SEO is one of the most important things to look into when you want to rank high on search engines. Not only does it bring more traffic to your website, but it also helps optimize it for better user experience and satisfaction.
But with the many best SEO strategy claims out there, what are the ones you have to watch out for? There are SEO myths out there that claim to be the best, but end up not actually affecting your SEO at all!
To watch out for such, I compiled the nine SEO myths you should NOT follow!
The Nine SEO Myths You Should Not Follow
While we can’t guarantee that SEO strategies work for all websites, these are the nine sure myths you should ignore:
- Having an XML Sitemap Boosts Search Rankings
Have you tried installing an XML Sitemap generator on your website? It comes with a host of features and benefits, though it doesn’t directly improve your SEO at all.
An XML sitemap is necessary if you want a crawlable website, helping search engines crawl and index fresh content. But, it doesn’t affect the actual rankings of your site, only used as an aid or guide to give more information about your content to search engines!
- Meta Tags DON’T Matter
Meta tags DO matter, as it helps webmasters prove much-needed information about their websites to search engines. There are three elements of meta tags:
- Title tag
- Meta Description
- Meta keyword/phrase
While search engines don’t boost search rankings directly, it helps tell users and search engines what your website is all about, helping it create better attraction and clicks because it shows that you have the high-quality content they want and need.
- Top-Level Domains Can Improve Your Rank
The top-level domain is on the highest position on a search engine system. Search users will always recognize the .com, though sometimes get confused with others such as .biz or .guru. This is because most Google search results have .com domain names unless it’s a geo-targetable country domain.
However, there is no proven research that shows how top-level domains will always improve your ranking. It’s more about your keyword quality, usage, and content.
- Having a Target Keyword In Your Anchor Text Doesn’t Matter
When you build links, you should also use keywords in anchor texts. These are the clickable texts in hyperlinks, and with a keyword-rich anchor text, it helps boosts your rankings as well.
The reason why people think otherwise is because of the over-optimization of linking. This one would get you penalized by search engines! Avoid excessive use and cross-linking your actor texts instead of avoiding it overall. Focus on building natural keyword-rich links instead!
- Google Finds Your Fresh Content Then Indexes It
Search engine bots would find and feed on fresh content, yes. When there’s a new article on your website, they would check it out. However, it doesn’t mean that your content is crawled and indexed without you knowing. It MAY happen, but it’s not likely.
That’s why an XML sitemap can help, as it would send your content to search engines and directories. Furthermore, updating social profiles can help with indexing your fresh content quicker.
- Paid Search Improves Organic Results
If you think AdWords PPC can help with your organic rankings, you’re not exactly correct. There aren’t any correlations between both organic and paid rankings, as they function on different terrains. Sponsored links are based on your bid and investment, while organic search results are from the index’s database!
While it CAN help with conversion of organic results, it doesn’t help with its rankings.
- Guest Blogging Is DEAD
NO, guest blogging is NOT dead. Contributing to a blog still helps, although bad content will adversely affect your SEO. After all, high-quality content can help, especially with a strong link profile.
And when you think about it, there is so much content in high-authority websites from freelancers and authors who have their own websites to handle! So you can see that guest blogging will never be dead and as long as you provide the high-quality content, it continues to help keep your website running.
- An SEO Agency Is a Surefire Way to Get Your Ranks Up
This is an interesting myth that shows no proven claims. Best SEO agencies have experts with experience, though there is NO guarantee that you’ll be on the top Google rankings.
SEO agencies can help with keyword analysis and competitive auditing, but not to get the quick top rankings. And because there are billions of searches monthly, there is no SEO agency that can predict the trends and tomorrow’s keywords. With that being said, no one, not even the top SEO agency, can give you the fast search engine rankings.
- You Don’t Need to Do Keyword Research Anymore
This is a very dangerous myth you should never follow. Sure, content is king and can help boost your SEO. However, you shouldn’t forget about high-quality keyword research for your sure.
There isn’t a Google update that eliminated keyword importance. Nor will there be one in the future! What you do need to avoid is overusing your keywords, as well as poor keyword research and planning.
You can use tools to research for keywords, as well as to check out what your competitors are using to stay ahead.
Wrapping It Up
While SEO is especially important in improving your website, there are things you should watch out for that won’t help your rankings at all. Through knowing such SEO myths, you won’t waste time and effort implementing these “strategies,” focusing more on what works and is proven effective.
Hopefully, this article on the nine SEO myths you should not follow informed you on what to avoid in the future. So start looking into what actually works for your website interns of SEO now!
If you have any questions or want to share your tips and experiences with SEO, then comment below. Your thoughts are much appreciated!
