Ron Johnson
Google has changed the rules of the game, so let’s stop worrying about SEO. Content is king.
So if SEO (search engine optimization) is dead, so why do we even bother talking about this issue?
These are still a few SEO myths going around – we will focus on the top 5 in this post:
#1: My PageRank Is High, I Don’t Need SEO
Breaking news: Google put PageRank at the bottom of the indexing algorithm.
Why? Because a lot of shady characters started exploding the ranking system and making money by selling links.
Lets get into the details a little. PageRank is still a part of the Google algorithm for relevant search results. However, it is no longer the first violin in the orchestra, for a few solid reasons:
- It’s easy to manipulate
- It does not correlate with search engine rankings as it should
- There will be no more reliable metrics for it, since PageRank Toolbar will no longer get updates.
#2: Social media has no impact on SEO
Google doesn’t index likes and comments, so why bother including social media in my SEO strategy? Allow us to strongly disagree. Here’s what social media does for you:
- It gets your brand and message in front of a wide audience, and other content publishers might reference your site in their next article.
- It builds engagement and reputation, two concepts that are very important for Google.
- It produces an ongoing cycle of activity on your web page, which signals to Google that your content is important to people, so they should put your page on a higher index position.
#3: Content Alone is King, Queen and Country
Your ‘Contact’ page is content. The ‘Disclaimer’ and your ‘Terms and Conditions’ are content, too. Do they say anything to Google about your website, except that you comply with legal requirements?
Certainly not. Your customer should be the boss and the content should be targeted to them, not Google. Content is nothing without proper context, relevance and great promotion strategies. Otherwise, everyone would get away with their rogue SEO techniques of using hot topics as titles for content which has no relevance to the rest of the website.
#4: Find the magic keyword and rank for it
‘Magic keywords’ are just as much of a myth as the Tooth Fairy and the little green men from Mars. People are not robots and don’t reduce their search queries to one magical word. No one searches for “smartphones”. People want to find “Android smartphones with good camera” or “pre-owned iPhones in mint condition”.
Focus on creating content around topics instead of one or two keywords. Although keywords (especially long tail ones) are still important, nowadays the real magic lies in well-themed content that is enticing to the reader.
#5: I already did SEO last year
I’ve saved the best for last. So you did SEO…some meta-tags, anchor text, some link building. And they will keep your website on the first page of Google results until the end of times, right?
SEO is something you do every day with every piece of content you post and all of your online activity. This all helps Google find and rank your content more easily.
Remember: Google doesn’t exist to serve your business. Google is concerned about the value you provide to it’s searchers. They want to provide the best quality of results for searchers, so make your site the best it can be on an on-going basis.
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