Your Entire Site. Optimize for Voice Search. Design for Mobile First. Focus on Topic Clusters Instead of Keywords. Take Advantage of YouTube SEO.
● Create a Diverse Backlink Portfolio.