SEO myths to leave behind in 2017

The world of search engine optimisation (SEO) is ever evolving and unpredictable, perhaps what worked previously on one website won’t on another. SEO has changed a lot over recent years, with Google making multiple algorithm updates since 2011 which websites need to stay ahead of or they’ll quickly fall down the search rankings.

What’s more confusing is depending on who you talk to you’ll get different opinions on what you should or shouldn’t be doing. To bring in the new year HubSpot recently produced a great free ebook: “18 SEO Myths You Should Leave Behind in 2017“. The document covers some common SEO practices that were once at the forefont of search engine marketing but should now be left behind as we begin 2018 – the 18 myths are below:

Myth 1: I must submit my site to Google
Myth 2: More inbound links are better than more content
Myth 3: Having an ‘https’ encrypted site isn’t important
Myth 4: SEO is all about ranking
Myth 5: Meta descriptions have a huge impact on search rankings
Myth 6: Pop-ups will always hurt my search rankings
Myth 7: Keyword stuffing is THE KEY to SEO
Myth 8: Keywords need to be an exact match
Myth 9: H1 is the most important on-page element
Myth 10: My homepage needs loads of content
Myth 11: The more pages I have, the more traffic I’ll receive
Myth 12: Good user experience is not a requirement
Myth 13: Local SEO doesn’t matter
Myth 14: Google will never know if I have poor links pointing at my site
Myth 15: Images don’t require any optimisation
Myth 16: Answers boxes on matter if you’re Wikipedia
Myth 17: I don’t need to optimise for mobiles
Myth 18: SEO can be handed onto the IT department

If you require any help with any part of the SEO, digital marketing or web development in 2018 please don’t hesitate to contact us.