SEO myths don’t just pop into existence out of nowhere – there are reasons behind them that make them seem authentic and trustworthy. Also, as with every myth and conspiracy theory, there are people who passionately believe in them, defend them, and bend the truth to make them seem realistic.
However, more often than not, the reason for SEO myths is that search engines use “living” technologies that are constantly changing and evolving. As a result, the rules of SEO change, and what worked just fine yesterday, become a problem today.
Furthermore, although Google has been quite outspoken about upcoming changes of late, they don’t always disclose what each update does and how website owners can prepare for it.
As a result, rankings fluctuate, content performance shifts, and the SEO best practices transform due to an ocean of contradicting information regarding search engine optimization. And for those that don’t have a certain degree of digital knowledge and background, it can be challenging.
So, how can the average Joe tell what’s true, and what’s not?
In this article, we’ll shed some light on 4 SEO myths , explain the origins of some common misconceptions, and provide insight into important SEO truths.
Read on and take notes!
1. SEO Is No Longer Relevant
For most businesses, search engine optimization can be challenging. That’s because they most likely have no expertise in the area and have to rely on third parties for information and support.
What’s more, SEO adds extra costs, requires time, and creates all kinds of new digital headaches.
At the same time, it seems that some websites rank without much effort, while others stay behind in the SERPs no matter how hard they try.
As a result, some marketers and business owners start to wonder whether or not ranking in the SERPs is more or less random?
Furthermore, it doesn’t help that we often see articles boldly claiming that SEO is dead.
This creates general confusion and makes people question the benefits of SEO, and doubt its relevance.
The Reasons Behind the Myth
Google’s algorithms are becoming more advanced each year. They rely on artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP). Google is also investing billions of dollars in developing these technologies.
As a result, search engines have started to better understand people’s queries and because of this they can deliver more accurate results even when the user’s search is not that straightforward or specific.
In fact, search has become so intuitive, it seems as if they can figure out what we mean almost as well as another human would.
And this started to raise some questions for website owners and marketers, including, but not limited to, the following:
Is SEO still relevant in 2022?
Is SEO a gimmick?
Why is SEO not dead?
Will SEO exist in 5 years?
(and our personal favorite)
Is SEO a pyramid scheme?
The Truth
If you are asking yourself similar questions, rest assured that SEO is not going anywhere.
While Google’s machines are advanced and learn from billions of searches daily, they are highly unlikely to start understanding internet content the way humans do.
That’s because the web is a mess. And this mess is growing daily.
In fact, 252,000 new websites are created on a daily basis. Every. Single. Day.
Take a moment to let that sink in.
There is so much information online – most of it unstructured and unoptimized, – that it will be difficult for even the most advanced of machines to sort it out without a little help, at least, for the foreseeable future.
And that’s what search engine optimization is for – it helps the robots make sense of online content so that they understand whether or not it applies to the user’s query.
So yeah, SEO – is not dead, and it is still very much relevant.
Next!
2. You Need All the Backlinks You Can Get
Links are often quoted as one of the most important parts of SEO. And they are indeed vital for how search engines understand, put into context your pages, and evaluate your pages.
However, not all backlinks are made equal.
In fact, too many meaningless backlinks from low-quality and/or not relevant websites are not only useless but can even harm your SEO. It has even been confirmed by Google’s spokesperson John Muller during Google SEO office-hours (mark 27:11 in the video).
The Reasons Behind the Myth
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, all backlinks had equal value.
Years ago, it was easy to build authority by purchasing hundreds of random links and sprinkling them across your website.
However, Google was quick to eradicate such design flaws. Even back then, its goal was to develop a search algorithm that could see through such cheap tricks (later labeled as black hat SEO techniques) and pave the way toward a better user experience.
Beginning with the Jagger update, Google changed the way it evaluates links and started taking into account the meaning of the page, the anchor text, the reputation of the source, and so on.
Fast-forward to today.
Everyone online talks about the importance of backlinks and how they’ll guarantee a good ranking and authority.
And website owners and marketers rush to obtain all the incoming links they can, hoping that they can fuel their SEO and boost the performance of their pages.
However, unfortunately, prioritizing quantity over quality is not the way to go.
The Truth
Backlinks are important, but they are not the most important thing about SEO – confirmed by John Mueller on a different occasion.
Even if you somehow manage to build hundreds of high-quality and relevant backlinks, if your website is not fast, user-friendly,, and your content is not valuable to your audience, these backlinks will not matter.
That’s because Google uses backlinks as a form of peer recommendations, and these recommendations help them find content of similar quality.
However, if the rest of your SEO doesn’t add up – i.e. technical standards, content quality, and on-page optimization – having those backlinks means nothing.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to invest time and effort into building backlinks – incoming links from relevant pages on authoritative websites that can do wonders boosting the performance and ranking of your content.
