These slides were presented at the SEMrush webinar "It's Time to Leave These 4 SEO Myths in 2020". Video replay and transcript are available at https://www.semrush.com/webinars/it-s-time-to-leave-these-4-seo-myths-in-2020/

1. SEO - Mythbusting.
#SEMRush | @ricrodriguez_uk

2. #SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk
1. Links don’t matter. (?!)
2. SEO is about gaining keyword rankings. (?!)
3. Ranking #1 for keywords is the best way to "win" SEO. (?!)
4. SEO isn’t measurable. (?!)

3. 1. Links don’t matter. (?!)
2. SEO is about gaining keyword rankings. (?!)
3. Ranking #1 for keywords is the best way to "win" SEO. (?!)
4. SEO isn’t measurable. (?!)
#SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk

4. We’re living in the age of curiosity;
we’re compelled to “ask for more”.
#SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk

5. Understanding “the long tail” better.
High
Volume
High
Competition
Low
Volume
Low
Competition

6. Understanding “the long tail” better.
High
Volume
High
Competition
Low
Volume
Low
Competition
“Head terms”
“Mid tail”
“Long tail”

7. Understanding “the long tail” better.
High
Volume
High
Competition
Low
Volume
Low
Competition
15% of search
is new everyday

8. Understanding “the long tail” better.
High
Volume
High
Competition
Low
Volume
Low
Competition
70% of searches are considered “long tail”

12. Understanding “the long tail” better.
High
Volume
High
Competition
Low
Volume
Low
Competition

13. Understanding “the long tail” better.
Head
terms
Mid tail
High
Volume
High
Competition
Low
Volume
Low
Competition
Long tail

14. Each search happens in a moment
in space and time and this matters.
#SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk

15. find the best place to eat pizza near me with
veggie options open tonight and takes amex_
Queries are a vehicle for discovery.

16. find the best place to eat pizza near me with
veggie options open tonight and takes amex_
Intent: Navigation
Feature: For vegetarians Opening: Friday Payment: Card
Rating: 4*+ Cuisine: Italian Location: London
Queries are a vehicle for discovery.

17. Queries are a vehicle for discovery.
pizza near me

18. pizza near me
Ric
Rodriguez
iPhone 11
Pro Max
_search history
_demographic
_web actions
_inferred intent
_ip location
_partner data
_other devices
_routine data
Queries are a vehicle for discovery.

19. Connecting with users at the point of
intent is increasingly a challenge.

20. how far is the moon?_
Search is more than your website.

21. how far is the moon?_
Search
Answers
Websites
Meta
Search
Voice
Search
Social
Media
Apps /
PWAs
Search
Results
Chat /
Message
AR / VR
Search is more than your website.

22. how far is the moon?_
Search
Answers
Websites
Meta
Search
Voice
Search
Social
Media
Apps /
PWAs
Search
Results
Chat /
Message
AR / VR
Knowledge base + machine learning
Search is more than your website.

23. For many, this is a totally new idea;
but it’s been around for some time.

24. To organise the world’s information.
FIND
Crawling

25. To organise the world’s information.
FIND LEARN
Crawling Parsing

26. To organise the world’s information.
Indexing
FIND LEARN
Crawling Parsing
STORE

27. To organise the world’s information.
Indexing Querying
FIND LEARN
Crawling Parsing
RETRIEVESTORE

28. To organise the world’s information.
RETURN
Indexing Querying Serving
FIND LEARN
Crawling Parsing
RETRIEVESTORE

29. To organise the world’s information.
RETURN
Indexing Querying Serving
FIND LEARN
Crawling Parsing
RETRIEVESTORE
Serving (ranking) is the part we know the least about

30. To organise the world’s information.
RETURN
Indexing Querying Serving
FIND LEARN
Crawling Parsing
RETRIEVESTORE
Information retrieval is an open book of new ideas

31. To succeed, we need to challenge
everything that we believe is true.

32. Ranking is a multi-layered system.
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4
Technical
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4
Content
Links

33. Ranking is a multi-layered system.
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4
Technical
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4
Links
Black box of
“ranking factors”

34. Ranking is a multi-layered system.
Black box
of “ranking
factors”
Secondary
refinements
Personalisation
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4

35. Ranking is a multi-layered system.
Black box
of “ranking
factors”
Secondary
refinements
Personalisation
Position 1
Position 2
Position 3
Position 4
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4

36. Ranking is a multi-layered system.
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4

37. Ranking is a multi-layered system.
Website 1
Website 2
Website 3
Website 4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
#1
#2
#3
#4
?
This tells the search engine how to
order the inputs - but not what the
inputs are.

