It is a complete understatement to say that SEO has dramatically changed over the years. Just take a look at what the Panda and Penguin algorithms of Google did. Those two forced a lot of SEO agencies and marketers to change their old ways. They went from being obsessed with link building and keywords to actually focusing on what their audience needs from them: high quality, timely and relevant content.

That being said, the many changes in the SEO landscape has caused marketers to wonder what is still important and what is outdated? To help you out with that, here is a look at the myths that have been assumed about SEO, and the truths behind them:

MYTH #1: You have to submit your site to Google

Yes, you can always submit your site to Google – especially if it is a brand new one – but not submitting it will also suffice. There is a common misconception that submitting your site will help it appear in results pages, but that is not true at all.

Even if your site is brand new, web crawlers will find you. Keep in mind that submitting your site will not guarantee anything, and not submitting your site won’t hurt your chances at ranking at all.

So, instead of worrying about wanting to tell Google that you exist and that you have a space on the web, concentrate instead on what you don’t want Google to see. Modify your robots.txt file so that only the pages that are really relevant will be indexed by Google.

MYTH #2: Ranking is all that SEO is about

While it is true that a strong correlation exists between your site’s placement in search results and clickthrough rates, the rank of your site is not the end goal that it once was.

Yes, studies have shown that searchers click on the top three results. However, sites listed in subsequent pages and are located towards the top of the page are also being clicked. Appearing in the first page of results gets you more clicks, but being listed in the following pages also gives you an almost equal fighting chance.

So, rather than preoccupy yourself with ranking up high, try to focus on answering the needs of your audience. Give them the content they want and they will surely help you by sharing any type of content you publish.

MYTH #3: More links > more content

In the past, this might have worked, but in today’s landscape, increasing your links might just get you into trouble. The problem most have with links is that they focus too much on the quantity of the links and fail to see the quality of them. What matters in SEO is the diversity of links as well as their relevance.

Link building when done correctly can still be very valuable, but it is in the creation of high-quality content where the future of your link building strategy lies. Think about it, when you publish highly relevant content, that content can be used for a guest blog post on a site with high traffic. This in turn can give you the links that you truly want.

MYTH #4: There is no relation between SEO and social media

There is a reason for the inclusion of social signals as a ranking factor, and it is because they contribute a lot to the popularity of your content. When your content is being shared around in the social space, this gives search engines the idea that it must be of value. This is why it is very important for both your SEO efforts and your social strategy go hand in hand.

MYTH #5: Keywords should be an exact match

Over optimisation is something that Google clearly hates, and it bodes well for your content to be as simple as possible. There is no need for trickery when it comes to your content, because as long as you write a headline that clearly explains what your content is all about, you don’t have to repeat a keyword over and over again.

Always remember that your goal is to keep your audience informed, not the search engines.

As you can see, gone are the days when you can manipulate search engines and get what you want. Today, your focus should be shifted entirely to your audience – a practice that has long been forgotten for the sake of ranking. As a business, focus on what your market wants and provide the content needed to satisfy that need. Eventually, you will be rewarded for your efforts.