Debunking Common SEO Myths for Sustainable Businesses
Will Bourne
SEO Director
7 min read
30th May 2024
In the dynamic world of digital marketing, Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) holds significant importance for businesses striving for visibility and success.
For sustainable businesses, the challenge is twofold: enhancing online presence while maintaining genuine environmental practices. However, numerous myths surround SEO, potentially leading businesses astray.
Here we’ll debunk some of the most common SEO myths, providing sustainable businesses with accurate information to guide their digital strategies.
Understanding SEO and Sustainability
SEO involves optimising your online content to increase visibility in search engine results, attracting more visitors to your website.
For sustainable businesses, SEO is not just a tool for growth but a means to communicate their environmental impact effectively. Accurate environmental information can enhance SEO efforts by building credibility and trust with your audience, aligning with the values of transparency and accountability.
Common SEO Myths and Their Origins
Myth 1: "Sustainable Practices Don’t Help SEO Rankings"
Explanation
There is a misconception that sustainable practices, which often involve more meticulous and thoughtful content creation, don’t impact SEO rankings due to perceived inefficiencies.
Reality
This is false. Sustainable practices can positively impact SEO rankings.
Google’s algorithm updates have introduced new criteria, such as the “Trustworthiness” factor, which evaluates the factual nature of content. This shift could positively impact businesses that provide well-documented, credible information about their sustainable practices.
The emphasis on quality content and user engagement means that transparent and informative content regarding a company’s environmental initiatives is likely to perform better in search results.
Furthermore, technically optimising your website to reduce its carbon emissions usually makes your website more efficient, improving the speed it loads. Not only does this improve the user experience of your website, but it improves its Core Web Vitals score, which is a small ranking factor. This means that reducing the carbon emissions of your website can improve your visibility in search engines.
Example
A company adopting eco-friendly packaging can create compelling content around their sustainability journey, attracting backlinks from reputable environmental websites and enhancing their SEO.
Myth 2: "SEO is Adding Keywords To Pages"
Explanation
Many believe that cramming keywords into content, known as keyword stuffing, is necessary to rank higher on search engines.
This outdated practice, known as keyword stuffing, involves overusing keywords in a manner that disrupts the natural flow of content, aiming to manipulate search engine rankings.
Reality
Keyword stuffing is counterproductive and can lead to severe penalties from search engines like Google. This practice was common in the early days of SEO, but search engine algorithms have since evolved to prioritise content quality and user experience over keyword frequency.
Google’s updates, such as the Florida Update back in 2003 and more recent algorithms like the Helpful Content Updates, specifically target and penalise sites that engage in keyword stuffing. This means that overusing keywords can lead to lower rankings or even removal from search engine results pages
Some of the fundamental best practices of SEO:
+ Conduct thorough keyword research to find relevant terms.
Search platforms such as Reddit and Quora to find relevant pain points your customers are experiencing, and the questions they are asking.
+ Integrate keywords naturally into informative and engaging content.
Where possible, naturally include your main target keywords in critical areas such as titles, headers, and the opening paragraphs, while also using synonyms and related terms to avoid repetition.
+ Build landing pages to target transactional search demand.
This doesn’t mean you need one landing page for each keyword, though - semantic keywords can often be targeted together on one page.
+ Prioritise user experience and readability.
Always write with the reader in mind. High-quality, informative content that engages the reader will naturally perform better in search engine rankings.
+ Monitor, adjust and update.
Up-to-date information is more helpful and more likely to rank well.
Myth 3: "SEO is a One-Time Task"
Explanation
Some businesses view SEO as a set-and-forget task, believing that once optimization is done, no further action is needed.
Reality
SEO is an ongoing process. Search engine algorithms evolve, and continuous efforts are required to maintain and improve rankings. Regularly updating content, analysing performance, and adapting to new trends are essential.
Continuous SEO strategies:
+ Regularly update blog posts and web pages with fresh, relevant information.
+ Monitor SEO performance using tools like Google Analytics, Search Console and Ahrefs.
+ Monitor search trends and relevant topics within your industry.
+ Stay informed about changes in search engine algorithms, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
+ Build and maintain high-quality backlinks.
+ Audit your site to find and fix any technical issues affecting the indexation of your content.
Myth 4: "Backlinks from Any Site Will Boost Your SEO"
Explanation
There’s a common misconception that any backlink will improve your SEO, regardless of the source.
Reality
Quality matters more than quantity. Backlinks from reputable, high-authority websites are far more valuable than numerous links from low-quality sites. For sustainable businesses, obtaining backlinks from environmentally conscious sources can significantly boost credibility and SEO.
How to build quality backlinks:
+ Focus on earning links from reputable environmental and sustainability-focused websites.
+ Create high-quality content that others will naturally want to link to.
+ Backlinks earned through organic editorial mentions or citations are considered more valuable than those acquired through manipulative practices. Conducting your own research and distributing your findings is the best way to attain these types of links.
+ The anchor text used in backlinks should be diverse and relevant. Over-optimising with exact-match anchor text can lead to penalties from search engines.
+ Building relationships with influencers, bloggers, and industry leaders can help earn organic backlinks. Engage in collaborations, guest blogging, and partnerships to secure valuable links.
The Impact of Debunking These Myths
By debunking these myths, businesses can adopt more effective SEO strategies aligned with sustainable practices. Accurate SEO knowledge ensures better performance, improved visibility, and enhanced credibility.
Aligning SEO efforts with sustainability can lead to a more authentic connection with the audience, fostering trust and long-term engagement.
If you’re ready to optimise your sustainable business with an effective SEO strategy, contact GrowRoom for a consultation.
Categories:
Content, SEO, UK
Frequently asked questions
How often should I update my SEO strategy for sustainability?
SEO strategies should be reviewed and updated regularly to adapt to changing algorithms and new sustainable practices.
SEO deliverables that are required regularly include:
- Regular updates of blog posts and web pages with fresh, relevant information.
- Monitoring SEO performance using tools like Google Analytics, Search Console and Ahrefs.
- Monitoring search trends and relevant topics within your industry.
- Staying informed about changes in search engine algorithms, and adjusting your strategy accordingly.
- Building and maintaining high-quality backlinks.
- Auditing your site to find and fix any technical issues affecting the indexation of your content.
Can sustainable practices really improve my SEO?
Yes, integrating genuine sustainable practices can enhance your credibility and improve your SEO rankings.
Google’s algorithm updates have introduced new criteria, such as the “Trustworthiness” factor, which evaluates the factual nature of content. This shift could positively impact businesses that provide well-documented, credible information about their sustainable practices.
Technically optimising your website to reduce its carbon emissions usually makes your website more efficient, improving the speed it loads. Not only does this improve the user experience of your website, but it improves its Core Web Vitals score, which is a small ranking factor. This means that reducing the carbon emissions of your website can improve your visibility in search engines.
What are some tools to help with sustainable SEO?
The Ecograder tool and Green Web Check are excellent sustainable SEO tools. Ecograder tells you the carbon emissions of a webpage, listing opportunities to improve efficiency to reduce those emissions, whilst improving your Core Web Vitals ratings (which is a ranking factor!). The Green Web Check tells you if a website is hosted by a provider who uses renewable energy.
To track SEO performance, tools like Google Analytics and Search Console provide real first-party data, and third-party tools like Ahrefs and SEMrush provide insights on your website’s visibility and rankings in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
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