There are many misconceptions concerning SEO practices. Some are dinosaurs that hide in the dense jungles of the internet, occasionally poking their heads out to reignite controversy. Others have never quite gone away, embedding themselves in our collective consciousness. These are the myths your mother hands down about SEO, the ones that make you think twice before accepting a sweet sounding SEO company contract for fear of hidden razor blades. Here are 4 of the most pervasive SEO myths that continue to reappear year after year. Once you know why they shouldn’t be believed, just like realizing Santa can’t be in your shopping mall and at the grocery store at the same time, you’ll never be tricked again.
Myth 1: The magic bullet
Like a conspiracy theorist outside an election hall, SEO sites love to discuss the magic bullet. Some will tell you it has to do with keywords and linking, others will claim that citations are the most important factor. There is no solid answer though. Google analyzes every factor imaginable, and we’ve seen great gains from multiple sources. Every area is an important one, and a website that ranks well will be a well rounded one. An effective citation campaign, well written content that includes keywords while providing useful information, optimizing on the back end for usability and mobility all plays a part. Just like a puzzle, one missing piece leaves you with an incomplete picture. Google algorithms can recognize this and will respond accordingly.
Myth 2: Everybody’s talking
Quick. What’s the first link in any page’s comments section go to? Did your answer have something to do with how much money you can make from the comfort of your own own home? Don’t click on that link, and ask yourself who would? Many people are still under the impression that linking to their site from a blog’s comments section can help drive rankings. These are much more likely to hurt a sites ranking than they are to improve it. Ask yourself whether you’re posting something related and relevant or not. It’s the same principal that makes backlinking with unrelated sites a poor idea. If there’s no relevancy it sours the backlink and can even lead to penalties. Backlink strength and relevancy matters much more than volume.
Myth 3: Media schmedia
Though it is incredibly unlikely your SEO company will produce videos or take pictures for you without charging a fee, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put forth the effort. Taking videos and original images is easy and worth the effort. A solid SEO company will be happy to link to these videos and elated to use your own images on your website. Make sure any videos and images are taken with a high resolution. They represent your business and need to be treated as such. Google takes these into account because they can greatly enhance the user experience. Just make sure to name them correctly and use relevant terminology to both the topic and the service.
Myth 4: Keywords don’t matter
After hummingbird broadened the concept of what a page can be, many SEO criers pulled out dusty soapboxes to better proclaim the death of keywords. While their articles may have made a compelling argument for the efficacy of click bait, their points on keywords have been unfounded. Though stuffing is never a good practice, for most industries and pages if you fail to put in the keyword Google will not infer the nature of the content. A common example is how searching for the Iraq War yields articles on Saddam Hussein that don’t mention the Iraq War whatsoever. This works for a major world event. Google knows one has to do with the other. If you search for a local auto mechanic though, you can be guaranteed a local search will not return your auto shop if you fail to mention auto mechanic in your text. Instead focus should be directed towards organic keyword inclusion. Like your SEO teacher once said, if you don’t have anything natural to say, don’t say anything at all.
When you’re ready to improve your site with a reliable, up-front, and constantly evolving SEO company call (888) 400-4002 or contact Effective Web Solutions today.