116 SEO myth | Weboptim

Everyone is probably familiar with some search engine optimisation myths. Over the last 10 years, the number of them has grown enormously, causing confusion among programmers, webmasters, designers, entrepreneurs and digital marketing experts.

Let's look at the most important ones:

Domain-related myths

1. A domain name with an exact match will rank better
They did well in the organic results for a while, but they are usually low quality sites with spam links so this good ranking doesn't last long.

2. Better to start a new page on an expired domain
Many expired domains are heavily spammed and may be banned from indexing by Google. You should therefore always check beforehand, for example, the Web archives with the help of.

3. The age of the domain is important
Small, new sites can outrank older ones if they have better content and get better quality links.

4. Local domains are a huge SEO advantage
Google favours quality information over local content.

5. The length of domain registration helps SEO
This is one of the oldest myths. The length of registration has no effect on Google rankings.

6. Google penalties 301 redirects no further
If we move our penalised page to a new domain, Google will pass on the penalty, even without redirection.

7. 301 redirection for SEO still works
It worked a few years ago. Now, redirects from the old domain, which was bought just for the purpose of redirects, do not help the ranking and may even hurt it.

8. Moving the site to a new domain has a negative impact on rankings
There is no long-term negative effect on the ranking of the page if the move is done according to Google's instructions.

9. Keyword-rich domain names improve rankings
Small businesses who are just starting out and have no experience in SEO often think this.

Hosting myths

10. The hosting location is important
The place does not matter. Try to retrieve the top 10 competitor IP address and check their location in the on map.

11. You need a dedicated IP address to rank well on Google
Google's position is that the dedicated IP address does not affect rankings.

12. SEO hosting is also an option for private blog networks
Many people use this for short-term SEO results. Google of course penalises this.

Myths related to on-site optimisation

13. On-page optimisation is not important
But, it is an important part of your online marketing strategy. It is the foundation on which to start building.

14. On-page optimisation is all a website needs
While important, this is only a basic optimization that is part of every website and does not in itself improve Google rankings.

15. Too many outbound links hurt rankings
If the outward links are relevant, they can even help. Well-ranked pages often link out to relevant resources.

16. Some broken links can't hurt
Broken links determine the quality of the site: too many broken links are a sign of a neglected website.

17. The volume of indexed pages helps to improve rankings
A common misconception in the past was that a large number of indexed pages would improve rankings. The truth is that larger websites do not automatically achieve higher rankings.

18. The schema markup ranking factor
Its main purpose is to help the searcher better understand the content of the page. It can improve CTR, but has no direct effect on rankings.

19. H1 elements are critical for SEO
Research has shown that there is little correlation between H1 items and ranking. Nevertheless, it is worth writing good H1 tags, but this is important for usability and accessibility, not so much for SEO.

20. Meta tags improve ranking
Google in 2009 announced bythat meta description and meta keywords tags have no effect on search rankings. Nevertheless, meta descriptions provide a good opportunity to convey a clear message that can influence click-through rates.

21. Good tactic if the meta robot tag contains 'index, follow'
This is completely unnecessary. Unless otherwise provided, search engines assume that they can index and track the page.

22. An .xml sitemap improves rankings
It only helps search engines to better understand the content. According to Google, it has no effect on rankings.

23. Google penalises invalid HTML
Since the majority of websites do not have perfect HTML code, Google does not penalize broken or invalid HMTLs, and the presence of valid HTML code is not a ranking factor.

24. URLs should end in .html
It was never a ranking factor.

25. Including keywords in the link text of internal links improves rankings
This is not true.

26. Outward linking helps ranking
It does not help. But from the other direction, you need to get quality links.

27. Google does not read CSS files
But, they are read by Google robots.

28. Internal links do not count for SEO
If your site has poor internal navigation, this can have a bad impact on the user experience and result in lower rankings.

29. You need to finish the page before you start worrying about SEO
We can start the on-page optimisation at the same time as the website is ready. Google will crawl the page as soon as it goes live.

30. Keywords in HTML comment tags, image titles and Href tags help SEO
Tests show no effect on rankings.

Myths about content

31. Content marketing is all we need
True, it is important, but without access to advertising and influencers, even the best content remains unknown.

