You better believe it: SEO is alive and well and transforming the Web

Where there is smoke there is fire. Where a rumour starts, there is often some truth. And where there are myths, there also need to be corrections and changes in beliefs. The internet is a modern phenomenon that takes up a lot of people’s time. We spend hours writing up content to ensure our business reaches the top of Google. We spend plenty of money paying Google to get us up there and we pay SEO specialists to correct us and guide us as to how we can stay up there.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a dynamic world that is never static. The rules change daily and everyone is competing to be the best in their field. Myths float around about SEO and how it works, or does not work. Sometimes it is bests to demystify these myths so that we can continue to do our best to be Google’s best friend. Fake news is no news, right?

Some SEO myths we should discredit right now:

• SEO is dead! – It is ironic that search engines and doomsayers have been predicting that SEO is dead since 2006. The internet was only invented in 1991 and no one could ever predict that this phenomenon called SEO would ever become so huge. SEO cannot die, it merely evolves. When a company is no longer listed on the first page of Google, or other search engines, they think that SEO has died because they no longer feature. Wrong. It just means that they need to keep up with the changes in SEO and rethink their marketing drive, every day, every hour. Old ways of doing SEO are dead, yes, but news ways are constantly being born.
• SEO is a hoax! – Really? There is plenty of bad SEO out there and many internet users are misled by businesses trying to get them to buy things that are indeed a rip off. There are millions of different industries on the web and each one uses a different kind of SEO. Online users need to first understand how Google works and then to fit into this process as best as they can. SEO is here, now and we all need it to survive and we all need to stay on top of the real SEO updates.
• Boost rankings with Social Media – This myth comes and goes and while it is true that social media does help push a business, it is not wholly true. It does seem that those companies who rank at the top of Google do have strong social media links and policies, BUT Google prefers to rank websites high if they sell strong brands and achieve well in social media networks. It still does not mean that social media boosts your rankings – it is coincidence most of the time.
• Buying Google AdWords will improve my rankings – Ranking well on Google is about your expertise in creating content that markets your business and that others pick up then market further for you. Google notices if your business is being spoken about by other sites and rewards you with good rankings. If you buy AdWords, it is a sign that you are committed to doing well but not a given that you will be ranked at the top. Your ad, however, will help you to connect to a broader online audience which could assist you to be ranked better. Imagine if everyone paid to be ranked well? Where would SEO be and how much fake news would there be now?
• Blogs will help your SEO – Think about why you are blogging and remember that it is mainly to increase traffic to your website. You use keywords relevant to your business and you hope that Google will rank you better. Blogging should extend beyond your own website: try to blog for other websites or create links to relevant websites and form backlinks that Google loves. Link all your blogs to your Facebook account to ensure you get exposure. Blogging takes lots of work, so don’t just sit back and wait for Google to find you.

We could go on and on about the many SEO myths out there doing the rounds. The best SEO is non-existent. It is a dynamic, ever-evolving industry that takes hard work and quick thinking. Update your SEO every week and see what happens. But stay away from the myths.

How to get great rankings on Google:

1. Write relevant and comprehensive content: Try thorough investigations of your subject in simple English that everyone can understand and keep sentences concise. Insert your keywords in a readable format and keep trying. Meaning and logic count!
2. Remember mobile phone content: Mobile internet usage is increasing which means less text and more oomph. Be concise, be clever and be exciting.
3. Create a strong system of backlinks: Google notices weak links so rather create strong links than write a huge amount of content. It has been found that strong social media links create better backlinks and this helps you rank better. All you have to do is endorse your first-class content. Try to find first-class partners with which to make new backlinks. And so on.
4. Google’s mobile-first indexing: Google has promised to crawl the mobile kinds of websites rather than the desktop types which means all online users need to change with the times or get lost in space. Make sure your content is mobile friendly and start changing the way you develop your website.
5. H1 and H2 Headings: it appears that the more of these headings you have in your content, the better you rank. Pay attention to good headings and how you promote your website information using H1 and H2.