SEO changes as Google introduces new updates and AI makes more inroads in the industry.
Apart from learning new tricks of the trade, it is high time we identified the top 11 SEO myths to ignore in 2024.
You read that right.
Despite the popularity of paid searches, organic traffic, at 27%, is the greatest contributor to online traffic.
The focus here should be doing SEO the right way.
Below, we discuss the top 11 SEO myths to ignore in 2024, why you should ignore them, and what you should do instead.
If you have any queries about Analytico's digital analytics services, get in touch to let our team of highly professional experts take care of your concerns.
Top 11 SEO Myths to Ignore in 2024
1. Keyword Targeting Is Irrelevant Now
Google rolls out ranking algorithms from time to time. First, it was Panda, then Hummingbird, and finally, the Helpful content algorithm.
And these are just the most prominent ones.
They ensure that once users type a query and hit enter, search results that appear address their intent and inform and provide value.
Sure, it means tactics like keyword stuffing without context or maintaining a specific keyword density no longer count as SEO optimization.
But users still find websites by typing into search engines' search bar. So, performing keyword research and targeting them to create content focused on the search intent remains critical to SEO and website ranking.
2. Keyword Research Is Not Necessary
Well, if some content creators believe that SEO is dead and keyword targeting has no relevance anymore, who cares about keyword research? Right.
It is an outright dangerous SEO myth. Understand that despite the Helpful Content update in Google Algorithms, producing helpful and useful content goes hand in hand with good keywords.
Content marketing revolves around quality keyword research.
Even if you have an established brand, keyword research is critical to identifying the keywords you wish to rank for.
Include steps like competitor analysis to identify the keywords your competitors are using or ranking for and learn from their hits and misses.
When using these keywords, address the intent behind these terms and phrases. Make the content stand out with quality, usefulness, helpfulness, and SEO optimization.
Use link-building best practices, including related keyword-rich anchor texts, and avoid over-optimization, exact match domain, and keyword stuffing.
3. Meta Tags Don’t Matter
Meta tags are HTML tags that define the structure of a blog and inform search engines about the blog's contents.
Typically, we deal with three types of meta tags.
- Meta Title - is the title of the blog.
- Meta Description - this is the most basic explanation of what the blog is about.
- Meta Keyword - is the primary keyword of the blog.
The title appears as a clickable link in the search engine result pages. It introduces the search engines and the users to your blog.
With the integration of Natural language processing (NLP) and Google algorithm updates favoring the intent, emphasis on using the exact keyword decreased.
But using keywords in context still matters and helps users find you.
Similarly, Google used to take meta descriptions provided by a website to show in the SERPs, which is not the case anymore.
Still, all these meta tags are significant in helping search engines understand what the blog is about and showing them in search results.
It is, therefore, worth your time and effort to research and naturally integrate keywords in your meta tags.
Using keywords or their variations with a proper context in your headers, H1, H2, H3, etc., shows you have command over the topic and have knowledge to share.
Helpful and knowledgeable content, one with higher expertise, contributes to EEAT (experience, expertise, authority, trust), which leads to improved ranking on search engines.
4. Top-Level Domains Improve Rankings
A top-level domain proceeds in a website name after the dot after the domain name.
For example, .com is the most popular TLD and the source of the current SEO myth we are about to burst.
For the longest time .com was the only TLD available for businesses. Things only changed in 2010 when several new, to this day, lesser-known generic TLDs were allowed.
However, TLDs don’t do anything for your website SEO.
Except you are a business operating in a specific region, say the UK, then using a .uk TLD will primarily appear for users within that country.
Using a .com TLD means you are aiming for a global audience.
Top-level domains are only as good as the quality of your content, your marketing efforts, and the brand you have developed for your business.
5. Google Will Index Your Fresh Content
First and foremost, indexing is a different process than ranking. Search engine crawlers scan your website pages, analyze its content, and store it in the index.
But it takes time, given a website is not affected by website crawling issues.
So, content creators resort to crawling optimization to get noticed quickly, indexed, and become available in the search results.
Google algorithm updates like “query deserved freshness” or QDF and Caffeine reward freshness for content ranking.
But that has to do with three categories:
- Recent Events / Hot Topics - for example, Universal Analytics data migration to GA4.
- Recurring Events - for example, blogs about recent updates in the Google algorithm.
- Frequently Updated Content - for example, latest tools and extensions for GTM
Creating fresh content on these topics or adding the latest information to the blog makes sense.
In other cases, older content may have a better chance of ranking because it has been around for a while, and the success of its optimization strategies is showing.
Learn about measuring SEO success in this blog.
Remember, SEO takes time before it starts showing results.
Also, introducing fake freshness by updating the publishing date or changing the year in the blog title without actually offering something is a mere gimmick, unable to get far.
If you write on a hot topic, some recent changes, or trends, and the content offers value and is SEO and crawling optimized, it has a chance of getting indexed.
Sure enough, if it meets several other ranking criteria, it can rank higher in the SERP results.
But “freshness” as the sole metric for getting indexed and ranked is, you guessed it, an SEO myth to ignore in 2024.
6. Paid Search Improves Organic Ranking
As pointed out at the start of this blog, organic traffic drives far more traffic than paid traffic.
Second, pay-per-click ads are supposed to drive traffic to your website. Do they have an impact on driving conversions? Sure. Specifically in the short term.
