If the phrase “debunking SEO myths” sounds like a gimmick, we understand your skepticism. However, after observing “leading experts” in online forums perpetuating misconceptions such as: “Google won’t index pages with less than 300 words because it’s thin content,” we felt compelled to address the issue. This post is a sincere attempt to clarify inaccurate information that confuses those new to search engine optimization.

Misunderstandings about website optimization are widespread. Individuals new to the topic are particularly vulnerable due to their limited experience. In a field where the rules seem to change frequently, it can be difficult for beginners to distinguish between best practices and noise.

Forums: Many time-strapped small businesses and startups seek quick answers online, but online forums can be unregulated spaces full of self-promotion, affiliate relationships, and information manipulation aimed at boosting product sales.
Social media: Flawed advice circulating on user-driven platforms like YouTube or TikTok only adds to the chaos. Social algorithms prioritize engagement. And creators often prioritize views and followers over factual accuracy.
Software: SEO tools can also contribute to the confusion by overemphasizing certain metrics that do not directly impact ranking.

Novices are even more susceptible to SEO misinformation due to a cognitive bias called the Anchoring Bias, where we place more importance on the first piece of information we encounter. This initial information acts as an anchor, making it difficult to adjust one’s understanding even when presented with more accurate or comprehensive data later on.

Over the years, we’ve engaged with well over a thousand small businesses in various capacities. Early on, many clients knew little about SEO, which was beneficial as they had no preconceived notions. However, as general awareness of SEO has increased, so has the prevalence of misinformation, leading even savvy website owners astray.

Our goal is to dispel common SEO misconceptions that mislead beginners and help you recognize which advice simply doesn’t hold water.

Wordpress SEO, Squarespace SEO, Wix SEO, etc.

Myth: One platform outperforms others in terms of SEO capabilities.
Reality: The core principles of SEO apply universally across all website platforms. Many articles, such as those questioning “Is Webflow good or bad for SEO?”, serve as clickbait and tend to confuse rather than clarify.
While there are minor, platform-specific nuances to consider, these don’t justify the wild proliferation of resources dedicated to topics such as “The Ultimate Guide to Wordpress SEO” and similar.
For most small businesses, selecting any reputable website platform and investing time in learning how to do SEO is sufficient for success. If doing your own SEO, focus on mastering the basics, refer to the guidelines provided by your platform, and hire professional help if you get stuck or have a question.
Note: When we first used—and possibly coined—the term “Squarespace SEO,” it felt redundant. Again, SEO principles are universal. But this was before Squarespace had extensive support docs and well-before Google offered beginner-friendly SEO guides. Back then, DIY no-code website builders were just hitting the scene, Wordpress developers were feeling unsettled, and misinformation was common. Small businesses needed to know they could be successful regardless of platform.

Text Length

Myths: (1) Short content is thin content. OR (2) Long content is needed to rank.
Reality: “Thin content” refers to low-quality or low-value content, not a certain number of words. SEO tools often count a page’s words, leading to the misconception that “text length” affects indexing or ranking.
To demonstrate there is no ideal blog post length, we wrote a 290-word post on “SEO word count.” The post performs well enough to challenge the notion that content length matters. While a longer article might capture more search terms, our goal was not to be exhaustive but to illustrate the point.
Additionally, some creatives are told their homepages can’t rank without “more text” or “FAQ sections.” This is simply not true. Your homepage can be as simple as you like, especially for brand searches. And there are numerous examples of blog posts with “less than 300 words” that attract thousands of organic visitors month after month, even in niches traditionally dominated by long-form content.

URLs

Myths: (1) URLs should contain a certain number of words. OR (2) Keywords are needed in URLs for search engines.
Reality: Some resources actually suggest using a specific number of words in URLs. Statements like this are quite frustrating. Not only is this misguided, but it could cause harm if site owners believe this is true and change URLs before understanding the potential impact.
Keywords are encouraged in URLs as a best practice, but this is for user experience versus search engines. To illustrate this point, we gave this article a random URL “h0gw4sh,” and the page was indexed and appearing for appropriate queries within a matter of hours. Many beginners believe keywords in a URL impact ranking, leading to overuse. Modern search engines are sophisticated and do not rely on keyword-stuffed URLs to understand page content.
We advocate for SEO-friendly URLs (clean, clear, and concise), but focusing on URL word count or keyword stuffing is not the right approach.

Image Alt Text

Myths: (1) Every image requires alt text. OR (2) Alt text is primarily for SEO.
Reality: Some images should have null (empty) alt text. The primary purpose of alt text is to enhance web accessibility for visually impaired users by providing a textual description of images. Decorative images, which are used purely for visual decoration and do not add informational content, should use alt="".
Beginners often misunderstand the use of alt text, believing it is mainly a tool for SEO. This misconception leads them to include irrelevant details or neglect the contextual significance of the image. While alt text can have SEO benefits, its main role is to describe images in a meaningful way for those who cannot see them.

Domain Authority

Myth: Moz’s Domain Authority (DA), Ahref’s Domain Rating (DR), or Semrush’s Authority Score (AS) determine a site’s ranking ability.
Reality: DA is a proprietary metric developed by Moz to estimate the likelihood of a website ranking in search engine results. Following Moz’s lead, other SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush created their own similar metrics. Agencies that “sell backlinks” promote these link-based metrics as significant. However, Google does not use third-party metrics in its ranking algorithms. Importantly, buying backlinks for ranking purposes violates Google’s guidelines.
While these scores can be useful for broad analysis, they are frequently misunderstood by novices, who might cite “low DA” as a reason for poor site performance in search results. With experience, you’ll find many examples of sites with low DA scores that rank well and outperform sites with higher DA scores.
Regarding the discussions about the Google leak where people claimed Google representatives “lied” about authority scores: whenever John Mueller of Google has discussed “Domain Authority,” it has been clear that he was referencing these third-party scores, trying to clarify this exact misconception. If Google’s algorithm does use a type of site authority signal, it is not DA, DR, or AS.