38. Search engines now understand
what we mean, when we say things.
#SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk

39. Deciphering meaning from text.
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process

40. Deciphering meaning from text.
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Product category: DIY tool
Transaction medium: online
Transaction event: sale event
Time period: Boxing Day
Date: 26th
December 2020

41. Deciphering meaning from text.
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Left to right understanding
Ignore “common” words

42. Deciphering meaning from text.
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Product category: DIY tool
Transaction medium: online
Transaction event: sale event
Time period: Boxing Day
Date: 26th
December 2020

43. Deciphering meaning from text.
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Misinterpreted

44. Deciphering meaning from text.
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Not accounted for

45. Deciphering meaning from text.
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Product category: DIY tool
Transaction medium: online
Transaction event: sale event
Time period: Boxing Day
Date: 26th
December 2020
BERT changed this for the better

46. *Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
The Hammers is the nickname of West Ham United football club
BERT - learning through masking words
The Hammers is the nickname of West Ham United football club
The Hammers is the nickname of West Ham United football club
Deciphering meaning from text.

47. *Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
The Hammers is the nickname of West Ham United football club.
BERT - learning through guessing the next sentence
He used them to build a new cabinet.
They used to be based at Upton Park.
Deciphering meaning from text.

48. *Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
hammers boxing day for sale online_
Using BERT to understand each word’s impact
Deciphering meaning from text.

49. Deciphering meaning from text.
hammers boxing day for sale online_
*Note: this is a simplified explanation of a far more complex process
Product category: tickets
Type: West Ham United Transaction medium: online
Date: 26th December 2019
Event type: football fixture

50. Source

51. Source

52. This means people trust what they
see in search, when they see it.
#SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk

53. Trust is rising in younger generations.
How often do you feel that you find dangerous or highly
untrustworthy information (AKA “misinformation”) in search results?
Source: Yext
12% 29% 38% 15% 7%
Strongly Disagree
Somewhat Disagree
Neither Agree Or Disagree
Somewhat Agree
Strongly Agree

54. Trust is rising in younger generations.
Source: Path Interactive
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-64 65+
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Very frequently
How often do you feel that
you find dangerous or highly
untrustworthy information
(AKA “misinformation”) in
search results?

55. Trust is rising in younger generations.
Source: Path Interactive
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-64 65+
Never
Rarely
Sometimes
Often
Very frequently
How often do you feel that
you find dangerous or highly
untrustworthy information
(AKA “misinformation”) in
search results?
29% difference

56. Source

57. Building what the systems know
about you is the key to “winning”.
#SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk

58. Entity (subject / objects in the triple)
Value pairs (may also be entities in their own right)
Graphs, entities and structured data.
Football Team:
Season:
Division:
Nickname:
Located In
2019 / 2020
Premier
League
Hammers
London
Fixture Date
Home Team
Away Team
26/12/2019
Crystal
Palace
West Ham
United
West Ham United

59. who did west ham play on boxing day last year?_
Football Team:
Season:
Division:
Nickname:
Located In
2019 / 2020
Premier
League
Hammers
London
Fixture Date
Home Team
Away Team
26/12/2019
Crystal
Palace
West Ham
United
West Ham United
Graphs, entities and structured data.

60. who did west ham play on boxing day last year?_
Football Team:
Season:
Division:
Nickname:
Located In
2019 / 2020
Premier
League
Hammers
London
Fixture Date
Home Team
Away Team
26/12/2019
Crystal
Palace
West Ham
United
West Ham United
Graphs, entities and structured data.

61. Airbus 321
London
Graphs, entities and structured data.

62. London
Airport Name: Gatwick
Operating Airline: British Airways
Aircraft Name:
Heathrow
Operating Airline:
Airbus 321
Airport Name:
Graphs, entities and structured data.

63. London
Airbus 321
London
British Airways
Airbus 321
Heathrow
Gatwick
Graphs, entities and structured data.

64. West Ham
United
Located In:
England Capital City:
Great Fire Of
London
Happened
In:
New Years
Party
Event At:
Destination:
British
Airways
Financial
Centre:
United
Kingdom
Lives In:
Boris
Johnson
Former
Name:
Londinium
london_
Graphs, entities and structured data.

65. Graphs, entities and structured data.

66. There’s lots of gaps in search - we
should see these as opportunities.
#SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk

67. Overall entity understanding is low.
40%
0%
Real EstateLaw
Education JewelleryHealth
Software AutomotiveFinance
Clothing Marketing
Source: InLinks

68. Overall entity understanding is low.
40%
0%
Real EstateLaw
Education JewelleryHealth
Software AutomotiveFinance
Clothing Marketing
Source: InLinks
23% average

69. Overall entity understanding is low.
100%
0%
Real EstateLaw
Education JewelleryHealth
Software AutomotiveFinance
Clothing Marketing
Source: InLinks

70. Overall entity understanding is low.
100%
0%
Real EstateLaw
Education JewelleryHealth
Software AutomotiveFinance
Clothing Marketing
Source: InLinks
KNOWLEDGE VOID

71. This isn’t a future idea; it’s already
here - and the web depends on it.
#SEMRush
@ricrodriguez_uk

72. Thank you.
#SEMRush | @ricrodriguez_uk