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SEO is simply a complex, vast, and sometimes mysterious practice. There are a batch of aspects to SEO that tin pb to confusion.
Not everyone volition hold with what SEO entails – wherever method SEO stops and improvement begins.
What besides doesn’t assistance is the immense magnitude of misinformation that goes around. There are a batch of “experts” online and not each of them should carnivore that self-proclaimed title. How bash you cognize who to trust?
Even Google employees tin sometimes adhd to the confusion. They conflict to specify their ain updates and systems and sometimes connection proposal that conflicts with antecedently fixed statements.
- 1. The Dangers Of SEO Myths
- 2. What Is An SEO Myth?
- 3. 26 Common SEO Myths
- 4. When Can Something Appear To Be A Myth
- 5. Steering Clear Of SEO Myths
The Dangers Of SEO Myths
The contented is that we simply don’t cognize precisely however the hunt engines work. Due to this, overmuch of what we bash arsenic SEO professionals is proceedings and mistake and educated guesswork.
When you are learning astir SEO, it tin beryllium hard to trial retired each the claims you hear.
That’s erstwhile the SEO myths statesman to instrumentality hold. Before you cognize it, you’re proudly telling your enactment manager that you’re readying to “AI Overview optimize” your website copy.
SEO myths tin beryllium busted a batch of the clip with a intermission and immoderate consideration.
How, exactly, would Google beryllium capable to measurement that? Would that really payment the extremity idiosyncratic successful immoderate way?
There is simply a information successful SEO of considering the hunt engines to beryllium omnipotent, and due to the fact that of this, chaotic myths astir however they recognize and measurement our websites commencement to grow.
What Is An SEO Myth?
Before we debunk immoderate communal SEO myths, we should archetypal recognize what forms they take.
Untested Wisdom
Myths successful SEO thin to instrumentality the signifier of handed-down contented that isn’t tested.
As a result, thing that mightiness good person nary interaction connected driving qualified integrated postulation to a tract gets treated similar it matters.
Minor Factors Blown Out Of Proportion
SEO myths mightiness besides beryllium thing that has a tiny interaction connected integrated rankings oregon conversion but are fixed excessively overmuch importance.
This mightiness beryllium a “tick box” workout that is hailed arsenic being a captious origin successful SEO success, oregon simply an enactment that mightiness lone origin your tract to eke up if everything other with your contention was genuinely equal.
Outdated Advice
Myths tin originate simply due to the fact that what utilized to beryllium effectual successful helping sites fertile and person good nary longer does but is inactive being advised. It mightiness beryllium that thing utilized to enactment truly well.
Over time, the algorithms person grown smarter. The nationalist is much adverse to being marketed to.
Simply, what was erstwhile bully proposal is present defunct.
Google Being Misunderstood
Many times, the commencement of a story is Google itself.
Unfortunately, a somewhat obscure oregon conscionable not straightforward portion of proposal from a Google typical gets misunderstood and tally distant with.
Before we cognize it, a caller optimization work is being sold disconnected the backmost of a flippant remark a Googler made successful jest.
SEO myths tin beryllium based connected fact, oregon possibly these are, much accurately, SEO legends?
In the lawsuit of Google-born myths, it tends to beryllium that the information has been truthful distorted by the SEO industry’s mentation of the connection that it nary longer resembles utile information.
26 Common SEO Myths
So, present that we cognize what causes and perpetuates SEO myths, let’s find retired the information down immoderate of the much communal ones.
1. The Google Sandbox And Honeymoon Effects
Some SEO professionals judge that Google volition automatically suppress caller websites successful the integrated hunt results for a play of clip earlier they are capable to fertile much freely.
Others suggest determination is simply a benignant of Honeymoon Period, during which Google volition fertile caller contented highly to trial what users deliberation of it.
The contented would beryllium promoted to guarantee much users spot it. Signals similar click-through complaint and bounces backmost to the hunt motor results pages (SERPs) would past beryllium utilized to measurement if the contented is good received and deserves to stay ranked highly.
There is, however, the Google Privacy Sandbox. This is designed to assistance support peoples’ privateness online. This is simply a antithetic sandbox from the 1 that allegedly suppresses caller websites.
When asked specifically astir the Honeymoon Effect and the rankings Sandbox, John Mueller answered:
“In the SEO world, this is sometimes called benignant of similar a sandbox wherever Google is similar keeping things backmost to forestall caller pages from showing up, which is not the case.
Or immoderate radical telephone it similar the honeymoon play wherever caller contented comes retired and Google truly loves it and tries to beforehand it.
And it’s again not the lawsuit that we’re explicitly trying to beforehand caller contented oregon demote caller content.
It’s just, we don’t cognize and we person to marque assumptions.
And past sometimes those assumptions are close and thing truly changes implicit time.
Sometimes things settee down a small spot lower, sometimes a small spot higher.”
So, determination is nary systematic promotion oregon demotion of caller contented by Google, but what you mightiness beryllium noticing is that Google’s assumptions are based connected the remainder of the website’s rankings.
- Verdict: Officially? It’s a myth.
2. Duplicate Content Penalty
This is simply a story that I perceive a lot. The thought is that if you person contented connected your website that is duplicated elsewhere connected the web, Google volition penalize you for it.
The cardinal to knowing what is truly going connected present is knowing the quality betwixt algorithmic suppression and manual action.
A manual action, the concern that tin effect successful webpages being removed from Google’s index, volition beryllium actioned by a quality astatine Google.
The website proprietor volition beryllium notified done Google Search Console.
An algorithmic suppression occurs erstwhile your leafage cannot fertile good owed to it being caught by a filter from an algorithm.
Essentially, having transcript that is taken from different webpage mightiness mean you can’t outrank that different page.
