Kleinburg Brewery
- design
- / web
Since the time we started UV Designs, a question that has always come up is “Are these SEO myths or is there actual truth behind them?”. Many people don’t understand the nature of SEO and think there is a great deal of hard-to-understand algorithms that are required in order to help a webpage rank in the top spot in Google. Others may think there’s something dreadful going on behind the scenes in order to get web pages to climb the up ranks.
Because of all this chit-chat, many myths and misconceptions about SEO have developed over time and are circulating the web. However, the art of SEO has nothing to do with black hat tactics or instant overnight success. Instead, SEO requires time, dedication, and specific tactics that are always evolving and changing. A lot of dedication and work is required to get a page to rank on the first page of Google and stay there.
The following are some of the more common myths about SEO, and the truths behind them.
SEO Myths: #1 Long-form content is always required.
Truth – The length of your content matters, but there are many other factors involved with content that play a role in SEO. This includes quality, uniqueness, keywords, backlinks, and mobile-friendliness, to name a few.
It’s always important to come up with an SEO strategy with your content in order to make sure Google appreciates it and rewards you for your efforts. Part of that strategy involves ensuring that your website is always putting out fresh new content, rather than setting up the site and forgetting about it.
SEO Myths: #2 You’ll be penalized for over-optimizing your keywords.
Truth – While you can definitely get dinged by Google if you “keyword stuff” your content by overloading your web pages with targeted keywords, there are still ways to optimize your web pages for keywords while sticking to the rules and maintaining a high-rank on search engines.
To do this, make sure to pick the best keywords for your audience instead of just the highest-ranking keywords. Just be sure that they’re relevant to what users are looking for. Always make content a priority over keywords, Google values engaging, educational, and unique content more than the keywords you target.
SEO Myths: #3 Collaborations reduce visitors and do little to improve SEO.
Truth – Your main goal should be to educate your audience and give them the best content possible. To do that, you might have to link out to authority sites or allow others to leave posts or comments. This can actually be good for SEO and not harm it when done right. That said, make sure you only link out when necessary, and only to safe, credible sites.
SEO Myths: #4 You need a top-level domain to rank high.
Truth – While it’s true that most search results are .com domain names, it’s important to note that keywords in the domain name have a big impact on search engine rankings too. Keep your domain short and professional, and try to avoid numbers, characters, or strange spellings. And as always, make sure your domain name is relevant to your business.
What other misconceptions about SEO have you heard about? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!