There’s a lot of misinformation floating around the search engine optimization (SEO) sector. Perhaps it’s because SEO scammers directly benefit from this lack of understanding. Or perhaps it’s simply an inevitable characteristic of any long-running industry. 

Either way, there are a few myths that seem to persist more stubbornly than others—today, we’re going to address three of the biggest myths currently plaguing SEO.  

More is Better

Our first is technically a twofer.

A lot of SEO novices develop something of an obsession with quantity. More backlinks. More keywords. Bigger numbers. 

The problem is that this never works. Content quality—and how well it fits intent—is far more important than keywords. And if you include too many keywords and keyword variations in a piece or attempt to hit some sort of quota, there’s a good chance you’ll be penalized for keyword stuffing.

Similarly, one relevant backlink is worth a hundred irrelevant ones. Worse still, in some cases backlinks could potentially even damage your credibility. It’s one of the reasons buying links is never advisable

Those purchased links are almost always toxic. 

Social Media and SEO are Directly Related

Plenty of SEO specialists have noted that there appears to be a correlation between social signals and page performance. It’s important to understand that this is not due to any action on Google’s part. Search algorithms have absolutely nothing to do with social marketing. 

Google’s own John Mueller has directly said as much. 

The reason pages with more social activity tend to perform better on the search engine results page (SERP) is merely a matter of exposure. More people see the page because it’s being shared. And because more people see the page, they’re more likely to share it. 

You’ll Get Penalized for Duplicate Content

Our last myth is one that we’ve seen even experienced SEO professionals subscribe to.  The idea that your site will be penalized by Google for hosting duplicate content is quite frankly wrong. It’s important to understand, however, that this doesn’t mean duplicate content is a good thing. 

While there is no duplicate content penalty present in Google’s algorithms, duplicate content can still harm your ranking in a few ways: 

• Cannibalized traffic
• Diluted backlinks
• Greater difficulty competing with content scrapers

So while it’s still worthwhile to run a site audit so you can check for and eliminate duplicate content, it’s not the critical SEO issue that some people make it out to be. It’s a minor optimization issue, at worst. 

Clearing the Air

The SEO myths listed above are far from the only misconceptions around the profession. They’re simply a few of the most prominent and persistent. Hopefully, in publishing this piece, we’ve taken one more step towards laying them to rest for good. 

Want to read more? Check out our blog, where we dive into SEO topics every month!

A lot of people forget that search engine optimization isn’t simply a matter of finding the right keywords and selecting the right topics. It’s about more than meta descriptions and site content.  User experience is every bit as crucial to creating an effective site. 

Because if your site doesn’t perform properly—if it’s not fast, intuitive, and easy to navigate—then none of the other stuff matters. People aren’t going to stick around to see your compelling content. They’re going to leave and likely end up navigating straight to one of your competitors.

Make Sure it’s Mobile-Friendly

By 2025, 72.6% of all Internet users will access the web exclusively on their smartphones. By 2030, that number is likely to be significantly higher. At this point, the simple reality is that if your website is not optimized to perform well on smartphones and tablets, you are alienating the majority of your audience.

And when you factor in that mobile-friendliness has been a ranking factor for some years now, you’ll very likely see yourself drop down the rankings of the search engine results page, as well. As for what this involves, you’ll want to do the following: 

• Design your layout to be readable on smaller screens.
• Keep the user experience consistent across pages.
• Connect everything to social media where relevant. 
• Test your site with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test Tool.

Optimize for Speed

You’ve probably heard the statistics. More than half of people will abandon a website that takes more than three seconds to load, and the majority of people won’t wait longer than six. Guidance from Google reflects this as well, recommending load times of under half a second. 

And like mobile-friendliness, speed is also a ranking factor, meaning you’ll want to do the following at the minimum to keep your site loading fast:

• If you must use JavaScript, ensure the code is as light and efficient as possible.
• Compress all images when uploading.
• Utilize browser caching.
• Avoid heavy use of rich media like video. 
• If you’re using a tool like WordPress, use a responsive theme. 
• Avoid pop-ups. 
• Consider enabling Accelerated Mobile Pages. 