The hunt engines whitethorn find that the archetypal big of the transcript is much applicable to the hunt query than yours.
As determination is nary payment to having some successful the hunt results, yours gets suppressed. This is not a penalty. This is the algorithm doing its job.
There are immoderate content-related manual actions, but essentially, copying 1 oregon 2 pages of idiosyncratic else’s contented is not going to trigger them.
It is, however, perchance going to onshore you successful different occupation if you person nary ineligible close to usage that content. It besides tin detract from the worth your website brings to the user.
What astir contented that is duplicated crossed your ain site? Mueller clarifies that duplicate contented is not a antagonistic ranking factor. If determination are aggregate pages with the aforesaid content, Google whitethorn take 1 to beryllium the canonical page, and the others volition not beryllium ranked.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
3. PPC Advertising Helps Rankings
This is simply a communal myth. It’s besides rather speedy to debunk.
The thought is that Google volition favour websites that walk wealth with it done pay-per-click advertising. This is simply false.
Google’s algorithm for ranking integrated hunt results is wholly abstracted from the 1 utilized to find PPC advertisement placements.
Running a paid hunt advertizing run done Google portion carrying retired SEO mightiness benefit your site for different reasons, but it won’t straight payment your ranking.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
4. Domain Age Is A Ranking Factor
This assertion is seated firmly successful the “confusing causation and correlation” camp.
Because a website has been astir for a agelong clip and is ranking well, property must be a ranking factor.
Google has debunked this story itself galore times.
In July 2019, Mueller replied to a station connected Twitter.com (recovered done Wayback Machine) that suggested that domain property was 1 of “200 signals of ranking” saying, “No, domain property helps nothing.”
Image from Twitter.com recovered done Wayback Machine, June 2024
The information down this story is that an older website has had much clip to bash things well.
For instance, a website that has been unrecorded and progressive for 10 years whitethorn good person acquired a precocious measurement of applicable backlinks to its cardinal pages.
A website that has been moving for little than six months volition beryllium improbable to vie with that.
The older website appears to beryllium ranking better, and the decision is that property indispensable beryllium the determining factor.
- Verdict: SEO myth
5. Tabbed Content Affects Rankings
This thought is 1 that has roots going backmost a agelong way.
The premise is that Google volition not delegate arsenic overmuch worth to the contented sitting down a tab oregon accordion.
For example, substance that is not viewable connected the archetypal load of a page.
Google again debunked this story successful March 2020, but it has been a contentious thought among galore SEO professionals for years.
In September 2018, Gary Illyes, Webmaster Trends Analyst astatine Google, answered a tweet thread astir utilizing tabs to show content.
His response:
“AFAIK, nothing’s changed here, Bill: we scale the content, and its value is afloat considered for ranking, but it mightiness not get bolded successful the snippets. It’s another, much method question of however that contented is surfaced by the site. Indexing does person limitations.”
If the contented is disposable successful the HTML, determination is nary crushed to presume that it is being devalued conscionable due to the fact that it is not evident to the idiosyncratic connected the archetypal load of the page. This is not an illustration of cloaking, and Google tin easy fetch the content.
As agelong arsenic determination is thing other that is stopping the substance from being viewed by Google, it should beryllium weighted the aforesaid arsenic copy, which isn’t successful tabs.
Want much clarification connected this? Then cheque retired this SEJ article that discusses this taxable successful detail.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
6. Google Uses Google Analytics Data In Rankings
This is simply a communal fearfulness among concern owners.
They survey their Google Analytics reports. They consciousness their mean sitewide bounce complaint is excessively high, oregon their clip connected leafage is excessively low.
So, they interest that Google volition comprehend their tract to beryllium debased prime due to the fact that of that. They fearfulness they won’t fertile good due to the fact that of it.
The story is that Google uses the information successful your Google Analytics relationship arsenic portion of its ranking algorithm.
It’s a story that has been astir for a agelong time.
Illyes has again debunked this thought simply with, “We don’t usage *anything* from Google analytics [sic] successful the “algo.”
Image from Twitter.com recovered done Wayback Machine, June 2024
More recently, John Mueller dispelled this thought yet again, saying, “That’s not going to happen” erstwhile helium received the proposition telling SEO pros that GA4 is simply a ranking origin would amended its uptake.
Image from Twitter.com recovered from Wayback Machine, June 2024
If we deliberation astir this logically, utilizing Google Analytics information arsenic a ranking origin would beryllium truly hard to police.
For instance, utilizing filters could manipulate information to marque it look similar the tract was performing successful a mode that it isn’t really.
What is bully show anyway?
High “time connected page” mightiness beryllium bully for immoderate long-form content.
Low “time connected page” could beryllium understandable for shorter content.
Is either 1 close oregon wrong?
Google would besides request to recognize the intricate ways successful which each Google Analytics relationship had been configured.
Some mightiness beryllium excluding each known bots, and others mightiness not. Some mightiness usage customized dimensions and transmission groupings, and others haven’t configured anything.
Using this information reliably would beryllium highly analyzable to do. Consider the hundreds of thousands of websites that usage different analytics programs.
How would Google dainty them?
- Verdict: SEO myth.
This story is different lawsuit of “causation, not correlation.”
A precocious sitewide bounce complaint mightiness beryllium indicative of a prime problem, oregon it mightiness not be. Low clip connected leafage could mean your tract isn’t engaging, oregon it could mean your contented is rapidly digestible.
These metrics springiness you clues arsenic to wherefore you mightiness not beryllium ranking well, they aren’t the origin of it.
PageRank is simply a nexus investigation algorithm utilized by Google to measurement the value of a webpage.
Google utilized to show a page’s PageRank people a fig up to 10 connected its toolbar. It stopped updating the PageRank displayed successful toolbars successful 2013.
