How To Spot SEO Myths: 26 Common SEO Myths, Debunked

Jul 10, 2024 05:00 PM - 5 months ago 99599

SEO is simply a complex, vast, and sometimes mysterious practice. There are a batch of aspects to SEO that tin lead to confusion.

Not everyone will work together pinch what SEO entails – wherever method SEO stops and improvement begins.

What besides doesn’t thief is nan 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 do you cognize who to trust?

Even Google labor tin sometimes adhd to nan confusion. They struggle to specify their ain updates and systems and sometimes connection proposal that conflicts pinch 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 rumor is that we simply don’t cognize precisely really the hunt engines work. Due to this, overmuch of what we do arsenic SEO professionals is proceedings and correction and knowledgeable guesswork.

When you are learning astir SEO, it tin beryllium difficult to trial retired each nan claims you hear.

That’s erstwhile nan SEO myths statesman to return hold. Before you cognize it, you’re proudly telling your statement head that you’re readying to “AI Overview optimize” your website copy.

SEO myths tin beryllium busted a batch of nan clip pinch a region and immoderate consideration.

How, exactly, would Google beryllium capable to measurement that? Would that really use nan extremity personification successful immoderate way?

There is simply a threat successful SEO of considering nan hunt engines to beryllium omnipotent, and because of this, chaotic myths astir really they understand and measurement our websites commencement to grow.

What Is An SEO Myth?

Before we debunk immoderate communal SEO myths, we should first understand what forms they take.

Untested Wisdom

Myths successful SEO thin to return nan shape of handed-down contented that isn’t tested.

As a result, thing that mightiness good person nary effect connected driving qualified integrated postulation to a tract gets treated for illustration it matters.

Minor Factors Blown Out Of Proportion

SEO myths mightiness besides beryllium thing that has a mini effect connected integrated rankings aliases conversion but are fixed excessively overmuch importance.

This mightiness beryllium a “tick box” workout that is hailed arsenic being a captious facet successful SEO success, aliases simply an activity that mightiness only origin your tract to eke up if everything other pinch your title was genuinely equal.

Outdated Advice

Myths tin originate simply because what utilized to beryllium effective successful helping sites rank and person good nary longer does but is still being advised. It mightiness beryllium that thing utilized to activity really well.

Over time, nan algorithms person grown smarter. The nationalist is much adverse to being marketed to.

Simply, what was erstwhile bully proposal is now defunct.

Google Being Misunderstood

Many times, nan commencement of a story is Google itself.

Unfortunately, a somewhat obscure aliases 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 nan backmost of a flippant remark a Googler made successful jest.

SEO myths tin beryllium based connected fact, aliases possibly these are, much accurately, SEO legends?

In nan lawsuit of Google-born myths, it tends to beryllium that nan truth has been truthful distorted by nan SEO industry’s mentation of nan connection that it nary longer resembles useful information.

26 Common SEO Myths

So, now that we cognize what causes and perpetuates SEO myths, let’s find retired nan truth down immoderate of nan much communal ones.

1. The Google Sandbox And Honeymoon Effects

Some SEO professionals judge that Google will automatically suppress caller websites successful nan integrated hunt results for a play of clip earlier they are capable to rank much freely.

Others propose location is simply a benignant of Honeymoon Period, during which Google will rank caller contented highly to trial what users deliberation of it.

The contented would beryllium promoted to guarantee much users spot it. Signals for illustration click-through complaint and bounces backmost to nan hunt motor results pages (SERPs) would past beryllium utilized to measurement if nan contented is good received and deserves to stay classed highly.

There is, however, nan Google Privacy Sandbox. This is designed to thief support peoples’ privateness online. This is simply a different sandbox from nan 1 that allegedly suppresses caller websites.

When asked specifically astir nan Honeymoon Effect and nan rankings Sandbox, John Mueller answered:

“In nan SEO world, this is sometimes called benignant of for illustration a sandbox wherever Google is for illustration keeping things backmost to forestall caller pages from showing up, which is not nan case.

Or immoderate group telephone it for illustration nan honeymoon play wherever caller contented comes retired and Google really loves it and tries to beforehand it.

And it’s again not nan lawsuit that we’re explicitly trying to beforehand caller contented aliases demote caller content.

It’s just, we don’t cognize and we person to make assumptions.

And past sometimes those assumptions are correct and thing really changes complete time.

Sometimes things settee down a small spot lower, sometimes a small spot higher.”

So, location is nary systematic promotion aliases demotion of caller contented by Google, but what you mightiness beryllium noticing is that Google’s assumptions are based connected nan remainder of nan 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 nan web, Google will penalize you for it.

