seo myths

SEO, an acronym for search engine optimization, is one of the most valuable and successful strategies in all of digital marketing. After all, as search engines continue to improve their algorithms, optimization strategies need to stay up to date as well. However, this generates several myths about SEO that can waste time, money, and especially results.

In this article, we’ll cover the most dangerous SEO myths, from Local SEO to the impact artificial intelligence is having on search engines. All of this, so that in the long term, you have an SEO strategy that really generates new visitors, new customers, and especially new growth opportunities.

Get to Know: Affordable Local SEO Service

Why are there myths about SEO?

Because doing good SEO is difficult, complicated, and involves a series of variables. This fertile ground often leads to the creation of myths and assumptions, which, unfortunately, many content producers create and publish as if they were true.

The fact is that only Google knows what really gets you seen in searches. All SEO tips, settings, and resources derive from “reverse engineering” or some comments made by Google itself about its algorithm.

While it’s not that nobody knows the Google algorithm, it’s important to note that no one fully comprehends how it operates 100%. We only know what Google lets us know.

Nevertheless, if you want your website to be visible to as many people as possible, investing in SEO is an absolute necessity. Of course, considering the context of your content and your audience.

Myths about SEO

Below we will talk about the 10 myths about SEO. We ask that you read each topic carefully. Relying solely on their titles can lead you into new myths, and since the aim of this subject is to unveil the truth about how SEO currently operates, we aim to leave no doubts throughout the process. That said, let’s go to the myths:

Myth 1: SEO no longer works

In the past, Google’s algorithm was not as effective as it is today. If you maintained a website titled ‘How to Fry an Egg’ with an article consistently repeating the keywords ‘how to fry an egg,’ you could guarantee a top position in the search results.

Today, Google evaluates the context, the site’s reputation, and considerations about the public, among other factors, meaning that the “smart guys” who try to trick the algorithm have to work even harder to get visitors from unfair ways to the point of being practically impossible today.

Just to give you an idea, even if you over-optimize your content for Google, Google may view this negatively and prevent your content from appearing in search results.

Therefore, if Google “can already understand” what is a good result and a bad result in searches, then SEO is dead, right? Because there’s no point in optimizing your content since everything depends on Google…

Wrong! SEO is even more important today because it combines the optimization of your website (generating a good user experience) with Google’s own algorithm that wants to show the best results to visitors.

With Google processing over 3.5 billion searches per day, SEO is still the only thing that can ease your journey to a multitude of new visitors.

Myth 2: Related terms are not a ranking factor

LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are terms and phrases related to the main keyword. For example, if you write a post about “best clothes for men”, you have a series of secondary keywords such as:

  • Men’s fashion.
  • Best winter clothes for men.
  • Best summer clothes for men.
  • Best fabrics for men at the gym. 
  • Best clothes for a date.

Some keywords are very close, like “men’s fashion”, others are a little far away like “best clothes for a date”.

The problem with these LSIs is that people think they are not important for a good ranking of their content. Related keywords give context to what you produce and indicate to Google the universe in which your article is present, making it easier for it to rank for the correct audience.

After all, Google knows, through the algorithm and by crossing data, the gender and other information of the person carrying out the search. 

However, we know that Google no longer uses the direct keyword approach, which makes many people think that “LSI no longer works”. But they work based on the context they generate for the content. Therefore, use secondary keywords. Not so much because you think about Google, but because it also makes it easier to create context for your audience.

Myth 3: Social networks do not influence SEO

Likes, shares, comments, and engagements are not a primary SEO factor. But they greatly influence the results of your content in searches. Well, there is a strong correlation between sites that have a boom in virality on social media and those that frequently reach the first page of Google.

A study done by HootSuite, for example, indicated that articles that have a lot of shares on social media received a boost of around 22% in search engines.

Myth 4: You need to stuff your content with keywords

The overuse of keywords is something that hasn’t worked in SEO for a long time. However, this particular myth seems to persist. 

To get an idea of ​​how damaging keyword stuffing can be for your website, Moz, a renowned SEO company, carried out a study that found that sites with too many keywords suffer a loss in search rankings.

In short: if your website has an excess of keywords, demonstrating the clear intention of producing artificial content, Google will not highlight your post, as natural interaction with the user has priority.

A high keyword density can directly deteriorate the readability and quality of your content, resulting in its classification as spam, as this type of content typically employs multiple keywords.