In 2016, Google confirmed that the PageRank toolbar metric was not going to beryllium utilized going forward.
In the lack of PageRank, galore different third-party authorization scores person been developed.
Commonly known ones are:
- Moz’s Domain Authority and Page Authority scores.
- Majestic’s Trust Flow and Citation Flow.
- Ahrefs’ Domain Rating and URL Rating.
Some SEO pros usage these scores to find the “value” of a page.
That calculation tin ne'er beryllium an wholly close reflection of however a hunt motor values a page, however.
SEO pros volition sometimes notation to the ranking powerfulness of a website often successful conjunction with its backlink illustration and this, too, is known arsenic the domain’s authority.
You tin spot wherever the disorder lies.
Google representatives person dispelled the conception of a domain authorization metric utilized by them.
John Mueller said successful 2022:
“We don’t usage domain authority. We mostly effort to person our metrics arsenic granular arsenic possible, sometimes that’s not truthful easy, successful which lawsuit we look astatine things a spot broader (e.g., we’ve talked astir this successful regards to immoderate of the older prime updates).”
Image from Twitter.com recovered done Wayback Machine, June 2024
- Verdict: SEO myth.
8. Longer Content Is Better
You volition person decidedly heard it said earlier that longer contented ranks better.
More words connected a leafage automatically marque yours much rank-worthy than your competitor’s. This is “wisdom” that is often shared astir SEO forums without small grounds to substantiate it.
There are a batch of studies that person been released implicit the years that authorities facts astir the top-ranking webpages, specified arsenic “on mean pages successful the apical 10 positions successful the SERPs person implicit 1,450 words connected them.”
It would beryllium rather casual for idiosyncratic to instrumentality this accusation successful isolation and presume it means that pages request astir 1,500 words to fertile connected Page 1. That isn’t what the survey is saying, however.
Unfortunately, this is an illustration of correlation, not needfully causation.
Just due to the fact that the top-ranking pages successful a peculiar survey happened to person much words connected them than the pages ranking 11th and little does not marque connection number a ranking factor.
Mueller dispelled this myth yet again successful a Google SEO Office Hours successful February 2021.
“From our constituent of presumption the fig of words connected a leafage is not a prime factor, not a ranking factor.”
For much accusation connected however contented magnitude tin interaction SEO, cheque retired Sam Hollingsworth’s article.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
9. LSI Keywords Will Help You Rank
What precisely are LSI keywords? LSI stands for “latent semantic indexing.”
It is simply a method utilized successful accusation retrieval that allows concepts wrong the substance to beryllium analyzed and relationships betwixt them identified.
Words person nuances babelike connected their context. The connection “right” has a antithetic connotation erstwhile paired with “left” than erstwhile it is paired with “wrong.”
Humans tin rapidly gauge concepts successful a text. It is harder for machines to bash so.
The quality of machines to recognize the discourse and linking betwixt entities is cardinal to their knowing of concepts.
LSI is simply a immense measurement guardant for a machine’s quality to recognize text. What it isn’t is synonyms.
Unfortunately, the tract of LSI has been devolved by the SEO assemblage into the knowing that utilizing words that are akin oregon linked thematically volition boost rankings for words that aren’t expressly mentioned successful the text.
It’s simply not true. Google has gone acold beyond LSI successful its knowing of substance with the instauration of BERT, arsenic conscionable 1 example.
For much astir what LSI is and however it does oregon doesn’t impact rankings, instrumentality a look astatine this article.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
10. SEO Takes 3 Months
It helps america get retired of sticky conversations with our bosses oregon clients. It leaves a batch of wiggle country if you aren’t getting the results you promised. “SEO takes astatine slightest 3 months to person an effect.”
It is just to accidental that determination are immoderate changes that volition instrumentality clip for the hunt motor bots to process.
There is then, of course, immoderate clip to spot if those changes are having a affirmative oregon antagonistic effect. Then much clip mightiness beryllium needed to refine and tweak your work.
That doesn’t mean that immoderate enactment you transportation retired successful the sanction of SEO is going to person nary effect for 3 months. Day 90 of your enactment volition not beryllium erstwhile the ranking changes footwear in. There is simply a batch much to it than that.
If you are successful a precise low-competition market, targeting niche terms, you mightiness spot ranking changes arsenic soon arsenic Google recrawls your page. A competitory word could instrumentality overmuch longer to spot changes successful rank.
A survey by Semrush suggested that of the 28,000 domains they analyzed, lone 19% of domains started ranking successful the apical 10 positions wrong six months and managed to support those rankings for the remainder of the 13-month study.
This survey indicates that newer pages conflict to fertile high.
However, determination is much to SEO than ranking successful the apical 10 of Google.
For instance, a well-positioned Google Business Profile listing with large reviews tin wage dividends for a company. Bing, Yandex, and Baidu mightiness marque it easier for your marque to conquer the SERPs.
A tiny tweak to a leafage rubric could spot an betterment successful click-through rates. That could beryllium the aforesaid time if the hunt motor were to recrawl the leafage quickly.
Although it tin instrumentality a agelong clip to spot archetypal leafage rankings successful Google, it is naïve of america to trim SEO occurrence conscionable down to that.
Therefore, “SEO takes 3 months” simply isn’t accurate.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
11. Bounce Rate Is A Ranking Factor
Bounce rate is the percent of visits to your website that effect successful nary interactions beyond landing connected the page. It is typically measured by a website’s analytics program, specified arsenic Google Analytics.
Some SEO professionals person argued that bounce complaint is simply a ranking factor due to the fact that it is simply a measurement of quality.
Unfortunately, it is not a bully measurement of quality.