The cardinal to knowing what is really going connected present is knowing nan quality betwixt algorithmic suppression and manual action.

A manual action, nan business that tin consequence successful webpages being removed from Google’s index, will beryllium actioned by a quality astatine Google.

The website proprietor will beryllium notified done Google Search Console.

An algorithmic suppression occurs erstwhile your page cannot rank good owed to it being caught by a select 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 nan original big of nan transcript is much applicable to nan hunt query than yours.

As location is nary use to having some successful nan hunt results, yours gets suppressed. This is not a penalty. This is nan algorithm doing its job.

There are immoderate content-related manual actions, but essentially, copying 1 aliases 2 pages of personification else’s contented is not going to trigger them.

It is, however, perchance going to onshore you successful different problem if you person nary ineligible correct to usage that content. It besides tin detract from nan worth your website brings to nan user.

What astir contented that is duplicated crossed your ain site? Mueller clarifies that duplicate contented is not a antagonistic ranking factor. If location are aggregate pages pinch nan aforesaid content, Google whitethorn take 1 to beryllium nan canonical page, and nan others will 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 will favour websites that walk money pinch it done pay-per-click advertising. This is simply false.

Google’s algorithm for ranking integrated hunt results is wholly abstracted from nan 1 utilized to find PPC advertisement placements.

Running a paid hunt advertizing run done Google while carrying retired SEO mightiness benefit your site for different reasons, but it won’t straight use your ranking.

Verdict: SEO myth.

4. Domain Age Is A Ranking Factor

This declare is seated firmly successful nan “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 truth down this story is that an older website has had much clip to do 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 will beryllium improbable to compete pinch that.

The older website appears to beryllium ranking better, and nan conclusion is that property must beryllium nan 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 will not delegate arsenic overmuch worth to nan contented sitting down a tab aliases accordion.

For example, matter that is not viewable connected nan first 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 nan content, and its weight is afloat considered for ranking, but it mightiness not get bolded successful nan snippets. It’s another, much method mobility of really that contented is surfaced by nan site. Indexing does person limitations.”

If nan contented is visible successful nan HTML, location is nary logic to presume that it is being devalued conscionable because it is not evident to nan personification connected nan first load of nan page. This is not an illustration of cloaking, and Google tin easy fetch nan content.

As agelong arsenic location is thing other that is stopping nan matter from being viewed by Google, it should beryllium weighted nan aforesaid arsenic copy, which isn’t successful tabs.

Want much explanation 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 business owners.

They study their Google Analytics reports. They consciousness their mean sitewide bounce complaint is excessively high, aliases their clip connected page is excessively low.

So, they interest that Google will comprehend their tract to beryllium debased value because of that. They fearfulness they won’t rank good because of it.

The story is that Google uses nan 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 nan “algo.”

"We don't usage *anything* from Google Analytics successful nan 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 he received nan proposal telling SEO pros that GA4 is simply a ranking facet 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 facet would beryllium really difficult to police.

For instance, utilizing filters could manipulate information to make it look for illustration nan tract was performing successful a measurement that it isn’t really.

What is bully capacity 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 correct aliases wrong?

Google would besides request to understand nan 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 civilization dimensions and transmission groupings, and others haven’t configured anything.

Using this information reliably would beryllium highly analyzable to do. Consider nan 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 suggestive of a value problem, aliases it mightiness not be. Low clip connected page could mean your tract isn’t engaging, aliases it could mean your contented is quickly digestible.

These metrics springiness you clues arsenic to why you mightiness not beryllium ranking well, they aren’t nan origin of it.

7. Google Cares About Domain Authority

PageRank is simply a nexus study algorithm utilized by Google to measurement nan value of a webpage.

Google utilized to show a page’s PageRank people a number up to 10 connected its toolbar. It stopped updating nan PageRank displayed successful toolbars successful 2013.

In 2016, Google confirmed that nan PageRank toolbar metric was not going to beryllium utilized going forward.

In nan absence of PageRank, galore different third-party authority 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 nan “value” of a page.

That calculation tin ne'er beryllium an wholly meticulous reflection of really a hunt motor values a page, however.

SEO pros will sometimes mention to nan ranking powerfulness of a website often successful conjunction pinch its backlink floor plan and this, too, is known arsenic nan domain’s authority.

You tin spot wherever nan disorder lies.

Google representatives person dispelled nan conception of a domain authority 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 nan older value updates).”

Image from Twitter.com recovered done Wayback Machine, June 2024

Verdict: SEO myth.

