SEO can sometimes feel like a bit of a ‘dark art.’ For business owners and marketers, wrapping your head around the ins and outs of the process can be an overwhelming prospect. You might quickly find yourself lost in a world with lingo like ‘SERP,’ ‘backlinks,’ and ‘crawlability.’
We think SEO needn’t be complicated. It is, as some readers will already know, actually relatively simple. In its purest form, SEO is the process of optimising a website to improve its position in search results. However opinions on how to do this are sometimes divided, and often change due to various influences like updates or consumer preferences.
This can lead to SEO myths becoming commonplace.
While these misconceptions are (mostly) well-intentioned, by not being aware of the most common SEO myths, you can find yourself in hot water. At best, making these mistakes means your site won’t be getting optimum exposure, and at worst, it could be actively penalised.
That said, understanding how to spot SEO myths can be tricky, so here we’ve decided to break down some of the misconceptions that regularly spring up.
Debunking SEO Myths
Myth 1: You Can ‘Set and Forget’ Your SEO
One of the most common SEO myths people experience is the idea that once your SEO is set up, you don’t need to maintain it. In reality, SEO requires continued maintenance. Search engine algorithms frequently update, and competitors constantly adapt their strategies.
To stay ahead, it’s essential to regularly update your content, monitor your site’s performance, and adjust your SEO tactics accordingly. Neglecting ongoing SEO efforts can lead to a decline in rankings and traffic over time.
Myth 2: User Experience (UX) Doesn’t Impact SEO
SEO is all about keywords and links, so UX isn’t relevant, right? Wrong. UX Is an integral part of SEO. Factors like page load speed, mobile-friendliness, easy navigation, and overall user satisfaction are all crucial ranking factors.
Google’s Core Web Vitals specifically measure all aspects of page experience, such as loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability. A good user experience not only helps retain visitors but also signals to search engines that your site is valuable, which can also boost your exposure.
Myth 3: Exact Match Domains (EMDs) Guarantee Rankings
It’s easy to see why someone might think that having an EMD (for example, bestshoes.com for a footwear business) would automatically rank their site higher. Actually, this is a really common SEO myth.
While EMDs can offer some initial advantages by indicating relevance to search queries, their influence on rankings has significantly diminished over time. Google’s algorithms have evolved to prioritise content quality and user experience over domain names.
This means that even if your domain name exactly matches a search query, it won’t guarantee high rankings unless your site provides valuable and relevant content as well as positive UX.
Myth 4: More Pages Always Means Better SEO
Having a large number of pages doesn’t necessarily mean your SEO is going to improve. In fact, having loads of low-quality, thin pages can actually dilute your site’s overall quality and harm your rankings. The golden rule when putting together content for SEO is that quality always trumps quantity.
It’s more effective to focus on creating high-quality pages that offer substantial value to users. Comprehensive, well-organised content that addresses user intent will perform better in search results than a large volume of superficial pages.
Myth 5: Using AI to Populate My Site Won’t Harm My SEO
As with any application, AI isn’t inherently good or bad for your SEO. In many instances, it can be a great tool that increases productivity and helps to spark ideas, but overreliance is dangerous.
As we mentioned above, search engines prioritise high-quality, valuable content. It’s true that AI can produce this, but it’s also prone to repetition, filler text, and factual inaccuracies, so retaining a human touch is crucial. In fact a recent Google update specifically started penalising websites that just relied on purely AI created content.
Myth 6: Voice Search Optimisation is a Fad
Another really common SEO myth is that voice search is a passing trend and, therefore, isn’t worth optimising for. In actual fact, voice search is growing rapidly with the increase in smart devices like phones, speakers, and virtual assistants. Optimising for voice search involves focusing on natural language and long-tail keywords (a more niche keyword that prioritises the number of people that will click on it over how many times it appears in search results).
This is because voice queries tend to be longer and more conversational than text searches. If you want to find out more about voice optimisation for SEO, we’ve covered it in detail in the past.
Myth 7: SEO Results are Instantaneous
When it comes to debunking SEO myths, this is one of the ones we encounter all the time. SEO takes time to show results. The impact of any changes can take months to materialise due to the time it takes for search engines to look at your site and remember its content, as well as to assess the competitive landscape.
Patience is key, as sustained effort and optimisation over time will gradually improve your rankings and organic traffic. Monitoring progress and making data-driven adjustments will help ensure long-term success.
Looking for Expert SEO Support?
We’ve got years of experience helping businesses of all kinds get noticed online. Our secret? A personalised approach that goes beyond the basics.
First, we understand your business goals to craft the perfect SEO strategy for you before finding the best keywords and optimising your content for search engines. Post-launch, we keep your site on top by updating SEO, managing links, and enhancing authority. Throughout the process, we work collaboratively with you to make sure you’re getting the most out of what we do.
If you want to find out more, visit our SEO page, or get in touch with us today for a detailed chat.