There are galore reasons wherefore a visitant mightiness onshore connected a webpage and permission again without interacting further with the site. They whitethorn good person work each the accusation they needed connected that leafage and near the tract to telephone the institution and publication an appointment.
In that instance, the visitant bouncing has resulted successful a pb for the company.
Although a visitant leaving a leafage having landed connected it could beryllium an indicator of mediocre prime content, it isn’t always. Therefore, it wouldn’t beryllium reliable capable for a hunt motor to usage arsenic a measurement of quality.
“Pogo-sticking,” oregon a visitant clicking connected a hunt effect and past returning to the SERPs, would beryllium a much reliable indicator of the prime of the landing page.
It would suggest that the contented of the leafage was not what the idiosyncratic was after, truthful overmuch truthful that they person returned to the hunt results to find different leafage oregon re-search.
John Mueller cleared this up (again) during Google Webmaster Central Office Hours successful June 2020. He was asked if sending users to a login leafage would look to beryllium a “bounce” to Google and harm their rankings:
“So, I deliberation determination is simply a spot of misconception here, that we’re looking astatine things similar the analytics bounce complaint erstwhile it comes to ranking websites, and that’s decidedly not the case.”
Back connected different Google Webmaster Central Office Hours successful July 2018, helium besides said:
“We effort not to usage signals similar that erstwhile it comes to search. So that’s thing wherever determination are tons of reasons wherefore users mightiness spell backmost and forth, oregon look astatine antithetic things successful the hunt results, oregon enactment conscionable concisely connected a leafage and determination backmost again. I deliberation that’s truly hard to refine and say, “well, we could crook this into a ranking factor.”
So, wherefore does this support coming up? Well, for a batch of people, it’s due to the fact that of this one paragraph successful Google’s How Search Works:
“Beyond looking astatine keywords, our systems besides analyse if contented is applicable to a query successful different ways. We besides usage aggregated and anonymised enactment information to measure whether Search results are applicable to queries.”
The contented with this is that Google doesn’t specify what this “aggregated and anonymised enactment data” is. This has led to a batch of speculation and of course, arguments.
My opinion? Until we person immoderate much conclusive studies, oregon perceive thing other from Google, we request to support investigating to find what this enactment information is.
For now, regarding the accepted explanation of a bounce, I’m leaning towards “myth.”
In itself, bounce complaint (measured done the likes of Google Analytics) is simply a precise noisy, easy manipulated figure. Could thing akin to a bounce beryllium a ranking signal? Absolutely, but it volition request to beryllium a reliable, repeatable information constituent that genuinely measures quality.
In the meantime, if your pages are not satisfying idiosyncratic intent, that is decidedly thing you request to enactment connected – not simply due to the fact that of bounce rate.
Fundamentally, your pages should promote users to interact, oregon if not that benignant of page, astatine slightest permission your tract with a affirmative marque association.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
12. It’s All About Backlinks
Backlinks are important – that’s without overmuch contention wrong the SEO community. However, precisely however important is inactive debated.
Some SEO pros volition archer you that backlinks are 1 of the galore tactics that volition power rankings, but they are not the astir important. Others volition archer you it’s the lone existent game-changer.
What we bash cognize is that the effectiveness of links has changed implicit time. Back successful the chaotic pre-Jagger days, link-building consisted of adding a nexus to your website wherever you could.
Forum comments had spun articles, and irrelevant directories were each bully sources of links.
It was casual to physique effectual links. It’s not truthful casual now.
Google has continued to marque changes to its algorithms that reward higher-quality, much applicable links and disregard oregon penalize “spammy” links.
However, the powerfulness of links to impact rankings is inactive great.
There volition beryllium immoderate industries that are truthful immature successful SEO that a tract tin fertile good without investing successful link-building, purely done the spot of their contented and method efficiency.
That’s not the lawsuit with astir industries.
Relevant backlinks will, of course, assistance with ranking, but they request to spell hand-in-hand with different optimizations. Your website inactive needs to person applicable content, and it indispensable beryllium crawlable.
If you privation your postulation to really bash thing erstwhile they deed your website, it’s decidedly not each astir backlinks.
Ranking is lone 1 portion of getting converting visitors to your site. The contented and usability of the tract are highly important successful idiosyncratic engagement.
Following the slew of Helpful Content updates and a amended knowing of what Google considers E-E-A-T, we cognize that contented prime is highly important.
Backlinks tin decidedly assistance to bespeak that a leafage would beryllium utile to a reader, but determination are galore different factors that would suggest that, too.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
13. Keywords In URLs Are Very Important
Cram your URLs afloat of keywords. It’ll help.
Unfortunately, it’s not rather arsenic almighty arsenic that.
John Mueller has said respective times that keywords successful a URL are a precise minor, lightweight ranking signal.
In a Google SEO Office Hours successful 2021, helium affirmed again:
“We usage the words successful a URL arsenic a very, precise lightweight factor. And from what I recall, this is chiefly thing that we would instrumentality into relationship erstwhile we haven’t had entree to the contented yet.
So, if this is the implicit archetypal clip we spot this URL and we don’t cognize however to classify its content, past we mightiness usage the words successful the URL arsenic thing to assistance fertile america better.
But arsenic soon arsenic we’ve crawled and indexed the contented there, past we person a batch much information.”
If you are looking to rewrite your URLs to see much keywords, you are apt to bash much harm than good.
The process of redirecting URLs en masse should beryllium erstwhile necessary, arsenic determination is ever a hazard erstwhile restructuring a site.
For the involvement of adding keywords to a URL? Not worthy it.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
14. Website Migrations Are All About Redirects
SEO professionals perceive this excessively often. If you are migrating a website, each you request to bash is retrieve to redirect immoderate URLs that are changing.
If lone this 1 were true.
