In the digital era, there are more ways to reach customers than ever before. Businesses often struggle to keep up with all the new strategies, techniques, and resources that daily flood the Web.
Since the advent of Google, Yahoo!, and similar search engines, SEO has played a critical role for businesses engaging in the best digital marketing. However, like anything that’s been around a while, the marketing industry has developed several SEO myths.
If you’re not careful, SEO myths could damage your business. By following bad practices, you risk losing out on several new customers. So, in this guide, we’ll address some of the leading SEO myths out there.
Leading SEO Myths: Google Hummingbird Made Keyword Targeting Irrelevant
When Google Hummingbird first debuted, it promised to alter the trajectory of search. Many of its effects linger even today. While Hummingbird has changed many aspects of search engine optimization, it hasn’t eliminated the need for relevant keywords.
A high-quality site still utilizes a thorough keyword SEO plan. In fact, Hummingbird has actually made keyword research simpler by eliminating the need for a keyword ratio.
Now, you can direct your focus to a searcher’s intent. To learn more about keywords, spend time researching “How Does SEO Work?
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High-Level Domains Improve Rankings
When you own a top-level domain, this means you occupy the top position in the domain name system’s hierarchy. An example of such a domain is the .com website extension.
While websites with the domains .com, .net, and others like these will receive more traffic than .guru, they don’t necessarily influence your ranking. After all, several other .com websites exist, each competing with you for search engine rankings.
So, what do you need to do instead? Instead of trusting your domains to get your rankings, focus on adding value to your domain name. Show the search engine why it should rank you higher for various searches.
Using Target Keywords in Anchor Text Doesn’t Matter
When you build hyperlinks in your content, should you use keywords in your anchor text? The short answer is yes.
Many SEO experts continue to believe that anchor text will remain a crucial factor in your rankings in the future. It seems unlikely that any change in Google’s system would upend this.
If you use contextual links in your article with anchor text keywords, they can have up to ten times the power in your ranking than other text. However, there is a catch.
Overoptimization of keywords can also get you penalized on Google and other search engines. You have to strike a balance between how many keywords you use. Otherwise, you may end up suffering in the rankings.
Always Check Your Facts
If you’re an SEO professional, you’re almost certainly going to hear SEO myths reported to you as facts by someone. Whenever you hear SEO advice that sounds a little unusual, spend time vetting the information.
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