Structure Things Logically

We’ve all encountered sites that were difficult to navigate. 

Nested menus within nested menus, the end result is a confusing, frustrating mess. Links and categories that go in circles are as difficult to follow for humans as it is for search engines. Graphics that could be charitably described as an eyesore. 

Your website must be as streamlined as possible, with a sensible hierarchy and an easy path into and out of every single page. Every segment should flow naturally into every other segment, and no page on your site should be more than three jumps away from the homepage. 

In Closing

SEO is about more than keywords and content. Design is every bit as important. The best practices here are a good starting point in that regard, but they aren’t everything—the rest is up to you. Want more resources on SEO operations? Check out our resources page!

When someone mentions search engine optimization (SEO), what’s the first thing you think about? Chances are good that if you’re like most people, it’s Google — or rather, its parent company, Alphabet. That’s not surprising.

While Google certainly didn’t invent the search engine market, it has, for more than a decade, defined it. Half of SEO amounts to trying to figure out what Google’s algorithms are doing, and what sort of content they want.  Other search engines rarely, if ever, even enter into the equation.

And if they do, they’re almost always playing second string to Google.

Will this always be the case, though? Today, we take the search giant’s dominance as a given. As history has shown us, however, dominance can vanish almost overnight.  

BlackBerry. Toys R Us. Blockbuster. Staples. Compaq. These were once household names. And while most of them are still operational, they operate in a smaller niche than anyone could have imagined in their heyday. 

According to research collected by statistics aggregator Statista, Google’s share of the search engine market has been on a steady decline for the past several years. It has, since April 2016, dropped from 63.8 percent … to 62 percent. Alright, admittedly, that’s not much of a decline.

That said, Microsoft’s share of the search engine has been climbing both consistently and significantly. Since 2012, the percentage of total search queries handled by Microsoft increased from 15.4 percent to 25.9 percent. Taken in tandem, these two statistics appear to suggest that Google’s position at the top of the search market may well be in jeopardy.

At the same time, looking at the data in its entirety paints a very different picture. Since 2008, Google has always hovered around the 60 percent mark. Although Microsoft’s climbing market share could, in the future, result in a shift, at the current juncture it’s still business as usual. 

And ultimately, it doesn’t really matter anyway. At the end of the day, all search engines ultimately have the same goal. Through their algorithms, they want to provide their audience with the most relevant, insightful, and valuable content possible. There are a limited number of ways in which one can do that.

They all boil down to intent. Understanding precisely what a user is looking for and providing that to them. This has always been the end goal of search engines (aside from generating advertising revenue, obviously). 

That isn’t to say you should ignore Google’s algorithmic updates, nor that you shouldn’t endeavor to understand the search engine. You still should. But at the same time, your focus should be on understanding your audience and using that understanding to create the best content and the most compelling brand image possible.

Do that, and everything else should follow.

Some people can turn creativity on and off like a faucet, accessing an endless well of inspiration and imagination with ease. We’d be lying if we said we weren’t at least a little jealous. See, for most of us, creativity tends to be a fickle, fleeting thing, coming and going more or less as it pleases.

Most often, this manifests as a lack of inspiration in the brainstorming phase, the inability to come up with compelling content even in spite of knowing what your readers are interested in. The bad news is that there’s no way to avoid this kind of thing entirely. The good news is that if you know where to look, you can overcome this roadblock when it surfaces.

Here are a few of our favorite sources of inspiration to help you more effectively research, brainstorm, and create compelling content. 

Quora

Quora is, beyond any shadow of a doubt, one of our favorite resources not just for topic research, but for audience research as well. This Q&A community hosts content on virtually anything you can think of — if it’s a question someone’s asked, you’re likely to find it here. Whether you’re stuck on how to address a particular search query or simply looking for new content ideas, it’s the perfect place to look. 

Other, similar resources include Yahoo! answers and Reddit. 

Competitor’s Blogs

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? As such, if you’re trying to figure out where you should focus your content marketing efforts, it may be worthwhile to have a look at the competition. Note that we are not in any way suggesting that you directly copy them — plagiarism is one of the worst things you possibly do as a writer and something to be avoided at all costs.