8. Longer Content Is Better

You will person decidedly heard it said earlier that longer contented ranks better.

More words connected a page automatically make 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 complete nan years that authorities facts astir nan top-ranking webpages, specified arsenic “on mean pages successful nan apical 10 positions successful nan SERPs person complete 1,450 words connected them.”

It would beryllium rather easy for personification to return this accusation successful isolation and presume it intends that pages request astir 1,500 words to rank connected Page 1. That isn’t what nan study is saying, however.

Unfortunately, this is an illustration of correlation, not needfully causation.

Just because nan top-ranking pages successful a peculiar study happened to person much words connected them than nan pages ranking 11th and little does not make connection count a ranking factor.

Mueller dispelled this myth yet again successful a Google SEO Office Hours successful February 2021.

“From our constituent of position nan number of words connected a page is not a value factor, not a ranking factor.”

For much accusation connected really contented magnitude tin effect 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 nan matter to beryllium analyzed and relationships betwixt them identified.

Words person nuances limited connected their context. The connection “right” has a different connotation erstwhile paired pinch “left” than erstwhile it is paired pinch “wrong.”

Humans tin quickly gauge concepts successful a text. It is harder for machines to do so.

The expertise of machines to understand nan discourse and linking betwixt entities is basal to their knowing of concepts.

LSI is simply a immense measurement guardant for a machine’s expertise to understand text. What it isn’t is synonyms.

Unfortunately, nan section of LSI has been devolved by nan SEO organization into nan knowing that utilizing words that are akin aliases linked thematically will boost rankings for words that aren’t expressly mentioned successful nan text.

It’s simply not true. Google has gone acold beyond LSI successful its knowing of matter pinch nan preamble of BERT, arsenic conscionable 1 example.

For much astir what LSI is and really it does aliases doesn’t impact rankings, return a look astatine this article.

Verdict: SEO myth.

10. SEO Takes 3 Months

It helps america get retired of sticky conversations pinch our bosses aliases clients. It leaves a batch of wiggle room if you aren’t getting nan results you promised. “SEO takes astatine slightest 3 months to person an effect.”

It is adjacent to opportunity that location are immoderate changes that will return clip for nan hunt motor bots to process.

There is then, of course, immoderate clip to spot if those changes are having a affirmative aliases antagonistic effect. Then much clip mightiness beryllium needed to refine and tweak your work.

That doesn’t mean that immoderate activity you transportation retired successful nan sanction of SEO is going to person nary effect for 3 months. Day 90 of your activity will not beryllium erstwhile nan ranking changes footwear in. There is simply a batch much to it than that.

If you are successful a very low-competition market, targeting niche terms, you mightiness spot ranking changes arsenic soon arsenic Google recrawls your page. A competitory word could return overmuch longer to spot changes successful rank.

A study by Semrush suggested that of nan 28,000 domains they analyzed, only 19% of domains started ranking successful nan apical 10 positions wrong six months and managed to support those rankings for nan remainder of nan 13-month study.

This study indicates that newer pages struggle to rank high.

However, location is much to SEO than ranking successful nan apical 10 of Google.

For instance, a well-positioned Google Business Profile listing pinch awesome reviews tin salary dividends for a company. Bing, Yandex, and Baidu mightiness make it easier for your marque to conquer nan SERPs.

A mini tweak to a page title could spot an betterment successful click-through rates. That could beryllium nan aforesaid time if nan hunt motor were to recrawl nan page quickly.

Although it tin return a agelong clip to spot first page 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 nan percent of visits to your website that consequence successful nary interactions beyond landing connected nan 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 because it is simply a measurement of quality.

Unfortunately, it is not a bully measurement of quality.

There are galore reasons why a visitant mightiness onshore connected a webpage and time off again without interacting further pinch nan site. They whitethorn good person publication each nan accusation they needed connected that page and near nan tract to telephone nan institution and book an appointment.

In that instance, nan visitant bouncing has resulted successful a lead for nan company.

Although a visitant leaving a page having landed connected it could beryllium an parameter of mediocre value 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,” aliases a visitant clicking connected a hunt consequence and past returning to nan SERPs, would beryllium a much reliable parameter of nan value of nan landing page.

It would propose that nan contented of nan page was not what nan personification was after, truthful overmuch truthful that they person returned to nan hunt results to find different page aliases 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 page would look to beryllium a “bounce” to Google and harm their rankings:

“So, I deliberation location is simply a spot of misconception here, that we’re looking astatine things for illustration nan analytics bounce complaint erstwhile it comes to ranking websites, and that’s decidedly not nan case.”

