For online businesses and webpages, SEO can be quite tricky. However, a common mistake they make is overcommitting to SEO. Most websites and publishers display a great tendency to focus more on SEO instead of being helpful to users.
Quick Take
- Google emphasizes user-centric content instead of obsessing over SEO tactics.
- Google has denied the existence of a perfect formula for higher rankings.
- The search engine urged publishers and websites to focus on what the audience expects from them.
- Along with SEO tactics, professionals must stay vigilant about hacks and spam attacks.
Google, in its recent statement, clarified that no perfect page formula currently exists for higher search engine rankings. Therefore, overcommitting to SEO could lead to more confusion without any significant benefits in return.
The clarification was made to disregard claims and beliefs about specific word counts and page counts. Also, it clears the air of common myths regarding search engine optimizations that users practice in hopes of higher placements.
It was highlighted that these claims gained popularity before Google gained mass popularity. At the same time, the platform also asked publishers and websites to abandon the idea or the need to work on something purely mythical.
Google Does Marketers a Favor by Debunking SEO Myths
Several third-party SEO tools indeed advise publishers and websites to develop pages in certain ways to boost the probability of success. However, Google clarified that these tools are incapable of accurately predicting rankings.
Furthermore, statistics have revealed that the advice given by such tools is purely based on finding averages among the top pages. On the other hand, Google’s algorithm places greater emphasis on values, commonalities, and unique differences.
Tips for SEO Professionals
Google has highlighted key advice for publishers and websites to abandon relying on inaccurate algorithms. They should prioritize being helpful and relevant to common users. Considering how it might make sense for readers to see a byline for an article, it must be done purely for them.
Steps like these should not be taken under the belief that bylines pave the road to higher search engine rankings. If websites and publishers continue to put their readers and their audience first, they will end up doing things for them.
As a result, there is a higher possibility of them aligning with different signals that Google uses to reward content. The fundamental goal of all SEO professionals is to drastically boost search engine rankings.
However, there are a few tips that are necessary to keep in mind on a day-to-day basis. Hacks and spam attacks have increased considerably over the years, and these professionals need to include regular security updates, malware scans, and link audits in their routine maintenance.