32. Good content always improves rankings
Writing good content can help, but you also need relevant links and a good user experience. The secret to success is good content with quality links.

33. The content should be short/long
Google does not count words when ranking. Sometimes a short article can generate as many shares and comments as a long one. The key is to make sure the text is unique and compelling.

34. If you have duplicate content, you'll be penalised by Google
Duplicate content within a site does not require action as long as the duplicate content does not appear to be deceptive or manipulative.

35. Content to be updated x times each month
Strive for quality, not quantity. Look at your competitors and define your strategy.

36. The location of links does not matter
Usually, the first link in an article is the one that carries the most weight. Try to place the important link at the beginning of the content.

37. The main page needs a lot of content
The content on the main page should be long enough to explain who we are, what we do, where we are locally, what our values are and what visitors should do.

38. Quantity of content is more important than quality
Google easily recognises "content farms", where content is created for robots. If you don't have good statistics on users, it could be a sign that the content is not good.

39. The time for infographics is over
The link power of infographic aggregators has declined, but a new way to use infographics for effective link building has opened up: Guestographics

40. Higher key density is better
Keyword stuffing gets you nowhere. It only confuses visitors.

41. My business does not need a blog
Every business needs a blog, as relevant content and links are an integral part of good long-term rankings. Every industry has news and innovations. A blog can help you become an expert in your market.

42. Video is all we need
Since some websites are effective with videos only, we should consider using them. However, for best results, use both text and image content.

43. A/B testing can have a negative impact on placements
If A/B testing were such a bad thing, why would Google offer A/B test results in Google Analytics....

Technical SEO myths

44. Google cannot read Java or Ajax files
A common misconception. The truth is that Google reads JavaScript files and is getting better at crawling Ajax content too.

45. If your website is secure (HTTPS), your rankings will improve significantly
In August 2014, Google announced by, that the use of HTTPS is a ranking factor, which means that if your website gives a standard http response, you may be at a disadvantage. However, it now appears as a "weak" factor, affecting less than 1% of global queries.

46. Google robots do not read CSS files
They also scan CSS, looking for hidden spam tactics.

47. Link building is dead: Links will be important for many years to come
The inbound link remains one of the most important factors that strongly correlates with Google rankings.

48. Links should be outside the page and mentions inside the page
This is not true. Collaborative links are good for link building.

49. Quantity of links is more important than quality
A few years ago this was true, but now 1 link from a relevant and respected site is stronger than 1000 weak inbound links.

50. Using a subdomain for a blog page is bad for SEO
This is a completely false statement. A good example is blog.hubspot.com, which gets 50% of its traffic from organic searches.

51. If we pay for links, our site will be penalised
Some paid links may give a "black mark" to the site, but there is always a way to post a quality paid link without risking a Google penalty.

52. All inbound links are equally important
The best inbound links are relevant to your industry and come from credible websites that are well known in your market.

53. Nofollow links are bad for rankings
None, unless they are used for spamming in large quantities. It's perfectly natural to have a certain percentage of inbound links that are nofollow.

54. Nofollow links are worthless
They are critical for the link profile. If Google sees that we don't have a single nofollow link, it waves a red flag that we are only building links manually, we are not naturally gaining any links at all. So nofollow links have value and are not something we should ignore.

55. The link text is dead
Despite the fact that many sources claim that the power of link text is weak, it is still an important factor.

56. Guest posting is dead
The days of poor quality or spammy guest posts are over, but if quality is emphasised, it can still be one of the most effective link building techniques.

57. The back and forth links still work
No, not for a long time. We even risk penalties if we use link exchanges in large numbers.

58. Sitewide links are not dangerous
Sitewide links can cause many problems. Beware of exact match link text coming from hundreds of sitewide pages.

59. Link building is dangerous
With every Google update, people are afraid of link building. Yet there are perfectly safe techniques like content marketing, quality guest blogging, product/service reviews and many more.

60. Fast link building is bad for rankings
There is no exact number for how many links are ideal to build in a given time.