“SEO Scores”

Myths: (1) A high “score” from an SEO tool indicates “good SEO.” OR (2) A low “score” indicates “poor SEO.”
Reality: Relying too heavily on plugins or tools often causes beginners to miss the basics of SEO, leading to over-optimization and running in circles. SEO scans, scores, and tools do not guarantee ranking. If they did, everyone would use them, and that would be the end of SEO competition.
Scoring tools identify measurable factors and indicate compliance, often applying hard numbers to situations where there are no fixed rules or to factors that don’t impact ranking. Beginners often chase perfect scores on minor issues that barely affect SEO performance. You want to prioritize actions that have a proven impact.

Blogging and Publishing Frequency

Myths: (1) Every website needs a blog OR (2) Frequent publishing is necessary.
Reality: Not every business needs a blog—and a poorly executed blog can actually hurt a site. If you choose to maintain a blog, focus on quality rather than quantity. High-quality, relevant content is far more valuable than frequent, mediocre posts.
Updating and improving existing posts can be just as, if not more, effective than constantly publishing new content. Refreshing older posts with updated information, new insights, or improved SEO can significantly boost their performance.
Business blogging is not a one-size-fits-all solution or approach. If you’re blogging solely because you heard “Google likes it,” it’s time to reevaluate your strategy.

Meta Descriptions

Myth: Meta descriptions impact ranking.
Reality: A page’s meta description is not a ranking factor in Google’s algorithm. Despite this, some tools overemphasize its importance, causing unnecessary concern among website owners.
A well-crafted meta description can positively impact a page’s click-through rate (CTR), but it’s important to understand that Google primarily uses page content to automatically generate snippets for search results. They “sometimes” use a <meta name="description"> tag if it is more appropriate, but this is not guaranteed.
If you don’t like the snippet Google displays, follow their guidelines and write a stronger meta description. However, keep in mind that for every unique query, a different snippet may be shown. In our experience, what Google shows is usually a more engaging choice than the often over-optimized blurb written by site owners. Don’t expend excessive effort here. Note, Google offers a nosnippet meta tag, but the vast majority of small business sites have no need for it.

Schema Markup (Structured Data)

Myths: (1) Schema markup boosts rankings. OR (2) Structured data will always generate rich results.
Reality: Structured data does not directly affect search engine rankings, but it can help make your content more noticeable and attractive in search engine results. By providing structured data that search engines can easily understand, schema can enable rich results. These might include star ratings, images, prices, and other extra information directly in the search results. These enhancements can make your listing stand out and potentially improve click-through rates (CTR).
Regarding rich results, Google points out that “using structured data enables a feature to be present, it does not guarantee that it will be present.”

SEO Maintenance

Myths: (1) SEO is a one-time task. OR (2) SEO requires regular monthly monitoring.
Reality: For most businesses, SEO is an ongoing process because search algorithms, your competition, and user behavior constantly change—but the frequency of needed updates can vary widely.
While some businesses benefit from regular SEO help, for many SMBs, a robust initial setup combined with periodic check-ups can suffice. This is especially true in less competitive niches, and it can even apply to businesses traditionally buying “monthly packages” for local SEO services.

More SEO Myths and Misconceptions

Remember, the fact that a tool measures something doesn’t make it a priority.

H1s. Many site owners believe that “H1s” are the factor holding them back. While writing good headings is important, there are usually more pressing SEO issues to address.
404s. 404s don’t harm your site. If a page is gone, it’s gone. However, you can use a 301 redirect when necessary to guide users to relevant content.
410s. Google’s John Mueller referred to 410s as the “alt-tag of HTTP codes.” Using 410 over 404 when appropriate may be technically correct, but this doesn’t mean it’s an SEO gain. If your website platform doesn’t support this status code, it’s fine.
Keyword density or frequency. You do not need to “use your keyword every 100 to 200 words” or ensure keywords are a certain percentage of your text. Focus on natural, high-quality SEO content, versus “writing for search engines” or meaningless metrics, and you will be fine. Note, “keyword prominence,” or stating the topic early in your content, is different from keyword density.
Site speed. A fast site is good for user experience, but improving speed alone won’t propel you to top rankings. If using a website builder, focus on factors you can control, such as optimizing image file sizes and removing unnecessary plugins. Many businesses are misled by spammy SEOs offering “free scans or audits” into believing that website speed is their issue. However, we can almost guarantee that this is not your SEO issue.
Meta keywords. We haven’t had anyone ask about “meta keywords” in years, but a recent client mentioned that someone told them their site was “missing a keywords meta tag.” Neither Google or Bing uses this tag. If interested, learn about the meta tags Google and Bing support.
Near me. For local service businesses, a Google Business Profile is the driver of “near me” type searches, don’t use the phrase on your site.
Text to HTML ratio. Ignore this metric.

Remain Skeptical

In addition to the Anchoring Bias we mentioned above, the Illusory Truth Effect causes repeated statements to be perceived as more truthful, regardless of their accuracy. Exercise caution when considering SEO advice—take a discerning approach to what you read and implement.

Small businesses should remain focused on a high-quality website, enhancing user experience, improving ranking, increasing organic traffic, and driving conversions—not chasing fads and hacks. Apply common sense and critical thinking to what you hear and read. With continued real-world experience, you’ll be able to tune out the noise and distinguish good advice from bad.