The Twelve Most Common SEO Myths
There are hundreds of different SEO myths floating around out there. The problem is that for webmasters and small business owners looking to do things the right way, it can be hard to find factual information that can really pay dividends. When you want to be successful with SEO, you first have to become aware of these SEO myths so you can rid yourselves of them. Here are the 12 most common SEO myths that are still getting passed around.
#1- All Links are Equal- The person who believes he/she can go out and purchase thousands of backlinks and will be successful is sadly mistaken. It’s important to understand that some links are better than others, and poor quality links can have a negative effective on your overall rankings. This is why some people can have 50 backlinks that are of high quality and do better than someone with 2,000 backlinks.
#2- Keyword Density is Important- Another one of the monumental SEO myths is that keyword density is the most important part to your success. The truth is you won’t find any set of rules that guarantee success through a proper amount of usage. What it really comes down to is providing highly search and minimum competitive type keywords, and then placing them in the article appropriately.
#3- Meta Keywords Still Work- Okay, if you’ve been reading up on meta keywords you can stop wasting your time. Yes, they used to be extremely valuable, but after Google and Yahoo publicly announced they no longer use them in their algorithm calculations, it’s pointless. Just remember to stick with the meta descriptions and tiles because these still play a major role.
4. Web Directories are Highly Valuable: It’s been a very long time since web directories have been highly valuable. The proliferation of the insta-web directory and webmasters submitting their sites to them en masse has devalued the importance of these once powerful marketing strategies. Getting displayed in highly credible web directories can still be advantageous, but in general web directories have lost their mystique.
5. Blackhat SEO Won’t Get you Caught: Many people think that anything they do won’t be discovered, and that even if someone does find out they won’t get punished. The truth is that no matter large or small your operation is, you can get caught using illicit marketing or promotion tactics and you can get delisted from the major search engines as a result.
#6- SEO Success Happens Overnight- It’s to fathom that people still believe this, but it’s one of the biggest SEO myths out there. The truth is SEO is a process that takes weeks, months, and even years to achieve success. It’s an endless battle and it’s something you have to constantly work on throughout the year. It’s a long term strategy, not a quick fix solution.
#7- Google is All that Matters- Once upon a time businesses could just focus on Google and make all kinds of money. However, those days are long gone and these SEO myths now revolve around utilize several search engines. You have to remember that the smaller ones like Yahoo and Bing still have people using theirs. Yes, Google makes up about 34% of all the searches online, but that leaves you without the other 66%. Plus, you can’t forget about other ways to market like Facebook, Youtube, and a plethora of other options.
8. PageRank is Everything: Along the same lines, your Google PageRank isn’t the end all or be all of your website. Yes, a higher PageRank will help your website rank higher, but it certainly isn’t the only factor that carries any weight. Plus, the number you see in that green bar is only a visual, static representation of a complex and constantly changing algorithm.
#9- Common Sense is More Important than Research- If you think something works online, it doesn’t necessarily mean everyone else believes the same thing. A prime example of this is through keyword selection. There are hundreds of different ways to find keywords and in order to find them you need to do research. If you don’t you can easily end up losing out in the long run.
#10- More Traffic is Always Better- If anyone throws these SEO myths at you, run the other way. The truth is you can have millions of visitors everyday, but without targeted traffic your sales will only be minimal. The idea is to have conversion rates that are off the charts, which means you need internet buyers not surfers. We recommend looking for targeted traffic first, then move on to expanding your base.
#11- Purchasing Links and Link Farms Always Work- This was really helpful years ago, but Google caught on to how people used blogs and websites as link farms. Nowadays they can actually hurt your website rankings rather than help them. Most importantly taking this route is often considered as “blackhat” which is definitely not good.
#12- Once you Achieve a Ranking, You’re Done- Probably the biggest SEO myths out there revolve around the “one shot deal.” Many marketers believe they can simply write up 10 articles, submit them to directories, provide a few backlinks, and the money will start rolling in everyday. The truth is you have to constantly maintain your SEO strategies in order to be successful. If the competition is still working, why should you stop?
These SEO myths are why so many people fail in the marketing world. It’s a combination of stubbornness and just finding the wrong information when searching how to successfully market your website. If you can stay up to date with the latest trends, you will end up staying away from those schemes and pitfalls that cause others to fail.
Learn more about SEO. Stop by David Baxters’s site www.SmartMediaInnovations.com where you can find out all the latest data and information about increasing your wesbite’s search engine rankings and what it can do for you.
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