Does this mean there should be an effort on your part to reduce keyword density? No. It just means that you shouldn’t increase the number of keywords on purpose.

Write the text as naturally as possible. Search engines have enough technology to understand the context and quality of each publication.

Myth 5: SEO is a one-time setup

Many people believe that SEO is a specific setting or set of settings that you only need to do once and your website will receive countless visits monthly. SEO is actually an ongoing process. 

Why? Because Google’s algorithm is constantly changing it is necessary to adapt your websites to these changes. 

Not to mention that few SEO professionals actually do everything they can to ensure the website ranks correctly, something that often involves strengthening partnerships, performance analyses, and concrete investment in usability and accessibility. 

Myth 6: SEO is only important for large companies

Another common myth about SEO is that search engine optimization is only worth it for larger companies, as smaller companies would not have the money to properly invest in optimization.

However, the reality is the opposite of this. Because larger companies have money to invest in paid traffic, many end up not putting their efforts into SEO. This scenario allows smaller companies to gain many more customers by investing time in correctly optimizing their pages.

To give you an idea, a website by SEO specialist Brian Dean shows that a small company spends around $497 per month on SEO in the United States. Most companies, even the biggest ones, simply don’t invest anything, as they prefer to opt for paid traffic.

Myth 7: Google will be replaced by ChatGPT

Thanks to the new boom in artificial intelligence technologies, there is a real concern about whether ChatGPT will eliminate the need for some already known systems, with Google being the main one in this question. 

Although yes, Google has suffered losses in searches due to the responses from the OpenAI service, the most accepted prediction at the moment is that artificial intelligence will cause searches to increase in the long term, especially for more humanized and non-standard content.

What to do since the scenario is uncertain? Continue investing in what still brings results. Despite the negative impact of AI on SEO, Google still generates significant traffic, enabling your website to achieve higher profitability in a relatively short time frame.

Furthermore, it is possible to use these technologies to create content more quickly, find new examples, and identify interesting patterns for the development of your website, of course with due care, as the answers tend to not be so confident at the moment.

Myth 8: It’s not worth ranking for keywords with low search volume

On the contrary, there are numerous benefits to investing in ranking keywords with low search volume. Why? Because competition for these terms is generally very low, which helps smaller sites to get their “space in the sun”.

Long-tail keywords (those that involve searches with more words, specific, and with low competition) are financially intelligent choices, because when investing in them, the return tends to be low, but there is a return, unlike more competitive keywords, that investment does not always generate results immediately.

Not to mention that these more specific keywords dominate the amount of all searches done on the internet. Search Engine Journal, for example, showed that 70% of all searches are long-tail.

Myth 9: There is no point in messing with old posts

Having good content is essential for any SEO strategy. This is nothing new. However, when talking about “writing good content” website owners automatically imagine “writing new content frequently”. 

A good SEO strategy is to do just the opposite. Ignore (temporarily) the creation of new content to gradually improve old content. They have immense reach potential since search engines already know them and know their previous performance. 

Upon noticing an improvement in the content, the Google algorithm is able to check whether the reformulated post deserves a new position in the results. An example of this is dated content, such as: “The best sports cars of 2019”. 

Because the content is no longer beneficial to the user, Google reduces its reach. But by updating it, the chances of search engines valuing it are quite significant. 

Does this mean you shouldn’t write new posts anymore? Of course not, but also pay attention to the old ones. They can be a good source of new visitors.

Myth 10: Local SEO is useless1

Local SEO is SEO done considering the user’s location. For example, when a user types “open pizzeria”, Google checks their location and generates more complete results.

However, because it is “new”, many think that investing in local SEO does not generate as many new visitors. On the contrary. Of course, for 100% digital projects, local SEO may be little explored, but there is still a way to take advantage of it.

Google itself carried out research that says that 30% of searches made on a cell phone are related to the user’s location and 72% of consumers, in general, look for a company’s location on Google Maps.

Even if you don’t have a physical office, create a business on Google and optimize your listing. If you can add to that local reviews and great testimonials from happy customers, it will go a long way toward building credibility and trust.

Conclusion – myths about SEO

In today’s article, we show you 10 myths about SEO that you may have still believed until now. We hope that all the content was clear and met your expectations. 

Read More: SEO Boost: Google Keyword Planner to increase your results

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