Reading through the Search Engine Journal’s list of pervasive SEO myths (which you can read here) got us thinking of a few we’ve seen crop up regularly.
Having worked alongside countless businesses on SEO strategy, and having been “in the game” for as long as the game’s existed, we here at Paul Teitleman SEO Consulting have seen a few misconceptions flying around. Sometimes they’re pedalled by so-called experts who should know better. But more often than not, they’re the unfortunate consequence of thinking one understands Google’s algorithms (that vast, ultimately unknowable entity that controls much of SEO).
Whether you’re a business owner looking to ramp up exposure or a site owner chasing that elusive front page, be sure to sidestep the following SEO myths.
The reality: There certainly is such a thing as being too aggressive.
Back in the day (this is pre-Penguin), anchor text optimization was the way to get ahead on the SERP. However, now you can easily do more harm than good if your backlink profile is over-optimized.
When most of your backlinks are for exact match keywords (even if you vary them), it’s easy for Google to detect an unnatural link pattern/behaviour. And because Google has recently come down hard on sites it deems spammy or unhelpful, it will dock major points for the infraction.
The key takeaway here: The majority of your backlinks should focus on your brand!
The reality: Content is still king.
Specifically, fresh content is necessary in order to succeed on today’s constantly changing search engines. I’m still shocked when I have to convince a client to add a blog and start writing fresh content at least 2-3/month at the very minimum! Read more about human-driven content in our resource on AI and SEO.
The reality: SEO takes time.
Don’t trust any SEO consultant who promises fast results. At best, they’re lying to you. At worst, they actually believe what they’re telling you and will implement a potentially disastrous strategy.
Slow and steady wins the race. Just because you got excited about SEO doesn’t mean you can aggressively start building lots of backlinks. Link velocity here people! This is something I’ve been saying since, like, 2011—and yet people still try to take a fast and furious approach. Do yourself a favour and plug an SEO strategy into your long-term calendar; that’s how you win.
The reality: You need to focus on your brand and social signals.
Some dyed-in-the-wool SEO people seem to still think that social media doesn’t impact SEO. And sure, it may not directly influence Google’s algorithms. But indirectly? It makes a load of difference.
While not a direct ranking factor, social signals (likes, shares, comments) can contribute to SEO. High engagement on social media can indicate to search engines that your content is popular and relevant, which might influence your rankings indirectly. Moreover, social media presence helps with content distribution (sharing that content to all your adoring fans), visibility, user engagement, local citations, and content longevity.
Make sure you have a decent presence on the main social media sites and be sure to share your blog content across them. Post relevant content that users/customers/fans will find interesting and informative.
Don’t just shove promotions or irrelevant content down their throats. It won’t work!
The reality: Backlinks are still and always will be necessary.
Even if you were to post 30 times a month and have great social signals, you aren’t going to rank on the first page for seriously competitive keywords. Quality is much more important than quantity when it comes to building strong backlinks to promote your site.
While you’re at it, brush up on how to link internally as well–we’ve linked our resource for ease.
The reality: Yes, you need to optimize your page speed.
Nobody likes waiting, especially in the digital world where everything is supposed to happen now. If your website takes its sweet time loading, you’re not just annoying your visitors—you’re losing them. People expect pages to load faster than they can blink, and if yours doesn’t, they’ll bounce. More than that, Google’s watching. A slow site is a red flag for search engines, signaling that you’re not keeping up with the times.
But it’s not just about search engine rankings or keeping up appearances. It’s about giving people what they want—instantly. Fast-loading sites lead to better user experiences, higher engagement, and ultimately, more conversions.
It’s all about having a unified front when it comes to succeeding on the search engines. You need a mix of great fresh content, on page optimization, social signals, fast site speeds, and solid backlinking focusing on promoting your brand/URL and not exact match keywords.
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