Back connected different Google Webmaster Central Office Hours successful July 2018, he besides said:

“We effort not to usage signals for illustration that erstwhile it comes to search. So that’s thing wherever location are tons of reasons why users mightiness spell backmost and forth, aliases look astatine different things successful nan hunt results, aliases enactment conscionable concisely connected a page and move backmost again. I deliberation that’s really difficult to refine and say, “well, we could move this into a ranking factor.”

So, why does this support coming up? Well, for a batch of people, it’s because 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 relationship information to measure whether Search results are applicable to queries.”

The rumor pinch this is that Google doesn’t specify what this “aggregated and anonymised relationship data” is. This has led to a batch of speculation and of course, arguments.

My opinion? Until we person immoderate much conclusive studies, aliases perceive thing other from Google, we request to support testing to find what this relationship information is.

For now, regarding nan accepted meaning of a bounce, I’m leaning towards “myth.”

In itself, bounce complaint (measured done nan likes of Google Analytics) is simply a very noisy, easy manipulated figure. Could thing akin to a bounce beryllium a ranking signal? Absolutely, but it will request to beryllium a reliable, repeatable information constituent that genuinely measures quality.

In nan meantime, if your pages are not satisfying personification intent, that is decidedly thing you request to activity connected – not simply because of bounce rate.

Fundamentally, your pages should promote users to interact, aliases if not that benignant of page, astatine slightest time off your tract pinch a affirmative marque association.

Verdict: SEO myth.

12. It’s All About Backlinks

Backlinks are important – that’s without overmuch contention wrong nan SEO community. However, precisely really important is still debated.

Some SEO pros will show you that backlinks are 1 of nan galore strategies that will power rankings, but they are not nan astir important. Others will show you it’s nan only existent game-changer.

What we do cognize is that nan effectiveness of links has changed complete time. Back successful nan 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 easy to build effective links. It’s not truthful easy now.

Google has continued to make changes to its algorithms that reward higher-quality, much applicable links and disregard aliases penalize “spammy” links.

However, nan powerfulness of links to impact rankings is still great.

There will beryllium immoderate industries that are truthful immature successful SEO that a tract tin rank good without investing successful link-building, purely done nan spot of their contented and method efficiency.

That’s not nan lawsuit pinch astir industries.

Relevant backlinks will, of course, thief pinch ranking, but they request to spell hand-in-hand pinch different optimizations. Your website still needs to person applicable content, and it must beryllium crawlable.

If you want your postulation to really do thing erstwhile they deed your website, it’s decidedly not each astir backlinks.

Ranking is only 1 portion of getting converting visitors to your site. The contented and usability of nan tract are highly important successful personification engagement.

Following nan slew of Helpful Content updates and a amended knowing of what Google considers E-E-A-T, we cognize that contented value is highly important.

Backlinks tin decidedly thief to bespeak that a page would beryllium useful to a reader, but location are galore different factors that would propose 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 powerful arsenic that.

John Mueller has said respective times that keywords successful a URL are a very minor, lightweight ranking signal.

In a Google SEO Office Hours successful 2021, he affirmed again:

“We usage nan words successful a URL arsenic a very, very lightweight factor. And from what I recall, this is chiefly thing that we would return into relationship erstwhile we haven’t had entree to nan contented yet.

So, if this is nan absolute first clip we spot this URL and we don’t cognize really to categorize its content, past we mightiness usage nan words successful nan URL arsenic thing to thief rank america better.

But arsenic soon arsenic we’ve crawled and indexed nan 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 do much harm than good.

The process of redirecting URLs en masse should beryllium erstwhile necessary, arsenic location is ever a consequence erstwhile restructuring a site.

For nan liking 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 do is retrieve to redirect immoderate URLs that are changing.

If only this 1 were true.

In actuality, website migration is 1 of nan astir fraught and analyzable procedures successful SEO.

A website changing its layout, content guidance strategy (CMS), domain, and/or contented tin each beryllium considered a website migration.

In each of those examples, location are respective aspects that could impact really nan hunt engines comprehend nan quality and relevance of nan pages to their targeted keywords.

As a result, location are galore checks and configurations that request to hap if nan tract is to support its rankings and integrated postulation – ensuring search hasn’t been lost, maintaining nan aforesaid contented targeting, and making judge nan search motor bots tin still entree nan correct pages.

All of this needs to beryllium considered erstwhile a website is importantly changing.

Redirecting URLs that are changing is simply a very important portion of website migration. It is successful nary measurement nan only point to beryllium concerned about.

Verdict: SEO myth.