61. Blog, forum comments are detrimental to rankings
This should not happen if they come from a credible website with a spam filter.

62. Google does not follow nofollow links
Google also crawls these links. The main purpose of the nofollow attribute is to maintain the strength and PageRank of the page.

63. No link, no SEO value
Mentions and reviews often do not include a link to a website. These mentions without links are treated as brand signals by Google.

64. All paid link aggregator links are bad
Not all link aggregator links are bad. If the website submission is moderated and the link aggregator is credible, consider listing your site on it (e.g. lap.hu sites http://www.lap.hu/ ). Registering with local link aggregators can improve your local ranking.

SEO ranking myths

65. Ranking is all that matters
Ranking is an important part of SEO, but the real measures of success are conversions and sales. The success of an SEO campaign cannot be judged by rankings alone. Some keywords convert better and bring in more revenue than others.

66. Google rankings are the same globally
Google search results are local, depending partly on your current location. This trend is in line with Google's commitment to provide personalised services to its users.

67. We must be first
Ideally, we are first. Sometimes the resources needed to move up from 2-3 are huge and not worth it. Focus instead on long-tail keyword efforts, as these can bring the biggest return.

68. Being ahead for a large number of keywords is better
This is often the mistake of beginners: they start optimising for completely meaningless words every month. Use long-tail keywords that convert well.

69. Enough to get on the first page of Google
The better your position in the top 10, the more clicks and traffic you will get. On the first page of Google, the difference between the click-through rate of the first and the tenth hit can be significant.

70. Bold keywords in search results affect rankings
Their aim is simply to provide a better user experience.

71. Community signals have a direct impact on placements
Social media signals are a necessary part of your online marketing strategy. They correlate with good organic rankings, but they do not provide a complete marketing strategy.

72. Community signals create links
They are a sign of active participation in social media and can have an impact on Google rankings, especially for local searches, but they are not the same as inbound links. They are very short-lived and to help organic rankings they need to be continuous. Research has shown that when these social signals are eliminated, rankings often suffer if there is no other SEO activity in the meantime.

73. Google+ is not important for SEO
Google+ continues to grow. Our shared post will appear to people who are in our circles. Google often shows Google+ local results above normal search results.

74. New sites cannot rank well in the "Google Sandbox" due to
New pages are indexed by Google in a matter of minutes and can be ranked well within a few weeks of being published.

75. Once we are first, we have nothing more to do
Competitors are not asleep. You have to constantly work on your SEO performance or sooner or later another website will overtake you.

Myths about the user experience

76. Website speed is not important
Sitespeed is one of the most important ranking factors.

77. SEO is not important for usability
User experience has a significant impact on organic rankings. Good UX leads to high CTR, time spent on page and better results for the ranked site.

78. The higher the reversal rate, the lower the rankings
A high bounce rate is not necessarily a bad thing if you lead the right audience to the right site and give them exactly what they are looking for.

79. No need for a mobile website
Since 2014, mobile internet usage has surpassed desktop usage.

Black hat SEO myths

80. Black hat SEO does not work
It depends on what you mean by "works". There are countless techniques to get ahead in the rankings for a short time. In recent years, however, Google has put an end to many of these methods.

81. Google completely eliminates private blog networks
In fact, they can be used in some cases. But after all the updates, they are harder, riskier and more expensive to use for SEO.

82. Use automatic SEO tools always black hat or spam technique
Search engine optimisation often requires working with huge amounts of data and automation tools often need to be used to stay competitive.

83. It's easy to get ahead with spam
There are people who prefer to use black hat techniques, but the results don't last long and are not worth it in the long run. You also risk a Google penalty, whereby all the time and resources you have invested in it become useless.

84. Cloaking works
This is a very old technique and very dangerous nowadays.
With cloaking, the page shows one thing to users and another to search bots.

85. All camouflage is wrong and risky
If our intention is honest, we have nothing to fear.

86. There are one-click, software-based solutions
A few years ago, it was possible to get a good ranking using automated software. Now it is impossible.

87. Negative SEO does not exist
It can even ruin your business, so keep an eye on the statistics on our site.

88. Google "crushes" spam
Google is tackling spam more than ever, but there is still room for improvement. The next challenge for them is to address more sophisticated spam techniques.