Rather, take a look at what sort of topics your competition covers, and think about whether or not there are certain areas you can improve upon when compared to them. In essence, approach content marketing in the same way as you approach every other area of your business. Do what your competitors do, only better.  

Friends and Colleagues

Last but certainly not least, never underestimate the value of your contacts, both personal and professional. Even if someone isn’t part of your target audience or working in your particular field, having someone to bounce ideas off can be incredibly valuable. They’ll likely bring a unique perspective to the table, with insights you hadn’t previously considered. 

A good brainstorming session is an incredible way to get the creative juices flowing. 

Writer’s Block is Only Temporary

Struggling with a creative block can be incredibly frustrating. But if you know where to look, inspiration is usually only a few clicks away. And if the above advice doesn’t help, there’s one more thing you can do to get the juices flowing.

Take a break. Get up from your computer and go for a walk. Do something relaxing, fun, and energizing.

When you return to your work, you might be surprised at how much better you’re able to focus.

Small boxes of text that appear at the top of the search engine results page, featured snippets are an effort by Google to provide users with a clear, concise answer to their questions – one that doesn’t require them to click through to the result.

On the surface, that may seem a bit counterproductive. After all, isn’t getting people to access your website the whole reason for doing search engine optimization? If someone doesn’t even click on your site, how does having a featured snippet help you? 

In a few ways.

First, featured snippets appear in what’s known as position zero on the SERP.  They always precede the first link on the page, meaning they’re the first thing a user sees. This goes an incredibly long way towards building brand recognition.

Second, featured snippets actually can lead to clicks if you use them effectively. See, snippets generally comprise only a small portion of a page’s content. If the question you’re answering requires more than a few sentences, people will have to click to see the rest of it.

In fact, according to Search Engine Land, featured snippets are actually known to reduce the click-through rate for the first organic to below 20 percent.  Basically, featured snippets represent an invaluable component of any SEO strategy. Let’s talk about how you can leverage them. 

• Create exceptional content. For content to be selected by Google’s algorithms for a featured snippet, it needs to have ranked high on the SERP in the first place. With that in mind, you need a solid understanding of both SEO and of what your audience is looking for with your content. 
• Find questions to answer. Figure out what people in your specific niche want to know. What questions is your audience likely to ask about your area of expertise, and how can you best answer them? You might consider using a tool like Answer the Public or AlsoAsked. 
• Look at competitor’s snippets. Figure out what other businesses in your niche are doing to rank for featured snippets, and see how you can outdo them. 
• Be thorough, yet direct. When answering a question, do so as thoroughly as possible while also remaining concise with your wording. 
• Consider answering multiple questions per article. A solid article that answers several questions in one piece of content can be a powerful tool where featured snippets are concerned. 
• Use high-quality media. High-quality video and images, particularly infographics, can go a long way towards making content more compelling. 
• Understand the basics of SEO. Headers. Optimal content length. Keyword optimization. These are all essential to creating a page that ranks high enough for featured snippets.

Featured snippets are a powerful tool in any website’s marketing arsenal. Understanding how they work is at the core of effective SEO. Arm yourself with the knowledge above, and you’re well-equipped to bring in more traffic and reach a greater audience than ever before.

Infinite scroll and search engine optimization don’t play nice together. Given that infinitely-scrolling websites aren’t exactly a new thing on the web, that’s something we’ve known for at least a decade. The problem, as noted by search engine marketing expert Moz, is that many sites implement infinite scrolling via JavaScript, which Google can’t really crawl effectively. 

No tracking, targeted advertising, or personal profiling. No search history, and no sharing of user data with advertisers. Unbiased results, untainted by sponsored entries. Encryption and timed expiration. The ability for a business to integrate the software into its own products. 

A lot of people look at search engine optimization (SEO) as some sort of holy grail. They operate on the mistaken belief that if they can only master the sacred art of SEO, their website will shoot to the top of the search engine results page. To be blunt, this is false.