In actuality, website migration is 1 of the astir fraught and analyzable procedures successful SEO.
A website changing its layout, content absorption strategy (CMS), domain, and/or contented tin each beryllium considered a website migration.
In each of those examples, determination are respective aspects that could impact however the hunt engines comprehend the quality and relevance of the pages to their targeted keywords.
As a result, determination are galore checks and configurations that request to hap if the tract is to support its rankings and integrated postulation – ensuring tracking hasn’t been lost, maintaining the aforesaid contented targeting, and making definite the search motor bots tin inactive entree the close pages.
All of this needs to beryllium considered erstwhile a website is importantly changing.
Redirecting URLs that are changing is simply a precise important portion of website migration. It is successful nary mode the lone happening to beryllium acrophobic about.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
15. Well-Known Websites Will Always Outrank Unknown Websites
It stands to crushed that a larger marque volition person resources that smaller brands bash not. As a result, much tin beryllium invested successful SEO.
More breathtaking contented pieces tin beryllium created, starring to a higher measurement of backlinks acquired. The marque sanction unsocial tin lend much credence to outreach attempts.
The existent question is, does Google algorithmically oregon manually boost large brands due to the fact that of their fame?
This 1 is simply a spot contentious.
Some radical accidental that Google favors large brands. Google says otherwise.
In 2009, Google released an algorithm update named “Vince.” This update had a immense interaction connected however brands were treated successful the SERPs.
Brands that were well-known offline saw ranking increases for wide competitory keywords. It stands to crushed that brand awareness tin assistance with find done Search.
It’s not needfully clip for smaller brands to propulsion successful the towel.
The Vince update falls precise overmuch successful enactment with different Google moves towards valuing authorization and quality.
Big brands are often much authoritative connected broad-level keywords than smaller contenders.
However, tiny brands tin inactive win.
Long-tail keyword targeting, niche merchandise lines, and section beingness tin each marque smaller brands much applicable to a hunt effect than established brands.
Yes, the likelihood are stacked successful favour of large brands, but it’s not intolerable to outrank them.
- Verdict: Not wholly information oregon myth.
16. Your Page Needs To Include ‘Near Me’ To Rank Well For Local SEO
It’s understandable that this story is inactive prevalent.
There is inactive a batch of absorption connected keyword hunt volumes successful the SEO industry, sometimes astatine the disbursal of considering idiosyncratic intent and however the hunt engines recognize it.
When a searcher is looking for thing with local intent, i.e., a spot oregon work applicable to a carnal location, the hunt engines volition instrumentality this into information erstwhile returning results.
With Google, you volition apt spot the Google Maps results arsenic good arsenic the modular integrated listings.
The Maps results are intelligibly centered astir the determination searched. However, truthful are the modular integrated listings erstwhile the hunt query denotes section intent.
So, wherefore bash “near me” searches confuse some?
A emblematic keyword probe workout mightiness output thing similar the following:
- “pizza edifice manhattan” – 110 searches per month.
- “pizza restaurants successful manhattan” – 110 searches per month.
- “best pizza edifice manhattan” – 90 searches per month.
- “best pizza restaurants successful manhattan” – 90 searches per month.
- “best pizza edifice successful manhattan”– 90 searches per month.
- “pizza restaurants adjacent me” – 90,500 searches per month.
With hunt measurement similar that, you would deliberation [pizza restaurants adjacent me] would beryllium the 1 to fertile for, right?
It is likely, however, that radical searching for [pizza edifice manhattan] are successful the Manhattan country oregon readying to question determination for pizza.
[pizza edifice adjacent me] has 90,500 searches crossed the USA. The likelihood is that the immense bulk of those searchers are not looking for Manhattan pizzas.
Google knows this and, therefore, volition service pizza edifice results applicable to the searcher’s location.
Therefore, the “near me” constituent of the hunt becomes little astir the keyword and much astir the intent down the keyword. Google volition conscionable see it to beryllium the determination the searcher is in.
So, bash you request to see “near me” successful your contented to fertile for those [near me] searches?
No, you request to beryllium relevant to the determination the searcher is in.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
17. Better Content Equals Better Rankings
It’s prevalent successful SEO forums and X (formally Twitter) threads. The communal ailment is, “My rival is ranking supra me, but I person astonishing content, and theirs is terrible.”
The outcry is 1 of indignation. After all, shouldn’t hunt engines reward sites for their “amazing” content?
This is some a story and sometimes a delusion.
The prime of contented is simply a subjective consideration. If it is your ain content, it’s harder inactive to beryllium objective.
Perhaps successful Google’s eyes, your contented isn’t amended than your competitors’ for the hunt presumption you are looking to fertile for.
Perhaps you don’t conscionable searcher intent arsenic good arsenic they do. Maybe you person “over-optimized” your contented and reduced its quality.
In immoderate instances, amended contented volition adjacent amended rankings. In others, the method show of the tract oregon its deficiency of section relevance whitethorn origin it to fertile lower.
Content is 1 origin wrong the ranking algorithms.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
18. You Need To Blog Every Day
This is simply a frustrating story due to the fact that it seems to person dispersed extracurricular of the SEO industry.
Google loves predominant content. You should adhd caller contented oregon tweak existing contented regular for “freshness.”
Where did this thought travel from?
Google had an algorithm update successful 2011 that rewards fresher results successful the SERPs.
This is because, for immoderate queries, the fresher the results, the amended the likelihood of accuracy.
For instance, if you hunt for [royal baby] successful the UK successful 2013, you volition beryllium served with quality articles astir Prince George. Search it again successful 2015, and you volition spot pages astir Princess Charlotte.
In 2018, you would spot reports astir Prince Louis astatine the apical of the Google SERPs, and successful 2019 it would beryllium babe Archie.
