By Wolfgang Jaegel and Gregory Smyth
There are many SEO myths and rumors, and an abundance of search engine information, much of it contradictory. Some SEO myths are based upon techniques that were effective years ago but definitely no longer work. While there are some SEO tricks that work for a certain period of time (until the algorithms are updated to detect and prevent the SEO sp@m), inevitably using these tricks will come back to haunt the website using them. SEO is knowledge, experience and hard work. While some SEO sales reps may tell you exactly what you want to hear, it’s best if you can tell fact from fiction. Here’s the first part of our two-part series.
SEO Myth: Websites Are Optimized While They Are Being Developed
Only a small percentage of designers and developers actually optimize pages for the search engines during the build process. Most web designers actually lack the skills to properly optimize a website. Nearly all search engine optimization is done after the fact, if at all. As many as 70% of all sites are not properly optimized to rank high in search engines, so anything you do to optimize your site puts it ahead of many of your competitors.
SEO Myth: Sites Must Be Constantly Resubmitted To Retain Rankings
This is a scare tactic popularized by various submission services and software companies. In fact, it is a waste of money to pay to have your site resubmitted once it is already listed in an engine’s database and a waste of time to do it yourself. A search engine is using a spider (bot) to crawl the web and index your site on a regular basis.
SEO Myth: Meta Tags Are The Most Important Factor In Search Engine Rankings
While Google has long ignored the “keywords” meta tag, it heavily utilizes other meta tags, such as Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, and Robots Tags, to understand page content and control indexing behavior. Meta tags are no longer a “silver bullet” for rankings, but they are essential components of a broader SEO strategy.
SEO Myth: Simply Inserting Keywords In The Keyword Meta Tag Will Help List Your Site For That Keyword
Most major search engines do not spider or index the keyword meta tag. Google has officially stated they do not use the keywords meta tag in web search, and it has no impact on modern SEO rankings. For those that do, the keyword needs to be placed in the content of the page naturally.
SEO Myth: Hidden Links Or Text In A Page Can Get Your Page Ranked Higher
Keyword stuffing and hidden links in the page can get your site penalized or banned if detected. It is considered a Search engine sp@mming.
SEO Myth: The More Times You Repeat The Keyword In The Page, The Higher It Will Rank
This is a little tricky since each search engine’s algorithm uses different factors for ranking. For major search engines like Google, there is no “ideal” keyword density percentage for higher placement. However, a keyword density of between 0.5to 3% is considered natural and good density. You should include the semantic and relative keywords rather than repeating your desired keywords to rank. Ideally, search engines prioritize high-quality, natural content that satisfies user intent. A keyword density that is too high will get penalized.
SEO Myth: The More Reciprocal Links To Other Sites, The Higher Your Google Page Rank
Outbound links to related are factored into page rank, especially for building topical authority. Unreciprocated links (one-way links) count higher than reciprocated links. The more quality inbound links to your site, the higher the page rank but no one knows exactly how Google factors their page rank and their algorithm is constantly adjusted. Because of the massive abuse of reciprocal linking and the reciprocal link “hype” Google devalues reciprocated links. A massive number of links to and from unrelated sites may drop your page rank and even worse, if your site is found linking to obvious link farms, your site could be penalized or even banned.
SEO Myth: Instant Link Popularity – Guaranteed!
Anyone who promises link popularity right away is spamming search engines and using artificial link building techniques. In all likelihood, SEO firms that promise instantaneous results build link farms to artificially inflate link popularity. Results generated by link farming are short-lived. Search engines will discover the link farms and other artificial techniques and promptly remove the site using them. Always keep in mind that quality link building takes time.
SEO Myth: Permanent Search Engine Positions
There’s no such thing as permanent top positions. Positioning and traffic fluctuations are perfectly normal. New pages with unique content are added to the web all the time. Old pages are deleted or updated. How pages and sites link to each other also changes, competitors change their strategies and search engine indexes and algorithms constantly evolve. Positions will always fluctuate.
SEO Myth: Your Top Ten Search Engine Ranking Can Be Guaranteed
Some SEO firms will advertise a “guarantee” to have you listed in the top ten rankings. Don’t believe it. Credible, experienced, knowledgeable search engine optimizers can demonstrate results from past performance but cannot guarantee future results. In that sense, they’re just like stockbrokers. No broker knows how future markets will perform, and no optimizer knows the future search engine algorithms. Make your decision from actual client successes which highlight a company’s skill and expertise.
SEO Myth: Search Engine Optimization Is Not As Effective As “Traditional” Marketing
Search engines can deliver highly motivated prospects directly to your website – visitors who have already demonstrated, through their use of particular key phrases, an interest in your products or services. This strategy can be far more effective than the traditional push strategy of approaching prospective clients directly.
