Search engine optimisation (SEO) has become the lifeblood of online marketing activities nowadays. It is not a static process. Further, SEO is continuously evolving to become more intuitive, complex, and impactful for both online and offline businesses. No matter whether you are a large-scale enterprise owner or a small business owner, SEO is an inevitable tool to earn maximum traffic, conversions, and profits. As the value and demand of SEO increase, you can come across an increasing number of misconceptions as well. Here are the top 10 common SEO myths that make people often confused:
1. Social signals don’t play a role in SEO
The relationship between SEO and social signals has been a hot subject of discussion for a few years. It still continues in 2021. The most important question is, ‘do social signals make an impact on search rankings.’ Many people say that social signals don’t play a prominent role in search engine optimisation. It is a wrong perception. If you say that it is a myth, people would ask how social signals make an impact. Let us explore things a bit deeper.
Even leading search engines like Google admit that social media likes are not considered as a ranking factor. It doesn’t mean that social signals don’t make an impact on SEO. Your optimisation efforts are influenced indirectly by effective social media activity. That is where the importance of search engine indexing comes in.
You can take the case of Google. It is a well-known fact that Google has started considering social signals while creating search results. Here, social signals refer to collective shares, likes, and the overall social media presence of your website. Google determines ranking on search results pages after analysing these types of social signals.
You can compare the role of social media signals to the role played by backlinks. However, there is a difference. These social media activities focus on a traffic drive instead of concentrating on a ranking tactic. A proper content visibility distribution strategy assists you in enhancing user engagements, which in turn leads to links, likes and shares.
A 2018 study by Hootsuite tested SEO results from articles with and without social signals. Their findings where that content with top social shares received an average of 22% boost during the duration of the experiment.
2. Search engines reward fresh content mindlessly
Online marketing experts always keep talking about the importance of fresh content. It is a fact that you need to create fresh, innovative, trending content to make a positive impression on search engines. However, you cannot expect search engines to send thousands of search visitors every day if you post fresh content daily on your website or webpage.
Search engines do not reward fresh content mindlessly. Renowned digital marketing experts like Ronnoco Digital always advise their clients to develop a customized SEO strategy to earn optimal traffic and conversions. The key to generate more traffic from search engines, you should get top rankings for specific keywords you are targeting for.
3. Website owners need to wait for 6 months to see results
SEO is an ongoing process with long-term goals. You cannot expect number one ranking for a chosen keyword on search engine result pages overnight. However, you don’t have to wait for 6 months to see results from your search engine optimisation efforts. Accomplished SEO experts make use of low-competition keywords and many other specialised optimisation tactics to deliver results fast.
New content needs some time to show up in rankings. However, you should make the necessary tweaks and changes continuously to stay relevant in the newly emerging situations. Even small tweaks and turns help you achieve top rankings faster.
4. More links are better than more content
A few years back, more links were a better choice than more content to achieve a higher ranking in Google. It was critical to building links on particular anchor texts to bring more value and improve search rankings. SEO experts focused on creating chunks of links undermining the importance of quality. This situation led to the abuse of link building practices. With the help of the Penguin algorithm update, Google addressed link schemes and keyword stuffing practices and penalised sites with manipulative inbound link profiles.
Today, links don’t have more value than content. You must focus on creating fresh, innovative, and engaging content that brings value to readers. Reputed SEO experts like Ronnoco Digital assert the importance of having a perfect blend of natural link profile and good content nowadays. This combination makes your SEO efforts result-oriented and generates consistent traffic.
5. Google penalises for links in comments and forums
Community engagement is not termed as a bad habit in SEO. Google does not penalise you for links in forums and blog comments. Many people confuse forums and blog commenting with online directories. What is an online directory? It is a catalogue or list of websites. An online forum refers to a discussion panel.
Spammers always make efforts to cash in on a captive audience using links in comments and forums. You can come across many spam messages and links today. However, many advantages, including topical relevancy, niched users, and loyal customers can be associated with forums.
Built on user-generated content, you can come across many reliable and authentic forums and social communities that offer precious and relevant information from industry experts and professionals. Various research studies show that Millennials allocate 30% of their media consumption time for user-generated content provided by peers. Further, they associate more trust with user-generated content than traditional media.
Compared to other media, Millennials spend more time on social media. So, the importance of community forums and comments make a strong impact on your SEO. The bottom line is that user-generated community engagement is not a bad practice.
6. Hiring an SEO expert is an unwanted expense
Many people make use of DIY optimisation methods to generate traffic and increase conversions. Some of them think that an IT expert is good enough to handle all SEO tasks. This is a myth. SEO is a highly complex subject and demands some unique technical expertise. The job of an SEO expert is quite different from an information technology expert. This profession needs some extensive knowledge on context, semantics, equity, user behaviour, content, and much more.
If you want to generate traffic, increase conversions, and improve revenue and profits, you must hire an accomplished SEO Agency like Ronnoco Digital. Our company makes use of only the best methods for their organic SEO projects to deliver outstanding and sustainable results for each client.
7. Minimal keyword density must be kept as 2%
Keywords are an integral part of SEO. No one can say that keyword research and optimisation do not bring any value. How much keyword density is needed? One of the most popular SEO myths is that keyword density should be at least 2% to increase rankings. If you want to impress search engines, your prime focus should be on readability instead of keyword density.
Keyword density matters. However, you have to post content that is written naturally. When you are worried about keyword density, you may end up creating unappealing content. Overreliance on high keyword density leads to keyword stuffing. Since search engines recognize the pattern, keyword stuffing makes a negative impression on them.
So, what is the ideal keyword density? There are no hard and fast keyword density rules available in the SEO industry. You need to focus on quality. That is to say, the naturalness of things is a very vital aspect. The 2% is not a common yardstick. There is nothing a minimal keyword density. Preferably, you can concentrate on vocabulary, semantics, and a long engaging copy to improve your rankings and generate traffic to your site.
8. A home page needs heavy content
SEO has been continuously evolving and keeps embracing innovative approaches. Some people are not aware of what is outdated and what is trending. You don’t have to stuff your home page with heavy content to make a positive impression on search engines and bring traffic. It is always advisable to consider your homepage as a gateway to your business.
The content on your homepage should convey clearly what exactly your business stands for. It must reflect your products and services appropriately. The layout format that you use to incorporate the information is a critical aspect. Your homepage has to be optimised to deliver an improved user experience. Experienced SEO experts know how to structure your homepage content and optimise it to take your site on top of search engine result pages.
9. Images don’t need any optimisation
For several years, people were not bothered about the importance of website images. Without any alt text and image optimisation, many websites could manage to achieve higher rankings. Today, on-page SEO has undergone tremendous transformation. You cannot ignore the importance of image optimisation. A website without any images looks unattractive and hinders your SEO efforts.
Search engines cannot read the website images. You need to add image alt text and a proper file name to make Google aware of the image and improve your visibility on search results. In addition to alt text and file name, you must mention the location of your image in the content. It is also prudent to add descriptive titles and captions for an image.
Are you planning to hire an SEO agency in London? You should not look any further than Ronnoco Digital to make your optimisation efforts highly result-oriented. We make use of the most advanced and reliable methods for our organic SEO projects. You can approach us with any type of digital marketing requirements. Our experts get the job done efficiently and affordably to ensure 100% customer satisfaction.