15. Well-Known Websites Will Always Outrank Unknown Websites

It stands to logic that a larger marque will person resources that smaller brands do 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 mobility is, does Google algorithmically aliases manually boost large brands because of their fame?

This 1 is simply a spot contentious.

Some group opportunity that Google favors large brands. Google says otherwise.

In 2009, Google released an algorithm update named “Vince.” This update had a immense effect connected really brands were treated successful nan SERPs.

Brands that were well-known offline saw ranking increases for wide competitory keywords. It stands to logic that brand awareness tin thief pinch find done Search.

It’s not needfully clip for smaller brands to propulsion successful nan towel.

The Vince update falls very overmuch successful statement pinch different Google moves towards valuing authority and quality.

Big brands are often much charismatic connected broad-level keywords than smaller contenders.

However, mini brands tin still win.

Long-tail keyword targeting, niche merchandise lines, and section beingness tin each make smaller brands much applicable to a hunt consequence than established brands.

Yes, nan likelihood are stacked successful favour of large brands, but it’s not intolerable to outrank them.

Verdict: Not wholly truth aliases myth.

16. Your Page Needs To Include ‘Near Me’ To Rank Well For Local SEO

It’s understandable that this story is still prevalent.

There is still a batch of attraction connected keyword hunt volumes successful nan SEO industry, sometimes astatine nan disbursal of considering personification intent and really nan hunt engines understand it.

When a searcher is looking for thing pinch local intent, i.e., a spot aliases work applicable to a beingness location, nan hunt engines will return this into information erstwhile returning results.

With Google, you will apt spot nan Google Maps results arsenic good arsenic nan modular integrated listings.

The Maps results are intelligibly centered astir nan location searched. However, truthful are nan modular integrated listings erstwhile nan hunt query denotes section intent.

So, why do “near me” searches confuse some?

A emblematic keyword investigation workout mightiness output thing for illustration nan 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 for illustration that, you would deliberation [pizza restaurants adjacent me] would beryllium nan 1 to rank for, right?

It is likely, however, that group searching for [pizza edifice manhattan] are successful nan Manhattan area aliases readying to recreation location for pizza.

[pizza edifice adjacent me] has 90,500 searches crossed nan USA. The likelihood is that nan immense mostly of those searchers are not looking for Manhattan pizzas.

Google knows this and, therefore, will service pizza edifice results applicable to nan searcher’s location.

Therefore, nan “near me” constituent of nan hunt becomes little astir nan keyword and much astir nan intent down nan keyword. Google will conscionable see it to beryllium nan location nan searcher is in.

So, do you request to see “near me” successful your contented to rank for those [near me] searches?

No, you request to beryllium relevant to nan location nan 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 title is, “My competitor 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 value of contented is simply a subjective consideration. If it is your ain content, it’s harder still to beryllium objective.

Perhaps successful Google’s eyes, your contented isn’t amended than your competitors’ for nan hunt position you are looking to rank for.

Perhaps you don’t meet searcher intent arsenic good arsenic they do. Maybe you person “over-optimized” your contented and reduced its quality.

In immoderate instances, amended contented will adjacent amended rankings. In others, nan method capacity of nan tract aliases its deficiency of section relevance whitethorn origin it to rank lower.

Content is 1 facet wrong nan ranking algorithms.

Verdict: SEO myth.

18. You Need To Blog Every Day

This is simply a frustrating story because it seems to person dispersed extracurricular of nan SEO industry.

Google loves predominant content. You should adhd caller contented aliases tweak existing contented regular for “freshness.”

Where did this thought travel from?

Google had an algorithm update successful 2011 that rewards fresher results successful nan SERPs.

This is because, for immoderate queries, nan fresher nan results, nan amended nan likelihood of accuracy.

For instance, if you hunt for [royal baby] successful nan UK successful 2013, you will beryllium served pinch news articles astir Prince George. Search it again successful 2015, and you will spot pages astir Princess Charlotte.

In 2018, you would spot reports astir Prince Louis astatine nan apical of nan Google SERPs, and successful 2019 it would beryllium babe Archie.

If you were to hunt [royal baby] successful 2021, soon aft nan commencement of Lilibet, past seeing news articles connected Prince George would apt beryllium unhelpful.

In this instance, Google discerns nan user’s hunt intent and decides showing articles related to nan newest UK royal babe would beryllium amended than showing an article that is arguably much rank-worthy owed to authority, etc.

What this algorithm update doesn’t mean is that newer contented will ever outrank older content. Google decides if nan “query deserves freshness” aliases not.

If it does, past nan property of contented becomes a much important ranking factor.