But ranking is a different beast that receives no effect from PPC ads.
SEO is a long-term solution that yields results long after the initial investment. Also, considering the competitive costs of advertisement, SEO offers a higher return on investment (ROI) than PPC.
If you wish to learn about SEO ROI, read it in this blog.
But you may use paid search to your advantage in terms of SEO by pointing out the most suitable keywords to target and optimize your content/website.
7. Long-Form Content Results In Top Ranking
Content creators believe that Google favors long-form content when it comes to ranking.
Studies performed by Backlino find that long-form content accumulates 77.2% higher links than short form.
But even they could not attribute it to content length alone.
The premise is that if you have published long-form content on a topic, you must have covered it from all aspects.
In so doing, you offer value to the reader. Also, long-form content can accommodate more backlinks, which improves SEO.
Still, the focus remains on the value. If a topic demands a succinct short-from write-up, using fillers to expand it to a long form is anything but beneficial.
So, the correlation between long-form content and higher ranking in search results is all but a myth.
What matters is the quality and value of the content; its size is only secondary.
8. Adding Links To Authority Sites Sends Organic Visitors Away
It might seem intuitive to assume that putting in all that effort to create quality content will go to waste if you add a link to an authority website.
Of course, the readers would follow the link to the authority website.
Using quality outbound links offers more value to your visitors.
That’s the whole point of creating content and SEO optimization to provide value to the readers.
How is that?
When you add a link to a website considered an authority in the field, users will be able to connect how that website added value to your content and trust you more.
It will motivate them to keep coming back.
As for search engines like Google, adding an outbound link to an authoritative website with appropriate anchor text shows the relevance of your content.
Both factors help improve your website’s SEO and eventual ranking.
9. Social Media Isn’t A Ranking Factor
Search engines do not care about the performance of your content on social media. However, the belief that social media is not a ranking factor is a total SEO myth.
Social media indirectly supports SEO by increasing visibility and brand awareness.
Social media metrics, likes, shares, and comments increase visibility, build trust, and create brand awareness.
Eventually, this drives more traffic, generates better engagement, and increases brand reputation and content distribution.
The process repeats when they become your brand advocates by sharing and recommending your content to their friends and family. It could earn you backlinks to your website.
All these metrics improve your website’s searchability and drive quality traffic to your website and campaign pages, which influence your SERP ranking.
10. More Backlinks Equals Higher Ranking
Backlinko created a list of 200 ranking factors on Google, where they point out that high-quality backlinks do contribute to increasing your website ranking.
But notice that the focus is on high quality instead of quantity.
Google sees backlinks as a sign of credibility. So, when you are putting in the effort to create well-researched, SEO-optimized quality content, backlinks will follow.
But remember to earn backlinks via white hat link building, such as guest posting, leaving valuable/ insightful comments, or using the skyscraper technique.
Collecting too many backlinks from low-quality or low-domain authority websites won’t help your website rank.
Similarly, using black hat link-building practices risks inviting search engine penalties and must be avoided.
11. SEO Is A One-Time Effort
It is understandable why businesses would believe in the myth of SEO optimizing a piece of content, website, or anything related once and then forget about it.
Long gone are the days of performing SEO at the time of content creation and forgetting about it. SEO is an ongoing process.
The reason is pretty simple.
Rules of SEO are constantly evolving, and so should you.
Google keeps introducing new algorithms to ensure users get access to the content they are looking for.
Keeping your tabs on these changes and optimizing your content will keep you in the search engine results pages.
Also, with Google Search Console, you keep learning about any shift in the user’s search intent.
Missing the opportunity to SEO optimize your content for new and emerging search intent will only benefit your competitors.
Or your competitors found a way to one-up your website.
Remaining updated to such changes and optimizing, adapting, and refreshing your content with valuable input is how you stay on top of your SEO game.
Conclusion
This blog is about the top 11 SEO myths to ignore in 2024.
The first two interrelated myths are that keyword targeting is not necessary. And that keyword research is not required.
Either have zero relevance, since despite new updates to Google's algorithm, identifying keywords to rank for and creating relevant content around them are SEO basics.
The next myth says that Meta tags do not matter. Despite the lesser focus on these factors, meta tags still help users and search engines find your content.
The fourth myth says that high-level domains can influence ranking. In reality, the quality of the website, not the TLDs affects its ranking.
On number five, we have the myth that Google indexes fresh content. In reality, it takes crawl optimization to get indexed.
Freshness as a ranking metric is valued if it is relevant, offers quality information and addresses the keyword intent.
Paid search as a source to increase search ranking is all but a myth. However, it can complement SEO efforts.
The seventh myth is that long-form content ranks better. While it may have some truth, it is more about how well the content covers various aspects of the topic.
Next, another popular SEO myth is that adding links to authority websites drives away organic readers.
In reality, it adds value for them and shows the relevance of your content, supporting your SEO.
It is believed by some that social media does not affect SEO, whereas, in reality, it increases visibility, engagement, and quality traffic, indirectly improving site ranking.
Others feel that having more backlinks equates to a higher ranking. What matters is the quality of those backlinks, not the quantity.
Finally, the eleventh myth is that SEO is a one-time effort that needs no revisiting. But it is an ongoing process, and you need to update and optimize to stay current.
Do you like what you read? Learn more about Digital Analytics on our blog here.