Table of content:

• Introduction
• Myth 1: “I must submit my site to Google.”
• Myth 2: “More links are better than more content”
• Myth 3: “Keywords matter more than anything”
• Myth 4: “Having a secure (HTTPS) site isn’t important for SEO”
• Myth 5: “Meta descriptions have a huge impact on search rankings.”
• Myth 6: “Pop-ups will always hurt my ranking in search”
• Myth 7: “SEO is just something I should pass off to IT.”
• Myth 8: “You can only have one H1 per page.”
• Myth 9: “My homepage needs a lot of content.”
• Myth 10: “The more pages I have, the better.”

The intention behind this article is to help you understand how Google bots work and the best practices of SEO.

Myth 1: “I must submit my site to Google.”

The idea that you must manually submit your website to Google for it to appear in search results is nonsensical.
Here’s why: Google already has mechanisms to discover and index web content😎. With the help of their bots, Google continuously scours the entire internet, seeking out new and updated web pages to include in their search index.
This means that as soon as your website goes live, Google’s bots will automatically find and index it.

Myth 2: “More links are better than more content”

Building links has been and remains a significant factor in determining search rankings. A link to another website goes beyond mere connection; it serves as a testimonial, a vote of confidence, or even a recommendation. It means saying, “Here’s a trusted source worth exploring.”
Quality should take precedence over quantity when it comes to links. Sometimes, a smaller number of high-quality links can yield better results than a large number of links. The key lies in understanding how to construct links of exceptional quality.

Myth 3: “Keywords matter more than anything”

Due to the surge in mobile and voice searches, search queries have become longer and more conversational. In response, Google has been dedicated to comprehending these queries by leveraging natural language processing with the Hummingbird algorithm.
Unlike traditional approaches relying solely on keywords, Hummingbird analyzes phrases, leading to a significant shift in search dynamics from keyword-centric to topic-focused SEO. This algorithm marks a pivotal transition in search strategies.
This has prompted website owners and SEO practitioners to prioritize comprehensive content centered around specific topics.

Myth 4: “Having a secure (HTTPS) site isn’t important for SEO”

Have you ever noticed that some URLs start with “http://” while others start with “https://”? To simplify, the extra ‘s’ in “https” stands for ‘secured connection’. This means that your connection to that website is encrypted, preventing hackers from intercepting any of your data. The technology behind this security is called SSL, which stands for “Secure Sockets Layer”.

In August 2014, Google announced that it had begun using ‘https’ as a signal in its ranking algorithm. This implies that if your website still relies on the standard HTTP protocol, your SEO ranking could suffer as a result.

From an SEO perspective, Google has publicly stated that if two websites are otherwise equal in search results, the one with SSL enabled may receive a slight rank boost to outweigh the other. Additionally, Google has started warning Google Chrome users that a website is “not secure” if it doesn’t have SSL enabled.

Considering these factors, I strongly recommend enabling SSL on your website.

Myth 5: “Meta descriptions have a huge impact on search rankings.”

Meta descriptions (the short descriptions under the search result titles) don’t serve as official ranking factors for search engines. However, these descriptions can significantly influence users’ decisions to visit a website or not. As a result, they hold importance in on-page SEO strategies.

Furthermore, meta descriptions can be carried over to social media when your content is shared, potentially prompting higher click-through rates from those platforms as well. In essence, well-crafted meta descriptions don’t have a direct impact on search rankings, but rather, they play a pivotal role in encouraging users to choose whether or not to visit a particular page.

Myth 6: “Pop-ups will always hurt my ranking in search”

You might feel frustrated when you can’t access a website’s content due to pop-up forms. These pop-ups can indeed be bothersome. Even Google acknowledged this by announcing in August 2016 that they would start penalizing websites using what they termed “intrusive interstitials.”

To put it simply, Google doesn’t penalize all pop-ups, only those that hinder a user’s easy access to content when searching on mobile devices. For instance, pop-ups that block users from reaching the actual page content will impact your search ranking. This underscores the importance of using pop-ups judiciously.

Myth 7: “SEO is just something I should pass off to IT.”

While SEO involves technical aspects, it’s not something you should simply delegate to your IT team and then forget about. Nowadays, having an effective SEO strategy entails hiring dedicated SEO experts who will collaborate closely with various team members including IT, sales, and more. They will take on the responsibility of not only handling technical aspects but also tasks like content development, link-building, and creating an editorial calendar.

While it might seem like overengineering to allocate specific individuals or a team to SEO efforts, it’s truly about finding the right people who are prepared to analyze and strategize. In the long run, you’ll appreciate having established this division of responsibilities between SEO and IT.

Myth 8: “You can only have one H1 per page.”

First, let’s begin by grasping the utility of headings for Google bots. To achieve this, let’s turn to Google for insight. “We utilize headings to enhance our comprehension of the various sections within a page,” elucidates John Mueller, Google WebMaster Trends Analyst.

In simpler terms, consider your users and employ headings to enhance the accessibility and organization of your content, even if you utilize multiple h1 headings.

Myth 9: “My homepage needs a lot of content.”

To simplify, your homepage content should strike a balance. It should be sufficiently extensive to introduce your identity, offerings, and values, and guide visitors on their next steps. However, this doesn’t imply an excessive amount of content. The goal is for visitors to grasp what you do and your services clearly.
These visitors should leave satisfied, not overwhelmed or underwhelmed, and certainly not confused.

Myth 10: “The more pages I have, the better.”

Having more pages doesn’t mean having more traffic, but having good-quality content does. In fact, when asked about the top three things that help to make a website more discoverable, Google WebMaster Trends Analyst Martin Splitt started with content good.
so make sure you are focusing on the quality of content rather than the quantity.

“You have to have really good content. And that means you have content that serves a purpose for the user. It’s something that users need and/or want,” Splitt says.

The lesson? To avoid any drops, never let quantity overtake quality.

Conclusion

Now that you know what the common SEO myths are, what are you doing that isn’t moving the needle? Understanding these SEO truths will help you become more effective and more efficient with your organic search strategy.
If you can take one thing away from this article, it’s this: More than anything else, SEO is about the overall experience for a searcher, and that experience starts the moment they enter a search query.

📩 For similar content, feel free to follow me and subscribe to my newsletter.