If you were to hunt [royal baby] successful 2021, soon aft the commencement of Lilibet, past seeing quality articles connected Prince George would apt beryllium unhelpful.
In this instance, Google discerns the user’s hunt intent and decides showing articles related to the newest UK royal babe would beryllium amended than showing an nonfiction that is arguably much rank-worthy owed to authority, etc.
What this algorithm update doesn’t mean is that newer contented volition ever outrank older content. Google decides if the “query deserves freshness” oregon not.
If it does, past the property of contented becomes a much important ranking factor.
This means that if you are creating contented purely to marque definite it is newer than competitors’ content, you are not needfully going to benefit.
If the query you are looking to fertile for does not merit freshness, i.e., [who is Prince William’s 3rd child?] a information that volition not change, past the property of contented volition not play a important portion successful rankings.
If you are penning contented each time reasoning it is keeping your website caller and, therefore, much rank-worthy, past you are apt wasting time.
It would beryllium amended to constitute well-considered, researched, and useful contented pieces little often and reserve your resources to marque those highly authoritative and shareable.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
19. You Can Optimize Copy Once & Then It’s Done
The operation “SEO optimized” transcript is simply a communal 1 successful agency-land.
It’s utilized arsenic a mode to explicate the process of creating transcript that volition beryllium applicable to often searched queries.
The occupation with this is that it suggests that erstwhile you person written that transcript – and ensured it adequately answers searchers’ queries – you tin determination on.
Unfortunately, implicit time, however searchers look for contented mightiness change. The keywords they use, the benignant of contented they privation could alter.
The hunt engines, too, whitethorn alteration what they consciousness is the astir applicable reply to the query. Perhaps the intent down the keyword is perceived differently.
The layout of the SERPs mightiness alter, meaning videos are being shown astatine the apical of the hunt results wherever antecedently it was conscionable webpage results.
If you look astatine a leafage lone erstwhile and past don’t proceed to update it and germinate it with idiosyncratic needs, past you hazard falling behind.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
20. Google Respects The Declared Canonical URL As The Preferred Version For Search Results
This tin beryllium precise frustrating. You person respective pages that are adjacent duplicates of each other. You cognize which 1 is your main page, the 1 you privation to rank, the “canonical.” You archer Google that done the specially selected “rel=canonical” tag.
You’ve chosen it. You’ve identified it successful the HTML.
Google ignores your wishes, and different of the duplicate pages ranks successful its place.
The thought that Google volition instrumentality your chosen leafage and dainty it similar the canonical retired of a acceptable of duplicates isn’t a challenging one.
It makes consciousness that the website proprietor would cognize champion which leafage should beryllium the 1 that ranks supra its cousins. However, Google volition sometimes disagree.
There whitethorn beryllium instances wherever different leafage from the acceptable is chosen by Google arsenic a amended campaigner to amusement successful the hunt results.
This could beryllium due to the fact that the leafage receives much backlinks from outer sites than your chosen page. It could beryllium that it’s included successful the sitemap oregon is being linked to your main navigation.
Essentially, the canonical tag is simply a awesome – 1 of galore that volition beryllium taken into information erstwhile Google chooses which leafage from a acceptable of duplicates should rank.
If you person conflicting signals connected your site, oregon externally, past your chosen canonical leafage whitethorn beryllium overlooked successful favour of different page.
Want to cognize if Google has selected different URL to beryllium the canonical contempt your canonical tag? In Google Search Console, successful the Index Coverage report, you mightiness spot this: “Duplicate, Google chose antithetic canonical than user.”
Google’s enactment documents helpfully explicate what this means:
“This leafage is marked arsenic canonical for a acceptable of pages, but Google thinks different URL makes a amended canonical. Google has indexed the leafage that we see canonical alternatively than this one.”
- Verdict: SEO myth.
21. Google Has 3 Top Ranking Factors
It’s links, content, and Rank Brain, right?
This thought that these are the three apical ranking factors seems to travel from a WebPromo Q&A successful 2016 with Andrei Lipattsev, a hunt prime elder strategist astatine Google astatine the clip (recovered done Wayback Machine; find this treatment astatine astir the 30-minute mark).
When questioned connected the “other two” apical ranking factors, the questioner assumed that Rank Brain was one, Lipattsev stated that links pointing to a site, and contented were the different two. He does clarify by saying:
“Third spot is simply a hotly contested issue. I think… It’s a comic one. Take this with a atom of salt. […] And truthful I guess, if you bash that, past you’ll spot elements of RankBrain having been progressive successful here, rewriting this query, applying it similar this implicit here… And truthful you’d say, ‘I spot this 2 times arsenic often arsenic the different thing, and 2 times arsenic often arsenic the different thing’. So it’s determination successful fig three.
It’s not similar having 3 links is ‘X’ important, and having 5 keywords is ‘Y’ important, and RankBrain is immoderate ‘Z’ origin that is besides someway important, and you multiply each of that … That’s not however this works.”
However it started, the conception prevails. A bully backlink profile, large copy, and “Rank Brain” benignant signals are what substance astir with rankings, according to galore SEO pros.
What we person to instrumentality into information erstwhile reviewing this thought is John Mueller’s effect to a question successful a 2017 English Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangout.
Mueller is asked if determination is simply a one-size-fits-all attack to the apical 3 ranking signals successful Google. His reply is simply a wide “No.”
He follows that connection with a treatment astir the timeliness of searches and however that mightiness necessitate antithetic hunt results to beryllium shown.
He besides mentions that depending connected the discourse of the search, antithetic results whitethorn request to beryllium shown, for instance, marque oregon shopping.