3. SEO Is a One-Off Job
The success of SEO depends on many factors, and one of the most important among them is consistency.
That’s because the standards and requirements of search engines are constantly transforming and evolving, and, to remain relevant, websites need to change along with them.
And yet, it’s not uncommon for website owners to simply implement a little search engine optimization here and there, and call it a day without considering how this will effect them long term.
.
The Reasons Behind the Myth
Simply put, sometimes, people just don’t realize that SEO needs constant work.
Regardless of whether they optimize a new website right at its launch, or apply changes to an existing website, they think that they can find a checklist, make some adjustments, and become SEO-friendly overnight.
What they fail to realize is that, there are many factors that need to be considered. Secondly, SEO takes time to deliver results. And, thirdly, by the time it delivers results, there may be new updates and new rules to take into account.
Furthermore, as Google is not always straightforward with the information it provides, and it is not uncommon for official spokespeople to contradict each other, there isn’t one easy way to do SEO.
You can do everything by the book, and still not see the results you’d like to.
As a result, you need to analyze reports, revisit your strategy, and try again.
Sometimes, it can really be a game of hit-and-miss, and to find the right path, you need to test out different techniques.
However, this information is not mentioned often enough in the thousands of SEO guides and courses online, so many people are not fully aware of this aspect.
The Truth
SEO is an ongoing process that requires consistency, dedication, flexibility, and a holistic approach.
To get (and retain) Google’s attention, you need to regularly publish content that is relevant and interesting to your audience, maintain your websites, optimize any new content, and update older content to match the latest requirements of search engines.
Simply put, it requires constant tinkering.
Furthermore, you need a strategic approach – where you start with the learning basics, and then, begin to constantly track your performance to see what you are doing right and where there’s room for improvement.
However, sometimes all this work starts to seem like an annoying chore. But hold in there, as with almost everything else, the more you do it, the easier it becomes, and if you keep putting in all the hard work, in the end, it’s all worth it.
4. It’s All About Making the Robots Happy
There’s general confusion about the purpose of SEO.
A lot of marketers believe that its goal is to make search engines happy.
Misled by this idea, they create content only for the sake of SEO and update and upgrade their websites only because Google says so.
However, the ultimate purpose of search engines is to be a bridge between online content and the audience.
Over time, Google has upgraded this idea and concentrated on providing the best content and best user experience.
With each update they launch, the algorithm is able to sift out the pages that are inferior in terms of technical quality, value, and ease of use, leaving those that deliver on all fronts to be ranked accordingly.
The Reasons Behind the Myth
With every new update, Google creates extra work for website owners and marketers.
Pages that ranked well before may drop in position or entirely fall out of the SERPs overnight – and for no apparent reason.
This frustrates people because, all of a sudden, all their previous SEO efforts and accomplishments seem to have disappeared overnight despite following Google guidelines.
What they often fail to consider is that the purpose of these updates is not to ruin websites, but to improve the search experience for users. To that end, Google wants to show in the SERPs pages that are relevant, fast, responsive, mobile-friendly, valuable, meaningful, and so on, and so forth.
In other words, all these updates are actually for the users, not the robots.
The Truth
If you have a user-friendly, well-functioning, and secure website, and publish content that benefits your audience, search engine optimization is nothing more than that – optimization.
If you provide extra information to the robots to explain to them what they otherwise may misunderstand, structure your content purposefully, and use the proper keywords that match what users may key in searches. Then you are good to go.
That’s it. That’s the long and short of it
Bottom Line
Of course, there are many other SEO myths that circulate the digital realm and confuse inexperienced and experienced marketers alike.
However, while most of those can cause you to lose time and effort, the four misconceptions that we’ve focused on here can actually damage your SEO and compromise your digital presence if left ignored.
If you struggle with your search engine optimization success or find it hard to keep up with the latest trends and updates, don’t hesitate to give us a call – we always are here to help!
Team DevriX
This article is crafted by DevriX's seasoned marketing team, boasting over four decades of collective expertise in crafting sophisticated marketing funnels, devising comprehensive content frameworks and pillars, implementing engaging email campaigns, and creating impactful social media content designed for scalability.
Our marketing experts specialize in the complete spectrum of inbound marketing strategies. As an accredited HubSpot Agency Partner and a Semrush Partner, we engage in meticulous research, blending our extensive experience with the unique insights of our highly skilled team.
We set benchmarks in content creation by incorporating cutting-edge marketing trends, leveraging in-depth industry research, and utilizing state-of-the-art AI tools for data segmentation and captivating content hooks. Our proficiency extends across a diverse range of sectors, including working with SMEs, Fortune 1000 companies, global B2B brands, major publishing entities, WooCommerce platforms, business directories, and affiliate networks.