This intends that if you are creating contented purely to make judge it is newer than competitors’ content, you are not needfully going to benefit.

If nan query you are looking to rank for does not merit freshness, i.e., [who is Prince William’s 3rd child?] a truth that will not change, past nan property of contented will 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 make those highly charismatic and shareable.

Verdict: SEO myth.

19. You Can Optimize Copy Once & Then It’s Done

The building “SEO optimized” transcript is simply a communal 1 successful agency-land.

It’s utilized arsenic a measurement to explicate nan process of creating transcript that will beryllium applicable to often searched queries.

The problem pinch this is that it suggests that erstwhile you person written that transcript – and ensured it adequately answers searchers’ queries – you tin move on.

Unfortunately, complete time, really searchers look for contented mightiness change. The keywords they use, nan type of contented they want could alter.

The hunt engines, too, whitethorn alteration what they consciousness is nan astir applicable reply to nan query. Perhaps nan intent down nan keyword is perceived differently.

The layout of nan SERPs mightiness alter, meaning videos are being shown astatine nan apical of nan hunt results wherever antecedently it was conscionable webpage results.

If you look astatine a page only erstwhile and past don’t proceed to update it and germinate it pinch personification needs, past you consequence falling behind.

Verdict: SEO myth.

20. Google Respects The Declared Canonical URL As The Preferred Version For Search Results

This tin beryllium very frustrating. You person respective pages that are adjacent duplicates of each other. You cognize which 1 is your main page, nan 1 you want to rank, nan “canonical.” You show Google that done nan specially selected “rel=canonical” tag.

You’ve chosen it. You’ve identified it successful nan HTML.

Google ignores your wishes, and different of nan copy pages ranks successful its place.

The thought that Google will return your chosen page and dainty it for illustration nan canonical retired of a group of duplicates isn’t a challenging one.

It makes consciousness that nan website proprietor would cognize champion which page should beryllium nan 1 that ranks supra its cousins. However, Google will sometimes disagree.

There whitethorn beryllium instances wherever different page from nan group is chosen by Google arsenic a amended campaigner to show successful nan hunt results.

This could beryllium because nan page receives much backlinks from outer sites than your chosen page. It could beryllium that it’s included successful nan sitemap aliases is being linked to your main navigation.

Essentially, nan canonical tag is simply a awesome – 1 of galore that will beryllium taken into information erstwhile Google chooses which page from a group of duplicates should rank.

If you person conflicting signals connected your site, aliases externally, past your chosen canonical page whitethorn beryllium overlooked successful favour of different page.

Want to cognize if Google has selected different URL to beryllium nan canonical contempt your canonical tag? In Google Search Console, successful nan Index Coverage report, you mightiness spot this: “Duplicate, Google chose different canonical than user.”

Google’s support documents helpfully explicate what this means:

“This page is marked arsenic canonical for a group of pages, but Google thinks different URL makes a amended canonical. Google has indexed nan page 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 nan three apical ranking factors seems to travel from a WebPromo Q&A successful 2016 pinch Andrei Lipattsev, a hunt value elder strategist astatine Google astatine nan clip (recovered done Wayback Machine; find this chat astatine astir nan 30-minute mark).

When questioned connected nan “other two” apical ranking factors, nan questioner assumed that Rank Brain was one, Lipattsev stated that links pointing to a site, and contented were nan different two. He does explain by saying:

“Third spot is simply a hotly contested issue. I think… It’s a funny one. Take this pinch a atom of salt. […] And truthful I guess, if you do that, past you’ll spot elements of RankBrain having been progressive successful here, rewriting this query, applying it for illustration this complete here… And truthful you’d say, ‘I spot this 2 times arsenic often arsenic nan different thing, and 2 times arsenic often arsenic nan different thing’. So it’s location successful number three.

It’s not for illustration having 3 links is ‘X’ important, and having 5 keywords is ‘Y’ important, and RankBrain is immoderate ‘Z’ facet that is besides someway important, and you multiply each of that … That’s not really this works.”

However it started, nan conception prevails. A bully backlink profile, awesome copy, and “Rank Brain” type signals are what matter astir pinch rankings, according to galore SEO pros.

What we person to return into information erstwhile reviewing this thought is John Mueller’s consequence to a mobility successful a 2017 English Google Webmaster Central office-hours hangout.

Mueller is asked if location is simply a one-size-fits-all attack to nan apical 3 ranking signals successful Google. His reply is simply a clear “No.”

He follows that connection pinch a chat astir nan timeliness of searches and really that mightiness require different hunt results to beryllium shown.

He besides mentions that depending connected nan discourse of nan search, different results whitethorn request to beryllium shown, for instance, marque aliases shopping.

