The SEO community loves debating what really works and what doesn’t. Recently, a popular Reddit thread on r/SEO asked about favorite SEO myths, generating a fascinating list of commonly held beliefs that may not hold up to scrutiny. Let’s examine the research behind 11 of these supposed “myths” to separate fact from fiction.
1. Schema Markup Makes You Rank
Verdict: MYTH
Schema markup is perhaps one of the most misunderstood SEO factors. Google’s Public Liaison for Search Danny Sullivan has publicly stated that schema markup has nothing to do with SEO rankings. Multiple industry sources confirm this stance.
Schema Markup / Structured Data, Keyword in Header Tags and Keyword in URL have diminished in importance in 2025, relegated to the group of 23 factors that make up only 1% of the algorithm all together according to First Page Sage’s 2025 ranking factors analysis.
However, this doesn’t mean schema is worthless. Schema markup is not a ranking factor, however it can improve the way that search engines read and represent your page in the SERPs, which can, in turn, improve organic search engine rankings according to Safari Digital’s SEO analysis. While it won’t directly boost your rankings, schema can help you earn rich snippets, which may improve click-through rates and user experience.
2. You “Need” an Image to Rank
Verdict: MYTH
The research shows no evidence that images are a required ranking factor for web pages. According to Backlinko’s comprehensive ranking factors guide, Alt Tag (for Image Links): Alt text acts as anchor text for images, but while images can enhance user experience and may help with Google Images SEO, they’re not mandatory for ranking in web search results.
The confusion likely stems from the fact that images often improve user engagement and time on page, which can indirectly support SEO performance. However, pages can and do rank well without images when they provide valuable, comprehensive content.
3. Author Bios Are a Ranking Factor
Verdict: PARTIALLY TRUE
This one sits in a gray area. According to AIOSEO’s 2025 SEO statistics, author bios showcase your experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness while boosting visibility, particularly in the context of Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines.
As noted by Sixth City Marketing’s analysis, although Google does not emphasize author bios as a direct ranking factor in their algorithm, it can lead to more organic traffic being funneled to your website over time. The relationship appears to be indirect but meaningful, especially for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content where expertise and authoritativeness matter most.
The latest research suggests that businesses should add author bios with verifiable credentials as part of a broader E-E-A-T strategy, particularly given the emphasis on authentic, expert content in 2025.
4. HTML Structure Is a Ranking Factor
Verdict: MOSTLY MYTH
According to Link Assistant’s 2020 analysis (still relevant today), HTML errors may signal a site’s poor quality, and thus lower its rankings. And on the contrary, valid HTML helps rank better, but Google’s official stance suggests this isn’t a significant factor.
Google’s general guidelines state: “Although we do recommend using valid HTML, it’s not likely to be a factor in how Google crawls and indexes your site.”
As noted in Marketing Aid’s critical ranking factors report, HTML Validation: Fixing HTML errors and issues with proper validation improves crawler accessibility and indicates technical competence, indirectly benefiting SEO. The consensus is that while clean HTML is a best practice for technical reasons, it’s not a meaningful ranking factor in 2025.
5. PageSpeed Is a Major Ranking Factor
Verdict: CONFIRMED BUT OVERSTATED
Page speed is definitively a ranking factor, but its impact is often overstated. According to CognitiveSEO’s 2024 analysis, “Speed is very important for a website. It’s so important that Google has made it an actual ranking factor.”
However, research from DEANLONG.io reveals that “Page Core Web Vitals ranking factor is more than just a tie-breaker but it’s not a big ranking factor” according to recent analysis from Google’s Developer Advocate Martin Splitt.
Search Engine Journal’s comprehensive review states: “In the page experience documentation, Google clarifies that there are many signals impacting page experience. Load times may or may not be weighted within this system, so page speed is still a ranking factor, but it may not be highly impactful all the time.”
The takeaway: Page speed matters for user experience and can influence rankings, but it’s not the game-changer many believe it to be.
6. Content Freshness Is a Ranking Factor
Verdict: CONFIRMED
This is where the data gets particularly interesting. According to First Page Sage’s 2025 algorithm analysis, “Freshness vaulted from the ‘Other’ category, making up <1% of the algorithm, to become the 6th biggest factor in the algorithm at 6%.”
Their research shows that “website pages that update at least once per year gain an average of 4.6 positions in the SERPs versus pages that haven’t been updated.”
However, freshness isn’t universally important. Search Engine Journal’s analysis confirms: “When the query demands it, fresh content is a Google ranking factor.” Google’s “Query Deserves Freshness” (QDF) algorithm determines when recency matters based on search intent.
