Yes, SEO is an extremely important part to your success online, but there are literally hundreds of SEO myths flying around cyberspace that can dampen your overall results. If you take a good hard look at the majority of the information you will find that most of it is opinionated rather than factual. So today we want to share with you the twelve most common SEO myths on the Internet today.
#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- This is on the SEO myths list because so many people are wrapped up in keyword density. Granted, you don’t want to stuff keywords into your articles or web pages, but if you just provide highly searched uncompetitive keywords in these areas you will have more success and get indexed better.
3. META Keywords Still Work: While until recently there was still some debate on this, it’s now officially one of the SEO myths. Both Google and Yahoo! have publicly announced that they do not use META keywords for their ranking algorithms. In other words, you should no longer pay any attention to them or devote any time to including them. META descriptions and tiles however are still valuable.
#4- Web Directories are Highly Valuable- Ah yes, back in the day web directories were extremely valuable, but one of the SEO myths is that they still are today. Granted, you can still achieve success with highly credible directories, but the general ones are pretty much useless anymore.
#5- Blackhat SEO Won’t Get you Caught- It’s still amazing today that people believe they won’t be caught doing something that is illegal. What it comes down to though is no matter how big or small your company is, using illicit marketing tacts can keep you from being listed in the major search engines.
#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- Just because you believe something works one way doesn’t mean everyone else is in agreement. There really isn’t one true path to success online. There are many variables that come into play and this especially holds true for keyword selection. If you assume you know what people are searching for, chances are you will lose out in the end. Utilizing the proper research will help to keep you from falling into this trap.
10. More Traffic is Always Better: Receiving a lot of traffic is generally great, but if all of your traffic is untargeted you won’t be producing any results. Additionally, sites with high bounce rates can end up suffering in the search engines as a result because your site is viewed as having something wrong with it or being a match. Therefore, first strive for highly targeted traffic and then work to increase and expand your base.
#11- Purchasing Links and Link Farms Always Work- Years ago this was extremely helpful, but Google has figured out the loophole and basically put an end to it. Yes, it’s possible to receive a few benefits this way, but considering the money and time invested it’s definitely not worth it. Plus, many of these situations are considered blackhat avenues which end up being penalized.
12. Once You Achieve a Ranking, Your Work is Done: One of the largest SEO myths of them all is that SEO is a one-shot deal. In other words, just because you achieve a ranking it doesn’t mean your work is over. In truth, that’s the easy part and the hard part is maintaining or improving on that ranking as time goes on. Your website has fierce competition from many sources, and you need to work hard to maintain your presence.
You will find that all of these SEO myths are a big reason why most people fail at their marketing strategies. Whether it’s the wrong information, it’s outdated, or you’re just being stubborn, each one of them could make your online success difficult to achieve. It’s all about using your time efficiently and hopefully staying away from all the schemes and pitfalls that cause you to fail.
To find out more about SEO strategies, visit David Baxter’s site www.SmartMediaInnovations.com for a dramatic improvement in your websites search engine rankings today.
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