Google SEO: Misconceptions
Begin by stating that duplicate content is not a penalty. Google does not penalize websites for duplicate content.
Google Penalizes Duplicate Content
Google understands that it is normal for content to be duplicated on the Internet. Google indexes only high-quality web pages to avoid the same information appearing in search results.
In the worst-case scenario, duplicate content occurs when pages are grouped together in an index and another version of that page is displayed.
Professionals in search engine optimization have many ways to inform search engines of the pages they want to be indexed.
The correct use of Canonicals, sitemaps, and internal links pointing to the preferred page are all part of this.
Google Respects Canonical Urls As Preferred Versions For Indexing
Google will not index the page that you have set as your preferred URL just because it contains a canonical attribute.
Google does not always honor the real Canonical attribute as a preferred URL signal.
You can find these instances in the Report of the Google Search Console under the flag "SubmittedURL Not Selected As Canonical." Google may choose a different duplicate page to show in search results if it thinks that the other one is more appropriate.
You should check if the content type you want to index matches the page that you have selected as canonical. Then, you will need to verify the signals discussed previously (such as internal links and sitemaps).
Verify that the signals point to your preferred version. Google must receive consistent signals regarding the version of a webpage you prefer.
Algorithmic Penalties For Quality Updates
In a recent article, a former Google engineer discussed the myth of algorithmic penalties: it is important to understand Googles search algorithms.
SEO is often discussed. Some are worth learning from, while others can lead you down the wrong path if followed. It can be difficult to tell them apart.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between information and advice that is based on factual data and articles that are misquoted or Googles own statements.
SEO is full of myths. Youll hear them in odd places. The penalties for duplicate content will allow clients to confide in you what their problems are.
You will only be reprimanded by your boss if the title of your page is less than 60 characters. Some myths are easily debunked. Some myths are more difficult to detect.
Dangerous SEO Myths
Understanding how search engines work is essential. We are experts, and we base a lot of our work on trial and mistake and educated guesswork.
It can be difficult to verify all of the SEO claims that you hear while learning.
At this point, SEO myths begin to spread. Your manager is proudly telling you that you will "BEST optimize" your web copy before you even know what youre doing.
Many SEO myths can be easily dispelled with a little thought and consideration. What would Google be able to do? What is the benefit to a potential customer?
This can lead to a lot of misconceptions about how search engines measure and analyze our websites.
What Is An SEO Myth?
Before we can dispel SEO myths, we need to understand their forms:
Untested Wisdom
SEO myths often rest on untested wisdom. This is because something that might not have an impact on qualified traffic to your website is treated as though it did.
Major Factors Are Blown Out Of Proportion
SEO myths can also have a small impact on organic search, conversion, and rankings but are over-emphasized. You could "check a checkbox," which is crucial for SEO success.
It could also be something to help your website edge out its competitors if everything else is equal.
Old Advice
There may be myths that arise due to what used to work for ranking and converting websites but is no longer effective.
Some things that used to work really well may no longer be effective.
Over time, algorithms become more intelligent. The public views marketing as a negative experience. What used to be considered good advice is now outdated.
Google Being Misunderstood
Google is a source of many myths. Some of the advice given by Google representatives must be interpreted or understood as vague.
Googlers flippant jokes have led to the sale and marketing of optimization services. These SEO myths and legends are founded in fact.
Google myths have been distorted so much that they are no longer helpful.
What Can Appear As A Myth?
Some SEO techniques are dismissed by others as myths simply because they have not seen success with their website.
Each website is different. Each website is unique, with its own competitors, technologies, and other features.
When you apply the same techniques to all websites, it is unrealistic to expect similar results. Some people have not been successful in highly competitive industries when they try a particular technique.
It doesnt mean it wont help someone in a less competitive industry succeed.
Causation & Correlation Being Confused
The myths about SEO can be caused by a false connection between an act and an increase in organic results. SEOs are only too happy to tell others what they did and how it worked.
Often, we do not differentiate between correlation and causation. It does not matter if youve seen an increase in your click-through rates or rankings around the same time that you implemented a new strategy.
There could be other factors at play. SEO Myths were created by SEOs to spread what, in their mistaken opinion, is the golden ticket.
Avoiding SEO Myths
By avoiding SEO myths, you can save yourself headaches, lost revenue, and wasted effort:
Tests
Avoid falling for SEO myths by testing your advice often. If you have been told that structuring titles in a certain way will help your clients rank higher for relevant keywords, try it on just one or two pages.
This will help you decide if its worth changing multiple pages.
