If you have been keeping an eye on the ever-changing facts about SEO then you may believe one or more of the most common myths about it. The best way to ensure that your company’s SEO efforts are always following the latest, best practices guidelines is to hand it over to a digital marketing agency like Webstract. We stay up to date on every change and guide our client’s websites accordingly. Contact us now at 855-201-5800 or contact@webstract.com for a free website analysis.
Myth 1: There is a large penalty for duplicate content
This is false. Google knows that with trillions of websites there is going to be duplicate content. They understand that information on one page of your website is likely to be covered on other parts of your website, and that companies within your industry are likely to have webpages with similar content to yours – after all, you are covering the same needs.
However, there is still risk in having duplicate content. The risk lies primarily in Google indexing your page and folding it into the “similar results” category. This means that Google would show only the first page they’ve indexed as such. The bottom line: Is unique content necessary? Of course – but there is no specific “Google penalty” for duplicate content.
Myth 2: Google has three top ranking factors
The truth is that the “three top ranking factors” were made up by a company trying to sell their SEO services. The reality is that it is impossible to narrow down ranking factors to just three because Google changes them based on each query. This is why we do not focus on individual ranking factors but instead employ an overall SEO system.
Myth 3: High authority is all that matters for backlinks
Yes, Google “likes” backlinks from high authority domains better than backlinks from low authority domains – sort of. This is only true if the backlink is actually relevant to your website. Google takes the context into account, which means it likely makes more sense to backlink via relevant pages with lower authority than with higher authority sites that are not relevant.
Myth 4: Page speed is a huge ranking signal
It is true that for the last eight years, Google has used site speed ranking as one of its ranking signals. However, Google is only differentiating between slow page speed and normal page speed. As a result, a blazing-fast page will get the same “credit” as an averagely fast page.
Myth 5: There is no need to pay for SEO help
False. This is an ever-changing field that involves many different aspects of your website working together. Your job is to run a company – not spend hours a day trying to creep up the rankings. Delegate this to a digital marketing agency for the best results. Get a free quote and website analysis now by calling 855-201-5800 or sending an email to contact@webstract.com.