10 SEO Myths I Wish I Had Known Earlier

Of late, I have learnt some mind-blowing SEO facts that I didn’t know before. I have been into SEO content writing for many years now.

By now, I can say that I am well ensconced as a writer. But as you always know, SEO is an ever-evolving field, and the more you know, the better. So, like hundreds of other SEO professionals and content writers, I too followed what so-called SEO experts were saying until one day I got to know that simply by doing what others have been doing, am I not only losing out on SEO metrics but also losing out my voice too.

That was my inner call, and I said to myself, “Enough is enough.” Why should I follow what others are doing? Why can’t I be a trendsetter or why can’t I do something else that nobody has tried before? And since then, I have been researching hard on how SEO works, how content gets ranked, and how can we get on top of SERPs. So, in case you are also researching on getting your content on top of SEO ranks, here’s what I did differently.

And if you go on to read more, I am damn sure it will break many of your SEO myths too that deterred you from walking an extra mile and choosing a different path that might look different but eventually help you walk into an independent path with a long-term success in sight but in the distant future. And it’s completely futile to even imagine getting success in SEO with long-term brand prospects in the short run!!

Top 10 SEO myths that you should know now

#10) AI content has nothing to do with ranking. The claim that AI-generated content cannot rank on Google or Bing is simply wrong. In fact, AI-generated content can rank well on search engines, just like human-written content. Many AI-generated blogs rank highly on SERPs, just as human-written content does.

#9) Top-ranked content doesn’t mean too much traffic. This is just your ego booster. I personally saw many top-ranked blogs on Google and Bing that got very less traffic and even engagement as well.

#8) If your keywords are ranking on Google, it’s good, but don’t consider it your super achievement. These are just metrics to please your boss. Nothing else.

#7) Many blogs that get too many views are actually not through human interaction. It might stun you, but on the internet, many blogs that are performing well and receive many views are actually nothing but ‘bots.’

A recent industry report has claimed that more than 51% of web traffic comes from bots. So, the next time you receive hundreds or thousands of views, don’t automatically assume that all of them represent real human visitors.

#6) You should optimise your content with SEO rules and techniques, but don’t overdo it even if SEO checkers like Yoast and AI tell you to do so. Retain your originality. That’s what remains in the net when generic content that follows the herd gets lost in a few years.

#5) More than ranking on SERPs, your main focus should be towards gathering as much human interaction or engagement as possible. You need to optimise the use of social media channels for that, especially Twitter, Facebook, Quora, Reddit, and LinkedIn.

SEO & Social Media: The Missing Link

#4) If your content is regularly featured on Quora or Reddit with good human engagement, you can genuinely expect that content to do even well on AI GEO and SEO also. But if you are solely focusing your blog content to rank on top of SERPs and ignoring Reddit and Quora, you are just wasting your time.

So, instead of asking your SEO teams to do multiple activities on various tools like AHREF/SEMRUSH and others… simply ask them to write a personalised blog on Quora and Reddit and give a backlink to your blog.

Alternatively, you can post a portion of your blog on Quora and Reddit and give a Read More clickable button there. But do it carefully, as rushing to achieve too many things in no time could lead to your account suspension. But if it works, your business will thrive too. It may take time, but you will be considered an authority in your niche.

#3) Don’t skip the byline. I am telling you… most firms keep the name of the company in their byline. This certainly makes things look even more robotic. How much time does it take to create an author profile?

Just create your author profile with a unique description about you or your bio and see how things go too far.

Your profile pic and bio will literally create more impressions in the minds of the readers, and they will also want to read your other articles as well. Don’t miss this opportunity.

The Last Two SEO Myths You Shouldn’t Miss Out On

#2) Write to your heart’s content. This is one of the most underrated SEO hacks that most content writers and even SEO teams tend to ignore. If you write something with TLC, I mean tender love and care, it will certainly bring satisfaction to your writers and SEO team. It acts as a morale booster to them.

It gives them the long rope to try out something different than just blindly following SEO influencers and random publications that consider SEO algorithms as gospel stuff to follow, otherwise perish.

I, instead, feel we should have the necessary creative liberty to do something different and not simply put ourselves enclosed and engulfed by tried-and-tested formulas regurgitated by SEO influencers that may or may not work for you. But your originality will never backfire. Even if it gives no returns, it will not cause you any harm either.

#1) Last but not least, never ever write for bots or to please Google. Do your research. Take immense help from AI whenever needed—don’t feel ashamed of it. AI is made for this purpose only.

But never plagiarise content that has already been published. Getting your content written by AI is 100% legal and 100% morally correct when done properly and responsibly. However, copying someone else’s content word for word and passing it off as your own is a serious no-no and can be illegal.

Even AI content that you use should be first checked on various tools and even word by word to find out if the content generated by AI is 100% original or they copied that from someone else. This is an uncompromising SEO and content writing rule that anybody should only ignore at their own peril.

The Ultimate SEO Tip: The Purpose

Finally, one last point. You are writing with a purpose. Be sure to try to stay honest to that. No matter what you are writing, for whichever publication you are writing, or when you are writing, just stay honest to yourself, and you should know the ‘purpose’ of your writing.

For example, you may write for emotional purpose, or you may write to create awareness, or you may write to bring a new piece of information to the public, just do it carefully.

If you do this part carefully and if your content successfully answers the readers’ questions, then you can safely relax because your content may go on to be really called successful in its truest sense.

It may achieve: top rank in Google SERPs, your content may get featured in Google Snippet, and it may get even top-ranked on AI GEO as well. So, instead of random SEO rules and algorithms, you should be more worried about whether your content is really answering the intent for which you are writing the same. What purpose does it serve?

In Conclusion

Guys, that’s all from my end. I am damn sure many of you may find this blog condescending and feel I am either naive or have fully blown it out of proportion. But I would be happy if you prove me wrong.

All that I can say is that writing for humans, with human emotions, human errors, and human words, tends to do lots better.

Unique human analogies, wordiness, and redundancy can make writing feel more natural compared to millions of blogs published daily following SEO’s latest algorithms, but nobody even bothers to read them.

Tell me your thoughts in the comment section. I am all ears!

(Atish Home Chowdhury)