SEO Myths that Need to Die in 2017

At Absolute Marketing Solutions, we get a lot of questions about how to maximize efforts in search engine optimization. What are the best activities to engage in if we only have a few hours a month? What are the fastest ways to improve my rankings? How can I be on the first page of Google and beat my competitors?

Well, those goals take time and dedication to accomplish. In 2017, the state of SEO is still heavily in favor of websites that contain relevant, rich, informational content that provides excellent user experiences. Secondly, without having quality websites linking back to your content, it’s going to be very difficult to move the needle and start seeing improvements in rankings.

We’d like to debunk a few myths that we hear again and again because there is no short-cut to success when it comes to SEO. Here are 3 myths that need to die in 2017.

The age of the domain matters. The older the better.

A long time ago, there was a justified belief that the age of a domain would be a ranking factor. For that reason, older domains fetched higher prices in auctions, and were coveted by potential buyers who were yearning for those perfect domains! However, we are now seeing that newer websites outrank older ones in SERPs and in competitive searches based on the quality of their content and the quality of their backlinks. A domain’s age is nothing but a number, and in the SEO world, it doesn’t matter.

Submit a sitemap and that’s going to improve my rankings.

Okay. Having a sitemap is of critical importance. Make sure it’s working and submit it to Google, Yahoo, and Bing. XML Sitemaps allow search engines to better understand your website’s content and structure, but it doesn’t directly affect rankings for keywords or anything else like that. Think of it like publishing a book. If you’re going to publish a book, you better have the title written on the spine, otherwise, how will people read the title of your book while browsing in that section of the bookstore? At the same time, having visibility isn’t going to make your book fly off the shelf and be the 1^st one on there.

Put HTTPS on my site because it’s going to boost my rankings.

HTTPs is certainly favored by users because it gives them the peace of mind that the site is secure, especially on e-commerce sites and those containing personal information. However, HTTPs is only a “lightweight” signal in Google’s overall algorithm, and only impacts 1% or less of queries worldwide.

The list goes on, but these are some of the most frequently repeated myths we hear. For information on how to create an SEO strategy for your business or organization, contact the Tampa SEO Specialists at Absolute Marketing Solutions today.