According to Inkbot Design’s 2025 research, “Websites publishing original, high-quality content at least weekly show 3.2x better ranking improvements than monthly publishers,” showing that consistent freshness can have a measurable impact.
7. E-E-A-T Is a Ranking Factor
Verdict: CONFIRMED
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) is absolutely a ranking factor, especially for YMYL content. According to First Page Sage’s analysis, “Niche Expertise held steady at 13%, continuing to underscore the importance of organizing content around pillars” in Google’s 2025 algorithm analysis.
Backlinko’s comprehensive ranking factors guide confirms that “Google may give an edge to sites with high levels of E-A-T (especially sites that publish health-related content).” The emphasis on E-E-A-T has only increased as Google combats misinformation and low-quality AI-generated content.
8. Duplicate Content Is a Ranking Factor
Verdict: CONFIRMED
According to MonsterInsights’ analysis of 2025 ranking factors, “If your content is duplicated or too similar to other web pages, it could negatively impact your SEO. In the worst cases, Google might not even index a duplicate page.”
Backlinko’s research confirms: “Is the content on the page original? If it’s scraped or copied from an indexed page it won’t rank as well… or may not get indexed at all.”
The research is clear: duplicate content can hurt rankings by diluting page authority and confusing search engines about which version to rank.
9. Outbound Citations Are a Ranking Factor
Verdict: CONFIRMED
According to Backlinko’s comprehensive analysis, “Many SEOs think that linking out to authority sites helps send trust signals to Google. And this is backed up by a recent industry study.”
Their research specifically notes: “Outbound Link Quality: Many SEOs think that linking out to authority sites helps send trust signals to Google. And this is backed up by a recent industry study.”
The evidence suggests that linking to authoritative, relevant sources can indeed help your SEO by demonstrating that you’re referencing credible information and providing additional value to users.
10. NLP (Natural Language Processing) Is a Ranking Factor
Verdict: CONFIRMED
According to Search Engine Land’s 2025 writing guide, “In 2025, Google’s algorithms and large language models (LLMs) have evolved to understand entities and semantic relationships rather than relying on keyword frequency.”
The guide explains that “An entity is a clearly defined concept or object (like ‘technical SEO,’ ‘search engine,’ or ‘canonical tag’) that search engines can identify and connect to other concepts in a knowledge graph.”
Google’s use of NLP and entity-based understanding is fundamental to how modern search works, making this far from a myth.
11. LLMs.txt and AI Writing Style
Verdict: EMERGING/UNCONFIRMED
LLMs.txt is a newer development, and the research is mixed. According to Adsby’s analysis, “Google and OpenAI have not yet officially confirmed LLMs.txt indexing, but evidence suggests that LLM-optimized content may soon be a ranking factor, similar to structured data markup in traditional SEO.”
However, Search Engine Land reports contrarian views: “Other contrarian views about llms.txt exist in the SEO/GEO community,” with some experts arguing that existing protocols like XML sitemaps and robots.txt already serve this purpose.
Regarding AI writing style, Page Optimizer Pro’s research notes: “Thanks to advances in LLMs since 2023, AI writing has improved significantly. The content can pass AI detection tools and reads well to most people. But there’s still a big question: Do AI models actually know how to optimize content for LLM SEO?”
The verdict is still out on both LLMs.txt and AI writing optimization as ranking factors.
The Bottom Line
Of the 11 supposed “myths,” the research shows:
- Confirmed Myths (3): Schema markup for rankings, images as requirements, HTML structure as a major factor
- Confirmed Facts (5): Page speed (but overstated), content freshness, E-E-A-T, duplicate content penalties, outbound citations
- Partially True (2): Author bios (indirect effect), NLP (definitely real)
- Too Early to Tell (1): LLMs.txt and AI writing optimization
What’s clear is that modern SEO is increasingly complex, with Google’s algorithms becoming more sophisticated at understanding content quality, user intent, and expertise signals. The days of simple technical tricks are largely behind us – success in 2025 SEO requires focusing on genuinely helpful, well-researched content that demonstrates real expertise and provides clear value to users.
Rather than chasing the latest “ranking hack,” businesses need SEO partners who focus on proven fundamentals: creating content that serves user needs, building topical authority, and ensuring technical excellence in site performance and user experience. At GO-SEO, this research-backed, no-nonsense approach is exactly what we deliver for our clients in Los Angeles and around the country: real results, not empty promises.
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