He continues to explicate that helium doesn’t deliberation that determination is 1 acceptable of ranking factors that tin beryllium declared the apical 3 that use to each hunt results each the time.
Within the “How Search Works” documentation it intelligibly states:
“To springiness you the astir utile information, Search algorithms look astatine galore factors and signals, including the words of your query, relevance and usability of pages, expertise of sources, and your determination and settings.
The value applied to each origin varies depending connected the quality of your query. For example, the freshness of the contented plays a bigger relation successful answering queries astir existent quality topics than it does astir dictionary definitions. ”
- Verdict: Not wholly existent oregon myth.
22. Use The Disavow File To Proactively Maintain A Site’s Link Profile
To disavow oregon not disavow — this question has popped up a batch implicit the years since Penguin 4.0.
Some SEO professionals are successful favour of adding immoderate nexus that could beryllium considered spammy to their site’s disavow file. Others are much assured that Google volition disregard them anyhow and prevention themselves the trouble.
It’s decidedly much nuanced than that.
In a 2019 Webmaster Central Office Hours Hangout, Mueller was asked astir the disavow instrumentality and whether we should person assurance that Google is ignoring mean (but not very) spammy links.
His reply indicated that determination are 2 instances wherever you mightiness privation to usage a disavow file:
- In cases wherever a manual action has been given.
- And wherever you mightiness deliberation if idiosyncratic from the webspam squad saw it, they would contented a manual action.
You mightiness not privation to adhd each spammy nexus to your disavow file. In practice, that could instrumentality a agelong clip if you person a precise disposable tract that accrues thousands of these links a month.
There volition beryllium immoderate links that are evidently spammy, and their acquisition is not a effect of enactment connected your part.
However, wherever they are a effect of immoderate less-than-awesome nexus gathering strategies (buying links, nexus exchanges, etc.) you whitethorn privation to proactively disavow them.
Read Roger Montti’s full breakdown of the 2019 speech with John Mueller to get a amended thought of the discourse astir this discussion.
- Verdict: Not a myth, but don’t discarded your clip unnecessarily.
23. Google Values Backlinks From All High Authority Domains
The amended the website authority, the bigger the interaction it volition person connected your site’s quality to rank. You volition perceive that successful galore SEO pitches, lawsuit meetings, and grooming sessions.
However, that’s not the full story.
For one, it’s arguable whether Google has a conception of domain authorization (see “Google Cares About Domain Authority” above).
And much importantly, it is the knowing that determination is simply a batch that goes into Google’s calculations of whether a nexus volition interaction a site’s quality to fertile highly oregon not.
Relevancy, contextual clues, no-follow nexus attributes. None of these should beryllium ignored erstwhile chasing a nexus from a precocious “domain authority” website.
John Mueller besides threw a feline among the pigeons during a unrecorded Search Off the Record podcast recorded astatine BrightonSEO successful 2022 erstwhile he said:
“And to immoderate extent, links volition ever beryllium thing that we attraction astir due to the fact that we person to find pages somehow. It’s similar however bash you find a leafage connected the web without immoderate notation to it?” But my conjecture is implicit time, it won’t beryllium specified a large origin arsenic sometimes it is today. I deliberation already, that’s thing that’s been changing rather a bit.”
- Verdict: Myth.
24. You Cannot Rank A Page Without Lightning-Fast Loading Speed
There are galore reasons to marque your pages fast: usability, crawlability, and conversion. Arguably, it is important for the health and show of your website, and that should beryllium capable to marque it a priority.
However, is it thing that is perfectly cardinal to ranking your website?
As this Google Search Central post from 2010 suggests, it was decidedly thing that factored into the ranking algorithms. Back erstwhile it was published, Google stated:
“While tract velocity is simply a caller signal, it doesn’t transportation arsenic overmuch value arsenic the relevance of a page. Currently, less than 1% of hunt queries are affected by the tract velocity awesome successful our implementation and the awesome for tract velocity lone applies for visitors searching successful English connected Google.com astatine this point.”
Is it inactive lone affecting specified a debased percent of visitors?
In 2021, the Google Page Experience system, which incorporates the Core Web Vitals for which velocity is important, rolled retired connected mobile. It was followed successful 2022 with a rollout of the strategy to desktop.
This was met with a flurry of enactment from SEO pros, trying to get acceptable for the update.
Many comprehend it to beryllium thing that would marque oregon interruption their site’s ranking potential. However, implicit time, Google representatives have downplayed the ranking effect of Core Web Vitals.
More recently, successful May 2023, Google introduced Interaction to Next Paint (INP) to the Core Web Vitals to regenerate First Input Delay (FID).
Google claims that INP helps to woody with immoderate of the limitations recovered with FID. This alteration successful however a page’s responsiveness is measured shows that Google inactive cares astir accurately measuring idiosyncratic experience.
From Google’s erstwhile statements and caller absorption connected Core Web Vitals, we tin spot that load velocity continues to beryllium an important ranking factor.
However, it volition not needfully origin your website to dramatically summation oregon alteration successful rankings.
Google representatives Gary Illyes, Martin Splitt, and John Mueller hypothesized successful 2021 during a “Search disconnected the Record” podcast astir the weighting of velocity arsenic a ranking factor.
Their treatment drew retired the reasoning astir leafage load velocity arsenic a ranking metric and however it would request to beryllium considered a reasonably lightweight signal.
They went connected to speech astir it being much of a tie-breaker, arsenic you tin marque an bare leafage lightning-fast, but it volition not service overmuch usage for a searcher.
John Mueller reinforced this successful 2022 during Google SEO Office Hours erstwhile helium said:
“Core Web Vitals is decidedly a ranking factor. We person that for mobile and desktop now. It is based connected what users really spot and not benignant of a theoretical trial of your pages […] What you don’t thin to spot is large ranking changes wide for that.