Google Just Testing Something
Sometimes, there can be a lot of uproar in the SEO community because of changes to how Google displays or orders search results.
These changes are first tested on a small number of results before they are rolled out to more. After a few search engine optimization experts have noticed a major change, advice on how to optimize for it begins to spread.
You might remember the icons in desktop search results. The SEO community (and Google users) were shaken by the massive uproar.
There were articles that talked about the importance of favicons in attracting users to your results. It was necessary to have more time to determine whether the favicons had a significant impact on click-through rates.
Google has changed the settings back. Wait until you see the impact of Googles changes on SEO before following any new SEO tips shared on Twitter. If Google reverses the changes it made, advice that is sound today could soon be a myth.
Common SEO Myths
Lets look at the most common myths and causes surrounding SEO:
Google Sandbox
According to SEO experts, Google hides new websites from the organic search results for a period of time before ranking them more easily.
Many experts would say this isnt true. Who is the best person to ask? SEO experts with years of experience in the field can offer anecdotal evidence that supports or undermines the concept.
Google has only responded to this on Twitter. Google takes some time to understand and rank new pages on a website.
You could compare it to a sandbox.
Duplicate Content Penalty
This is a common misconception. Google will penalize you if the content on your website is copied. Understanding the difference between algorithmic and manual suppression is crucial to understand this situation.
Google will manually remove pages from its index. Google Search Console notifies the website owner.
If your website does not rank well, this could be due to an algorithmic filter. Chuck Price describes the differences between the two options in a Google article that lists all manual actions.
You may not be able to outrank another website if you copy content from it. Search engines may determine that the original host of the copied copy has a higher relevance to your search query than you.
It is not allowed to be published because theres nothing in it for you. This is not punishment. The algorithm is working.
Prices article covers some manual actions that produce high-quality content. Copying a few of someone elses pages does not activate them. If the content differs from yours, you could get into trouble.
It can also decrease the value of your site to users.
PPC Advertising Improves Rankings
This is a common misconception. It is also easily disproved. Google is a company that offers pay-per-click advertising.
This is not true. Googles algorithm used to rank organic search results differs from the one that determines PPC placements. Although running a Google Adwords campaign in conjunction with SEO can be beneficial, it wont directly affect your ranking.
Domain Age Is A Ranking Factor
This statement is deeply rooted in "confusing causation and correlation." If a website has been around for a while, its age can be a ranking factor.
Google has repeatedly dispelled this myth. Google Webmaster Trends analyst replied to a tweet suggesting domain age was one of "200 signals for rankings", saying "no.
Domain age does not do anything."
This myth is debunked. A site that is older will likely perform better. Many backlinks could be pointing to the main pages of a website thats been live and active for 10 years.
Websites online for less than six months will not be able to compete. Older websites rank higher, so age is a factor.
The Tabbed Content Effects Rankings
This idea has been around for many years. Google will lessen the weight of content that is hidden behind tabs and accordions.
Text that is not visible on the initial loading of the webpage.
Google dispelled the myth once again on March 31. It was controversial for many years, but it is now no longer. It is not necessary to reduce the value of content that can be viewed in HTML.
Google can easily retrieve content. If Google can easily view the content, it should be given the same weight as a copy that is not tabbed.
Google Uses Google Analytics Data To Rank
This is a common fear among business owners. Google Analytics is a great tool to analyze your data. The bounce rate is high, or the average time spent on the page is low.
They are worried that Google will perceive their website as being of poor quality. They fear they wont be able to perform well. Myth: Google uses your Google Analytics data to determine its ranking algorithm.
This is a myth. A Google employee dispelled this myth by stating: "We dont use anything* from Google Analytics in the algorithm."
Google Analytics would make it difficult to monitor. For example, filters can manipulate data in order to make it appear that a website performs better than what is actually the case.
What would you consider a good performance to be? A page with a higher "time spent on Page" may be the best place for long-form content. A shorter page will have a lower "time on Page."
Does it matter which one is the best? Google must also understand the complex configurations of each Google Analytics account.
Some may not have excluded all bots. Some may not have configured anything, while others use custom dimensions and channel groups. This data would be difficult to use reliably.
Hundreds of thousands of sites use other analytics tools. What would Google say about them? It is not a new myth that "cause does not equal correlation." It is possible that a high bounce rate on the site indicates a problem with quality, but this may not be true.
It may be a sign that the content of your website isnt engaging if your page is quick to read. Your poor ranking is not due to them.
Google Cares About Domain Authority
PageRank is a Google algorithm used to determine the importance and relevance of web pages. Googles toolbar displayed the PageRank score for a website as a number ranging from 1 to 10.