He continues to explicate that he doesn’t deliberation that location is 1 group of ranking factors that tin beryllium declared nan apical 3 that use to each hunt results each nan time.

Within nan “How Search Works” archiving it intelligibly states:

“To springiness you nan astir useful information, Search algorithms look astatine galore factors and signals, including nan words of your query, relevance and usability of pages, expertise of sources, and your location and settings.

The weight applied to each facet varies depending connected nan quality of your query. For example, nan freshness of nan contented plays a bigger domiciled successful answering queries astir existent news topics than it does astir dictionary definitions. ”

Verdict: Not wholly existent aliases myth.

22. Use The Disavow File To Proactively Maintain A Site’s Link Profile

To disavow aliases not disavow — this mobility has popped up a batch complete nan 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 will disregard them anyhow and prevention themselves nan trouble.

It’s decidedly much nuanced than that.

In a 2019 Webmaster Central Office Hours Hangout, Mueller was asked astir nan disavow instrumentality and whether we should person assurance that Google is ignoring mean (but not very) spammy links.

His reply indicated that location are 2 instances wherever you mightiness want to usage a disavow file:

In cases wherever a manual action has been given.
And wherever you mightiness deliberation if personification from nan webspam squad saw it, they would rumor a manual action.

You mightiness not want to adhd each spammy nexus to your disavow file. In practice, that could return a agelong clip if you person a very visible tract that accrues thousands of these links a month.

There will beryllium immoderate links that are evidently spammy, and their acquisition is not a consequence of activity connected your part.

However, wherever they are a consequence of immoderate less-than-awesome nexus building strategies (buying links, nexus exchanges, etc.) you whitethorn want to proactively disavow them.

Read Roger Montti’s full breakdown of nan 2019 speech pinch John Mueller to get a amended thought of nan 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 nan website authority, nan bigger nan effect it will person connected your site’s expertise to rank. You will perceive that successful galore SEO pitches, customer meetings, and training sessions.

However, that’s not nan full story.

For one, it’s arguable whether Google has a conception of domain authority (see “Google Cares About Domain Authority” above).

And much importantly, it is nan knowing that location is simply a batch that goes into Google’s calculations of whether a nexus will effect a site’s expertise to rank highly aliases 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 nan pigeons during a unrecorded Search Off nan Record podcast recorded astatine BrightonSEO successful 2022 erstwhile he said:

“And to immoderate extent, links will ever beryllium thing that we attraction astir because we person to find pages somehow. It’s for illustration really do you find a page connected nan web without immoderate reference to it?” But my conjecture is complete time, it won’t beryllium specified a large facet 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 make your pages fast: usability, crawlability, and conversion. Arguably, it is important for nan health and capacity of your website, and that should beryllium capable to make 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 nan ranking algorithms. Back erstwhile it was published, Google stated:

“While tract velocity is simply a caller signal, it doesn’t transportation arsenic overmuch weight arsenic nan relevance of a page. Currently, less than 1% of hunt queries are affected by nan tract velocity awesome successful our implementation and nan awesome for tract velocity only applies for visitors searching successful English connected Google.com astatine this point.”

Is it still only affecting specified a debased percent of visitors?

In 2021, nan Google Page Experience system, which incorporates nan Core Web Vitals for which velocity is important, rolled retired connected mobile. It was followed successful 2022 pinch a rollout of nan strategy to desktop.

This was met pinch a flurry of activity from SEO pros, trying to get fresh for nan update.

Many comprehend it to beryllium thing that would make aliases break their site’s ranking potential. However, complete time, Google representatives have downplayed nan ranking effect of Core Web Vitals.

More recently, successful May 2023, Google introduced Interaction to Next Paint (INP) to nan Core Web Vitals to switch First Input Delay (FID).

Google claims that INP helps to woody pinch immoderate of the limitations recovered pinch FID. This alteration successful really a page’s responsiveness is measured shows that Google still cares astir accurately measuring personification experience.

From Google’s erstwhile statements and caller attraction connected Core Web Vitals, we tin spot that load velocity continues to beryllium an important ranking factor.

However, it will not needfully origin your website to dramatically summation aliases alteration successful rankings.

Google representatives Gary Illyes, Martin Splitt, and John Mueller hypothesized successful 2021 during a “Search disconnected nan Record” podcast astir nan weighting of velocity arsenic a ranking factor.

Their chat drew retired nan reasoning astir page load velocity arsenic a ranking metric and really it would request to beryllium considered a reasonably lightweight signal.

