The truth: 7 debunked SEO myths

Best practice SEO gets combed over day in, day out.

So we’ve stepped back and pointed out 7 of the common SEO myths in the industry.

That way, you can get more clued up on how Google and SEO really work together.

Say goodbye to vague, clueless information, and say hello to the straight talking truth about SEO.

7 debunked SEO myths

SEO Myth 1: “Adding more pages will help SEO”

Having an excessive amount of pages all talking about the same topic or product doesn’t give you a better chance of ranking because you’ve got more pages.

In fact, one of the biggest factors that will affect your ability to rank for a keyword is the value of the page.

If you’ve got multiple pages that are all quite similar with no major differentiation, Google won’t really know which URL you see as the most important. So it will struggle to rank it appropriately.

And if you have a high quantity of low quality pages, your user is likely to be confused too, so they won’t stick around for long.

It is much more valuable for your user to land on a page that gives them the answer they were looking for and provides an easy solution through a call to action.

Google is more likely to understand your site structure and appropriately rank your page. And, should your user land on that page, the content is strong, effective and pushes them to take the next step in the user journey.

SEO Myth 2: “I don’t need to bother with mobile, desktop will do”

Research this year shows that 52% of users aged 16-64 had purchased a product online through mobile, with 67% admitting to using mobile shopping applications.

Never assume how your users behave because you could miss a major trick.

Go to Google Analytics and find the ‘mobile’ section under ‘audience’ to find out how many of your users are actually getting to your website from desktop, tablet and mobile.

Can being mobile friendly actually help your SEO performance? Yes.

Google knows that mobile search is becoming entirely more prominent in SEO.

It rewards positive user experience, including on mobile.

So use the mobile functionality feature in Google Search Console to check for any errors and make sure your website is mobile friendly.

Here are some pointers:

• Does your site load quickly on mobile, as well as desktop?
• Is the text easy to read and digest, or is the text too small and you have to zoom in?
• Are your call to actions clear and eye-catching enough once the page has loaded?
• Is it easy enough for a first-time user to navigate the site?

SEO Myth 3: “Overloading my page with the right keyword will make it rank”

The more mentions of your ideal keyword you can physically get on the page you want to rank for, the better… right? Wrong.

Keyword stuffing is one of the most common errors made when it comes to trying to optimise for SEO and get a given page ranking.

Optimisation needs to be user-friendly and natural in order for it to rank.

A good way of reviewing your content is to read it yourself. Does it sound a little off, or unnatural? If so, then it probably is, and needs amending.

The aim is to include the right level of mentions in the right places in your copy for Google to understand the page’s content, as well as keeping the user’s attention to the point where they’re convinced to convert.

SEO Myth 4: “SEO isn’t working right now for me, so it won’t ever”

SEO can be unpredictable. Algorithms update, rankings fluctuate, and trends change.

This happens all the time.

That’s why it’s as important to maintain a problem solving, reactive attitude as it is to have a solid strategy in place.

Don’t be too disheartened if something changes, and has an impact on your SEO performance.

What’s important is to understand the reason for the change in results, digging around to see what any flying competitors are doing, and re-assessing your plan.

Keep in mind that SEO, compared to other forms of digital marketing like PPC, is a long term game.

So, don’t expect results straight away. Build a realistic strategy to work towards your KPIs and go from there.

SEO Myth 5: “Content Is King”

Content is king, but having a content plan only, and no other SEO strategy in place, won’t work.

Don’t get us wrong, it’s great to have a schedule for creative content if you want to improve your user’s marketing journey.

It’s good to want to rank for longer tail keywords, and create high value, shareable content.

But it won’t work alone. Google wants to see:

• A simple sitemap – so Google can crawl and index your site with ease, not wasting its crawl budget
• A simple URL structure and hierarchy – so your site is easy to navigate and understand
• A high domain rating score – with quality backlinks from external websites to show you are trusted
• Effective internal linking across your site – to allow your users to find what they need
• Quick loading pages with strong CTAs, with no error pages – to promise a good user experience

SEO Myth 6: “I need to get to position 1 for all of my terms, otherwise SEO fails”

A keyword that ranks in position 1, if it has a high enough clickthrough rate, will drive a lot of traffic. It’s true.

However, you don’t actually need to be in position 1 for SEO to work.

Think about some of the most recent times you searched for something online.

You might not actually have hit the very top result.

Quite possibly, you may have scrolled at least once or twice down the page and opened a few of the tabs to gauge more information from them.

Here is a snapshot of the latest clickthrough rates for each position, after a 2020 study that analysed over 1000 different search queries.

Let’s say your page ranks in position 5 for a keyword.

That keyword has, for example, 2,000 average searches every month and the position, as above, has a CTR of 10.95% roughly.

That equals 200 clicks to your page every month from that one keyword, if they do click your listing.

Remember that you might also have seen and clicked different types of search results in the listings, such as:

• Google shopping
• Local 3-pack that appears as a map
• Google images
• People Also Ask
• Featured snippet

It goes without saying that the higher you are in the SERPs, your clickthrough rate should be better.

But it’s not by any stretch of the imagination a fail if one keyword you aim for doesn’t hit position 1.

You can still get a successful amount of organic traffic to your website and have them convert.

Remember that clickthrough rates can change over time, so take those statistics with a pinch of salt. It’s also important to consider other statistics in mind, such as your average order value and your conversion rate.

But the key takeaway here is that it’s not a case of ‘position 1 or fail’.

SEO Myth 7: “Meta tags, or data, doesn’t matter”

Your meta data is what appears in the search listings when a user searches for your keyword, like this: 

The first, bigger text in the blue is the meta title, and the three sentences below it is classed as the meta description.

Together, they make ‘meta tags’, or also known as ‘meta data’. It is not true that you don’t need to bother with reviewing your meta data, and that you should only focus on the on page content.

Why? Your meta title is one of the first parts of your page that Google reads and assesses before it indexes your page to rank it.

It could also be the first touch point between your website and your user.

So, it couldn’t be more important to make sure:

• The page’s priority keyword is included in both parts, as long as it’s natural
• The title and description are written well, and convince your reader to click through

There are lots of clever tricks you can trial to make your meta data as compelling and eye-catching as you can.

Your end goal for it is to get a click. Here are some quick suggestions to think about:

• Make it personal – e.g. “Your(s)” or “personalised” or “for you”
• Give it some excitement – e.g. “Ultimate”, or “X.. that you don’t want to miss”
• Make it recent – “New” or add a date, like “2020”
• Keep it succinct so it fits in the space – the ellipsis looks messy

We’ve cleared up some of the biggest SEO myths in the industry.

You can get more clued up on the basics of SEO, and how to put it into action. It’s over on our digital marketing blog.

We’ll be back soon with more expert information in our industry. For now, stay in the loop on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter