I have to say I wasn’t expecting the impassioned responses to my last article, 36 SEO Myths That Won’t Die But Need To. But that’s okay, as I wasn’t expecting all the positive buzz and re-tweets either (1,153 and still counting — how exciting!)
In this follow-up, I’d like to revisit some of the most fervently defended myths, clarify any potentially vague statements, and provide the occasional caveat.
Myths are born when folks mistake correlation with causation. And when they make inferences and draw conclusions without rock-solid data or methodology. Next thing you know a “feeling I’ve got about this” is espoused as fact.
It’s the nature of myths that they aren’t easily dis-proven or dismissed. So the myths persist.
And as Rand Fishkin so astutely recognized, there is strong incentive for someone to defend a myth if they had advanced that myth previously to a public audience, boss, client, etc. It’s self-preservation instinct, to “save face.” Consequently, some folks hold on to certain myths for dear life. Their very careers hang in the balance — or so they think.
But I’m not infallible either, so I wanted to get confirmation from at least a dozen other industry veterans that I’m not off-the-mark. For the most part I received vigorous agreement. Adam Audette summed it up nicely:
I can’t believe the hornet’s nest you stirred up with that post! I was THIS close to commenting on that post, but didn’t. I was going to say that I agree completely w/ your list and that everyone disagreeing needed to SIT DOWN :) Decided I’d take the easy route and stay out of it….
A hornet’s nest indeed! Well put.
Rand did a great job debunking the myths where I faced the strongest resistance. I won’t recap and rehash all that here, but I encourage you to read his post.
In the comments of my previous article, I received criticism that I was merely providing assertions rather than citing research and disclosing hard factual data. If I fully backed up every point with enough research to satisfy everyone, the article would have turned into a 10,000 word tome. Fitting for a white paper or ebook, not so much for an article/post to Search Engine Land. As it is, this follow-up article, at over 5,000 words (divided into two parts), has exceeded my last one.
My choice of studies to cite was also brought into question. It’s always possible to find flaws and things to pick at in someone else’s study, but in my opinion, having some research is a lot better than having none. Otherwise you’re flying blind, drawing only from your own observations, conclusions and hunches. In general I think we’re all relying on flawed data. Would anyone’s SEO experiment truly stand up to scientific scrutiny?
There are so many moving parts — so many influencing factors — that we can’t control or isolate out of the system when conducting experiments. Search is in a constant state of flux — the algorithms, indices, competitors, data propagation across data centers, etc. Given this, how can one possibly create a proper control group for scientifically rigorous experiments? But we do our best. That’s SEO. It’s the nature of the beast.
Now let’s address some of the SEO myths on which I was challenged…
Myth #2: Don’t use Google Analytics because Google will spy on you and use the information against you.
I’m not one of those tinfoil hat conspiracy theorists, but who knows, maybe someday I’ll be sorry that I wasn’t. Michael Geneles says:
“I am definitely NOT the most paranoid SEO out there"
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