Google stopped updating PageRank for toolbars in 2013. Google announced that in 2016, it would stop using the PageRank metric to measure toolbars. In the absence of PageRank, many other authority scores have been developed.
You may recognize them as:
- Moz Domain Authority Scores & Page Authority Scores.
- Majestic Trust Flow & Citation Flow.
- Ahrefs domain rating and URL ranking.
These scores are used by some SEO professionals to determine the "value" of a website.
This calculation does not reflect the real value of a website.
SEO experts also refer to domain authority when referring to the ranking power of a website. This is often done in conjunction with a websites link profile.
The confusion is clear. Google has discredited any notion that it uses a domain authority measure.
The Longer The Content, The Better
Content with more words tends to be ranked higher. If your page has more words, it will be automatically ranked higher.
This "wisdom" is often shared in SEO forums, but it has little evidence to support its validity. Many studies have been conducted over the years to reveal the facts about the top-ranking sites. For example, "On average pages in the top 10 SERP positions contain more than 1,450 characters."
The information presented could be interpreted as a whole, leading someone to believe it takes approximately 1,500 pages to reach page 1.
The study does not say that. This is not an example of causality but rather a correlation. The top pages in a study may have more words, but that does not mean they are a ranking factor.
LSI Keywords Can Help You Rank
What are LSI Keywords? LSI stands for "latent semantic indexing." Information retrieval is done using this technique.
This technique allows concepts to be identified and analyzed in a text. Context can alter the meaning of a particular word. When "right" is used in conjunction with "left," it takes on a different meaning from "wrong."
Humans can quickly interpret the text. Text is difficult for machines to comprehend. Machines must be able to understand the context and link-building in order to grasp concepts.
LSI is a significant step forward in a computers ability to read text. SEO has reduced the concept of LSI to the idea that words that are similar in meaning or have a common theme will improve rankings even if not explicitly stated.
This is just plain untrue. Googles understanding of the text has evolved past LSI. BERT is an example.
SEO Takes 3 Months
Avoid awkward conversations with our clients or bosses. If the results promised are not delivered, there is plenty of room for errors.
Search engine bots may need some time to adjust. It will take some time to see if your changes are having a positive impact. It may take more time for you to perfect and fine-tune your work.
The SEO activities that you do may not have an impact on your rankings for three months. Your ranking wont change after 90 days of hard work.
Its a bit more complicated. Google may change your ranking immediately after a new crawl. You may not see a change in your ranking for a while.
Ahrefs did a study and found that the average age of a page at Googles 10th position was 650. The study shows pages that are younger have a more difficult time ranking highly.
SEO is more than just ranking high on Google. Google My Business listings that are well-positioned and have great reviews can pay off for businesses.
Bing, Yandex, and Baidu can help your brand dominate SERPs.
A small change in the title of a website could increase click-through rates. The next day, if the search engine crawls the page again, this could occur.
Limiting SEO success to the first page of Google is not a good idea. SEO is not three months long, as this is simply inaccurate.
Ranking Factors That Are Important To Consider Include The Bounce Rate
The bounce rate is the percentage of site visitors who dont interact with your website after the first landing. Bounce rate is measured by web analytics software, like Google Analytics.
SEO experts claim that bounce rate is a good ranking indicator because it measures the quality. Unfortunately, this is not a good measure of quality.
There are many reasons why a visitor may land on a page but then leave the site without engaging. The visitor might have found the information they needed on the page but then decided to leave the site and contact the business or make an appointment.
This bounced visitor generated a lead for the company. A users decision to leave a site after landing there does not necessarily indicate poor content.
Search engines would not use it as a reliable measure of the quality of the content.
The act of pogo-sticking or clicking on search results, then returning to the SERPs is a more accurate indicator of the landing pages quality.
It would be an indication that the content of the landing page was not what the visitor wanted since they returned to SERPs and looked at another page.
Conclusion
Its important to understand SEO as a vital aspect of digital marketing. There are many SEO misconceptions and myths that you can fall into and hurt your efforts.
You can avoid making the same mistakes as many other businesses by debunking these top 10 SEO myths. These myths, which range from the importance of competitor keywords to the influence of social media on search engine rankings, can be damaging and misleading.
Its important to have the correct information in order to succeed. You can reach your audience and achieve your goals with the help of Google Analytics consultants and SEO strategies.
This will increase traffic, leads, and conversions on your website. Dont fall into the dark pit of SEO myths. Instead, equip yourself with the knowledge and expertise you need to succeed in your digital marketing endeavors.
You can also hire digital marketing consultant.
