Anybody who has any experience of SEO will know what a dynamic and constantly evolving field it is. Google want to keep you on your toes, and one way they do this is by making regular changes to improve their algorithm. Towards the end of 2016, we saw a major update to the Penguin algorithm which signals a clear initiative to reward only the highest quality websites.
Additionally, the way SERP’s display on a desktop has been updated. Adverts have been removed from the right side of the screen, and now a maximum of only four adverts appear on the top of the search results. As a consequence of these changes, SEO specialists are now focussed more on producing higher quality web content than investing huge amounts of time on link-building strategies and keywords.
Because of it’s ever evolving nature it can be difficult for SEO agencies to stay up to date. As a result, you will, unfortunately, find many that have out of date ideas or are just wrong about how SEO works in 2017.
For the above reasons, we have decided to put together a list of the top 5 SEO myths that need busting!!
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1 – It’s all about keywords.
Keyword stuffing or making sure that you have the keywords in all the right places is an approach that has had its day and now needs to be forgotten as soon as possible.
Google’s Panda update was designed to target low-quality/keyword stuffed content and as a result cramming keywords into relevant sections of text no longer tricks the search engine algorithms and could, in fact, lead to your website being penalised.
That said, however, keywords do still play a significant role in today’s SEO, but the focus is now on contextual relevance. Taking the time to identify and use keywords, related keywords and long-tail keywords that your rivals have not yet managed to find is a great way of staying ahead of the competition.
2 – You need to be number 1!
Understandable, when you have paid good money to an SEO company it’s likely that you will want to see your website on the first page of the SERP’s and that you will want to see it there quickly. While this may have been possible in the past, you will find that it isn’t so much anymore. SEO does play a role in ranking, but in 2017 the focus should no longer be about quick wins but more about creating a solid foundation to be built upon.
SEO strategies that work the best are centred around increasing organic traffic, engaging the user and improving visitor experience. If your focus is only on getting to the top of page one, your SEO formula is likely to neglect these key things, and as a result, any gains you may see will not be lasting.
Instead be smart and formulate a plan of action.
What is it that you want? More engagement, more conversions or maybe just finding a way for more people to see your product?
Once you know what your SEO goals are then you need to identify your ideal customer. You can do this by looking at audience data on Google Analytics – You need to research, and you need to crunch some numbers! It’s a time-consuming process, but necessary to find out as much information as possible about your audience. Look at what keywords your customers are using to find you and track them throughout the whole process. If you want to build landing pages that convert then this is the information you need to do it.
3 – Social Media is an entirely separate project.
Sorry – No it’s most definitely not! The traffic you generate across your social media platforms may not be directly affecting your rankings but what it is doing is growing your online presence and increasing brand awareness. Social media is an easy way to communicate and interact with your potential customers, and if you get it right, it will increase your authority as well your online visibility. It’s no coincidence that all the top ranking businesses are also prolific across social media!
4 – All you need is great content – SEO is dead!
This is a very common misconception, and because we have already highlighted the importance the search engines place on quality content, it’s easy to see why. But great content still needs to be optimised, and it still needs to be promoted otherwise nobody will ever see it. Additionally, what if your content ticks all the boxes but your website it set up in such a way that it can’t communicate well with the search engines?
Having great, relevant content should always be at the top of your list of priorities, but you must also make sure that your content is being crawled and indexed by the search engines in a way that will benefit your rank.
5 – Link Building = Google penalities
Google webmaster guidelines clearly state that any link designed to deliberately manipulate a site’s ranking is a violation of quality guidelines.
However, the fact is that link building is still an incredibly useful way of increasing traffic and online presence. The key here is that the links must be natural, relevant and most importantly from a reputable source. One of the best ways to link content in 2017 is by having a guest poster or by being a guest poster/promoter for someone else.
Here at The Bright Click we have SEO experts who will work with you and your business to help maximise your online presence and build authority. We are constantly updating our knowledge to keep in line with any changes made by Google and the other major search engines.
If you would like any more information then please get in touch with on: 0208 614 3294