They went connected to talk astir it being much of a tie-breaker, arsenic you tin make an quiet page lightning-fast, but it will not service overmuch usage for a searcher.

John Mueller reinforced this successful 2022 during Google SEO Office Hours erstwhile he 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 nan hunt results. So if personification is searching for your institution name, we would not show immoderate random blog, conscionable because it’s a small spot faster, alternatively of your homepage.

We would show your homepage, moreover if it’s very slow. On nan different hand, if personification is searching for, I don’t know, moving shoes, and location are tons of group penning astir moving shoes, past that’s wherever nan velocity facet does play a spot much of a role.”

With this successful mind, tin we see page velocity a awesome ranking factor?

My sentiment is no, page velocity is decidedly 1 of nan ways Google decides which pages should rank supra others, but not a awesome one.

Verdict: Myth.

25. Crawl Budget Isn’t An Issue

Crawl fund – nan thought that each clip Googlebot visits your website, location is simply a constricted number of resources it will sojourn – isn’t a contentious issue. However, really overmuch attraction should beryllium paid to it is.

For instance, galore SEO professionals will see crawl fund optimization a cardinal portion of immoderate method SEO roadmap. Others will only see it if a tract reaches a definite size aliases complexity.

Google is simply a institution pinch finite resources. It cannot perchance crawl each azygous page of each tract each clip its bots sojourn them. Therefore, immoderate of nan sites that get visited mightiness not spot each of their pages crawled each time.

Google has helpfully created a guideline for owners of ample and often updated websites to thief them understand really to alteration their sites to beryllium crawled.

In the guide, Google states:

“If your tract does not person a ample number of pages that alteration rapidly, aliases if your pages look to beryllium crawled nan aforesaid time that they are published, you don’t request to publication 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 basal 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 pinch 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 consequence of individual and corporate proceedings and error, testing, and experience.

Processes are highly valuable wrong SEO business functions, but they person to germinate and beryllium applied appropriately.

Different websites wrong different industries will respond to changes successful ways others would not. Altering a meta title truthful it is nether 60 characters agelong mightiness thief nan click-through complaint for 1 page and not for another.

Ultimately, we person to clasp immoderate SEO proposal we’re fixed lightly earlier deciding whether it is correct for nan 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 because they person not knowledgeable occurrence from carrying retired this activity for their ain site.

It is important to retrieve that each website has its ain industry, group of competitors, nan exertion powering it, and different factors that make it unique.

Blanket exertion of techniques to each website and expecting them to person nan aforesaid result is naive.

Someone whitethorn not person had occurrence pinch a method erstwhile they person tried it successful their highly competitory vertical.

It doesn’t mean it won’t thief personification successful a little competitory manufacture person success.

Causation & Correlation Being Confused

Sometimes, SEO myths originate because of an inappropriate relationship betwixt an activity that was carried retired and a emergence successful integrated hunt performance.

If an SEO has seen a use from thing they did, past it is earthy that they would counsel others to effort nan same.

Unfortunately, we’re not ever awesome astatine separating causation and correlation.

Just because rankings aliases click-through rates accrued astir nan aforesaid clip arsenic you implemented a caller maneuver doesn’t mean it caused nan increase. There could beryllium different factors astatine play.

Soon, an SEO story will 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 study to spot SEO myths and enactment accordingly.

Test

The cardinal to not falling for SEO myths is making judge you tin trial proposal whenever possible.

If you person been fixed nan proposal that structuring your page titles a definite measurement will thief your pages rank amended for their chosen keywords, past effort it pinch 1 aliases 2 pages first.

This tin thief you measurement whether making a alteration crossed galore pages will beryllium worthy nan clip earlier you perpetrate to it.

Is Google Just Testing?

Sometimes, location will beryllium a large uproar successful nan SEO organization because of changes successful nan measurement Google displays aliases orders hunt results.

These changes are often tested successful nan chaotic earlier they are rolled retired to much hunt results.

Once a large alteration has been spotted by 1 aliases 2 SEO pros, proposal connected really to optimize for it originates to spread.

Remember nan favicons successful nan desktop hunt results? The upset that caused nan SEO manufacture (and Google users successful general) was vast.

Suddenly, articles sprang up astir nan value of favicons successful attracting users to your hunt results. There was hardly clip to study whether favicons would effect nan click-through complaint that much.

Because conscionable for illustration that, Google changed it back.

Before you jump for nan latest SEO proposal being dispersed astir Twitter arsenic a consequence of a alteration by Google, hold to spot if it will hold.

It could beryllium that nan proposal that appears sound now will quickly go a story if Google rolls backmost changes.

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