Myths about Google penalties

89. A Disavow tool does not work
It can save a lot of time instead of manually removing links. If we react in time, we can remove manual or algorithm penalties too.

90. Putting all links in Disavow solves the problem
The Disavow Tool is not a panacea. If you already see a message about a penalty in Google Webmaster Tools, ask for a review after cleaning your link profile.

91. Google penalises sites that use the noscript tag
There is no penalty that applies to this.

Misconceptions about Google conspiracy theories

92. Paying for Google Adwords = better organic rankings
No, this is absolutely not true.

93. Adsense helps/worsens rankings
Adsense banners don't help SEO, but they don't hurt rankings either, unless there is too much advertising on the site.

94. Google spying on webmasters with Google Analytics
Google does not use Analytics for spying. On the other hand, competitors can find out how many websites belong to our GA code, because the code is in the source code of the website.

Misconceptions, misinterpretations

95. Google Authorship helps SEO
Google discontinued the programme in August 2014.

96. Google updates are a few times a year
Actually, it varies. So let's not think of it as a seasonal thing. Every year, Google changes its search algorithm about 500-600 times.

97. The Toolbar PageRank is the same as the actual PageRank
The PageRank is constantly changing and updating, while the toolbar PR only changes 1-2 times a year. The latter is the public version of PageRank, which can be installed as a browser plugin.

98. PageRank shows how important Google considers your page to be
PageRank was a good tool to help SEOs to abuse the algorithms by buying domains with high PR. However, today toolbar PR is not updated regularly, so it is not a reliable metric.

99. One SEO technique will work for all pages/keywords
All SEO strategies should be tailored to industry specifications. What works for one website may not be the best solution for another.

100. SEO is all you need
SEO is particularly important, but only one piece of the puzzle that drives visitors to your website. It is also about improving the user experience and unique value.

101. SEO is something I need to leave in the hands of IT
According to this view, SEO requires technical expertise, and because it is technical, only IT can do it. There is a technical part, but it requires more than just technical knowledge.

102. There are "SEO gurus"
No, there are no SEO gurus. Anyone who calls themselves a Guru is just looking for an opportunity to get themselves some start-up business.

103. There are SEO secrets
Similar to the previous one. We can assess the strategies of competitors. There are no secrets, just people looking for shortcuts to success.

104. The SEO is dead
SEO is alive and well. Worldwide, organic searches account for 51% of website traffic.

105. SEO companies can guarantee results
No company can 100% guarantee that a website will rank first for a given keyword. There are over 200 factors that influence organic rankings. There is no general formula for success.

106. SEO is an immediate solution
Unfortunately, SEO does not solve your search engine visibility problem for the next week. Quick results are only possible with PPC campaigns, as this is what can generate immediate traffic (traffic increase).

107. SEO takes too much time
With the right keyword research and SEO strategy, the first results can be seen in as little as 4-12 days.

108. SEO is all about manipulative organic results
Google is getting smarter and significantly limiting manipulative possibilities. So they do not lead to long-term results.

109. SEO is too expensive
It is true that in recent years, thanks to Google updates, it has become more and more expensive, especially in terms of quality links and content. Do your research and ask some SEO agencies for a quote. Compare prices and services.

110. My company is very small, SEO is not worth it
If you are a small business, local SEO is the best and most cost-effective marketing solution.

111. I am a local business, I don't need SEO
43% of Google search queries are local.

112. SEO is too difficult for ordinary people
There are countless basic and pro strategies.

113. I need to submit my site to Google
The oldest SEO myth. You don't have to submit your site to appear in search results. Google crawls pages regularly.

114. SEO and "plain" marketing cannot be mixed
SEO is a marketing channel that can be part of a traditional marketing strategy.

115. "We have a man undercover at Google"
This phrase is used by con artists who have no idea about online marketing. Google is one of the largest companies in the world with thousands of employees.

116. If you build your site, people will come
Let's build a compelling site with exceptional content and see how traffic changes. The truth is that without advertising, without SEO, no one will visit.

Source: fortunelords.com

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