But rather, you would spot changes for queries wherever we person akin contented successful the hunt results. So if idiosyncratic is searching for your institution name, we would not amusement immoderate random blog, conscionable due to the fact that it’s a small spot faster, alternatively of your homepage.
We would amusement your homepage, adjacent if it’s precise slow. On the different hand, if idiosyncratic is searching for, I don’t know, moving shoes, and determination are tons of radical penning astir moving shoes, past that’s wherever the velocity facet does play a spot much of a role.”
With this successful mind, tin we see leafage velocity a large ranking factor?
My sentiment is no, leafage velocity is decidedly 1 of the ways Google decides which pages should fertile supra others, but not a large one.
- Verdict: Myth.
25. Crawl Budget Isn’t An Issue
Crawl fund – the thought that each clip Googlebot visits your website, determination is simply a constricted fig of resources it volition sojourn – isn’t a contentious issue. However, however overmuch attraction should beryllium paid to it is.
For instance, galore SEO professionals volition see crawl fund optimization a cardinal portion of immoderate method SEO roadmap. Others volition lone see it if a tract reaches a definite size oregon complexity.
Google is simply a institution with finite resources. It cannot perchance crawl each azygous leafage of each tract each clip its bots sojourn them. Therefore, immoderate of the sites that get visited mightiness not spot each of their pages crawled each time.
Google has helpfully created a usher for owners of ample and often updated websites to assistance them recognize however to alteration their sites to beryllium crawled.
In the guide, Google states:
“If your tract does not person a ample fig of pages that alteration rapidly, oregon if your pages look to beryllium crawled the aforesaid time that they are published, you don’t request to work this guide; simply keeping your sitemap up to day and checking your scale sum regularly is adequate.”
Therefore, it would look that Google is successful favour of immoderate sites paying attraction to its advice connected managing crawl budget, but doesn’t see it indispensable for all.
For immoderate sites, peculiarly ones that person a analyzable method setup and galore hundreds of thousands of pages, managing crawl fund is important. For those with a fistful of easy crawled pages, it isn’t.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
26. There Is A Right Way To Do SEO
This is astir apt a story successful galore industries, but it seems prevalent successful SEO. There is simply a batch of gatekeeping successful SEO societal media, forums, and chats.
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.
We cognize immoderate halfway tenets astir SEO.
Usually, thing is stated by a hunt motor typical that has been dissected, tested, and yet declared true.
The remainder is simply a effect of idiosyncratic and corporate proceedings and error, testing, and experience.
Processes are highly invaluable wrong SEO concern functions, but they person to germinate and beryllium applied appropriately.
Different websites wrong antithetic industries volition respond to changes successful ways others would not. Altering a meta rubric truthful it is nether 60 characters agelong mightiness assistance the click-through complaint for 1 leafage and not for another.
Ultimately, we person to clasp immoderate SEO proposal we’re fixed lightly earlier deciding whether it is close for the website you are moving on.
- Verdict: SEO myth.
When Can Something Appear To Be A Myth
Sometimes an SEO method tin beryllium written disconnected arsenic a story by others purely due to the fact that they person not experienced occurrence from carrying retired this enactment for their ain site.
It is important to retrieve that each website has its ain industry, acceptable of competitors, the exertion powering it, and different factors that marque it unique.
Blanket exertion of techniques to each website and expecting them to person the aforesaid result is naive.
Someone whitethorn not person had occurrence with a method erstwhile they person tried it successful their highly competitory vertical.
It doesn’t mean it won’t assistance idiosyncratic successful a little competitory manufacture person success.
Causation & Correlation Being Confused
Sometimes, SEO myths originate due to the fact that of an inappropriate transportation betwixt an enactment that was carried retired and a emergence successful integrated hunt performance.
If an SEO has seen a payment from thing they did, past it is earthy that they would counsel others to effort the same.
Unfortunately, we’re not ever large astatine separating causation and correlation.
Just due to the fact that rankings oregon click-through rates accrued astir the aforesaid clip arsenic you implemented a caller maneuver doesn’t mean it caused the increase. There could beryllium different factors astatine play.
Soon, an SEO story volition originate from an overeager SEO who wants to stock what they incorrectly judge to beryllium a aureate ticket.
Steering Clear Of SEO Myths
It tin prevention you from experiencing headaches, mislaid revenue, and a full batch of clip if you larn to spot SEO myths and enactment accordingly.
Test
The cardinal to not falling for SEO myths is making definite you tin trial proposal whenever possible.
If you person been fixed the proposal that structuring your leafage titles a definite mode volition assistance your pages fertile amended for their chosen keywords, past effort it with 1 oregon 2 pages first.
This tin assistance you measurement whether making a alteration crossed galore pages volition beryllium worthy the clip earlier you perpetrate to it.
Is Google Just Testing?
Sometimes, determination volition beryllium a large uproar successful the SEO assemblage due to the fact that of changes successful the mode Google displays oregon orders hunt results.
These changes are often tested successful the chaotic earlier they are rolled retired to much hunt results.
Once a large alteration has been spotted by 1 oregon 2 SEO pros, proposal connected however to optimize for it begins to spread.
Remember the favicons successful the desktop hunt results? The upset that caused the SEO manufacture (and Google users successful general) was vast.
Suddenly, articles sprang up astir the value of favicons successful attracting users to your hunt results. There was hardly clip to survey whether favicons would interaction the click-through complaint that much.
Because conscionable similar that, Google changed it back.
Before you leap for the latest SEO proposal being dispersed astir Twitter arsenic a effect of a alteration by Google, hold to spot if it volition hold.
It could beryllium that the proposal that appears dependable present volition rapidly go a story if Google rolls backmost changes.
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