A Look At Prevailing Myths About SEO – Part 1

A large number of online sources attempt to define what proper SEO is. Some of the assertions made could be maliciously wrong or factually incorrect and extremely challenging. In this article I will examine a host of myths related to SEO and sort out facts from fiction. They will be useful when you plan your marketing strategies.

SEO is Finished

SEO methods may change now and then, but it is far from dead. Each time Google issues an update, experts say it’s the death knell for the SEO. But when people continue to succeed in manipulating website variables to better their search rankings proves conclusively that SEO is alive and kicking!

SEO is Only Spam

Lots of people call SEO practitioners black hat spammers, like no genuine SEO tactics exist that which come under Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. No doubt there are dubious practices too, but a large number of good SEO methods also resemble good site management, regardless of its purpose being rank optimization or not.

SEO Can be Done by Anyone

Everyone can’t do SEO in an effective manner. One needs to be a qualified and experienced SEO professional to do the job. Don’t give your firm’s SEO requirements to an IT employee only because he or she can work with computers. It takes time to understand best SEO practices.

Buying Links Will Improve My Ranking

Purchasing packages of ‘likes’ will only provide a temporary, undeserving enhancement in your site’s rankings. It’s more likely that you’ll end being quickly devalued – and even penalized — by Google and other search engines.

More the Links the Better

While the number of backlinks to your website plays a part in your website’s SEO, of more value is the quality of the backlinks. Hundreds of varied elements are considered by search engines to determine rankings, so backlink volume has only a minor role to play in SEO.

Good Content Guarantees Good Page Rank

Good content is essential, but it’s only one of the hundreds of variables in SEO that matter. Good content by itself won’t attract search engines. The content should be coupled with other SEO elements, like quality as well as quantity of backlinks.

Google Penalizes My Websites

Google penalizations are very rare and only executed for the most flagrant SEO violations. What many webmasters see are Google’s devaluation of the strategies for SEO that they were using on their websites. For example, Google devalued a full backlink structure of blog networks instantly and the site presumed that the fall in rankings was penalization which it wasn’t. Actually, large sections of their backlink profiles were devalued which caused their SEO to be lowered and their ranks to fall as a consequence.

PageRank only Factor that Counts

Google looks at a large number of different factors in its algorithms for rankings. So there’s no need for SEOs to get anxious about this specific element. A high PageRank made a difference when ranking was done in a natural way to get search results. A single attribute will now not be the only metric that counts for good SEO. There are many other, more essential SEO metrics that need your attention.

Google Analytics Helps Google to Scrutinize Me

Since Google doesn’t confirm the factors that affect its ranking algorithms SEOs have to make knowledgeable guesses and speculate. But Google’s own Matt Cutts has said that Google doesn’t spy on websites that use Google Analytics.

SEO is a Simple Solution

One thing is sure; SEO is not a simple solution. Many factors and elements have to be considered from the website’s planning stage itself. It takes complete understanding and thorough research to learn how to apply SEO techniques.

Optimizing your Site is Not worth It

Good website optimization provides good results. You can enter the top 10 in ranking through it sometimes without having to spend much on it. Visitors will most likely purchase from your site for they were looking for it.

Search Engines can Find your Website by themselves

Search engines can’t find your site on their own. For them to find your site you have to make sure your site is crawlable and has one backlink at least from a site that’s already been indexed. Normally one backlink won’t suffice so you must try to get as many as possible from good sites. Search engines have a submission form with which you can submit your site to the search engines to enable them to send a crawler to index the website.

Don’t Waste time in SEO, Just Purchase the No. 1 Spot in the SERPs

It’s true that most search engines let you purchase the number one spot in their SERPs for a fixed period. Your website will be shown in a precise frame or marked in a special way. Generally, the words ‘sponsored links’ will be posted close to the paid for links. It’s a matter of speculation whether it’s worthwhile to cough up good cash to get to the top of search results.

Optimizing only Home Page enough to get Visibility in Search Engines

Every page, including the homepage and sub-page, must be optimized. Optimization of only main page so that it gets visibility in search engines if not good SEO. This has to be done for the sub-pages have information about our services, product, and offers and so on. The homepage contains only general info about the website.

No. 1 in Search Engine Ranking will Ensure Success For My Website

There’s no guarantee of success even if you are ranked right on top. It may succeed to some extent, but ask the question: what’s your keyword phrase? If you don’t choose the right phrase, your site won’t succeed because if the keyword is an absurd one, no one will search for it.

You will be assured of No. 1 position in SERPs

There are lots of websites that specialize in SEO and provide guarantees for top positions in search results. But you must understand that you won’t get 100% guarantee for many factors decide the rankings. The probability is high in the case of competitive keywords that are low, and less if the competitive keywords are high. Besides, the competition on the Web has to be taken into consideration also.

Participating in Link Exchange Systems is Beneficial for your Website

Link exchange schemes have been made to get backlinks automatically. Backlinks do play a large role in ranking but are these exchange systems beneficial? Link exchanges are not accepted by the majority of search engines and when they find out that you are indulging in link exchanging, you’ll be penalized.

Your Rivals can get you thrown out by the Search Engines

If you don’t indulge in any hanky-panky you don’t have worry. Your rivals can’t get you thrown out of the search engines. Even black hat techniques can’t get you banned. A ban is resorted to only for bigger violations, if you have broken many important search engine rules, for instance.

SEO can be done without help from Outside

SEO means more than simply following certain procedures and techniques to improve the chances of attracting visitors to your website. Anybody can master these techniques and so you can do your own SEO. But some SEO procedures like coding, marketing online, PR skills and technical aspects have to be done and they are best done by professional agencies.

Meta Tags are of Utmost Importance

Meta tags are not important anymore. Previously, search engines would use them to discover details about websites. Now Meta tags don’t have an effect on rankings. But they are not useless. For instance, the description tag is text that frequently is seen next to the link that shows up in search results. Therefore it still has a useful function.

Domain Names that are Keyword-Rich are Ranked Higher

Years ago Google gave much importance to the domain name. If you had your keyword in the domain name, it would be very advantageous. Now, however, indexing only sees the actual page, not domain name. It is still essential for users get to see it, but it won’t give you higher ranking.

Submit a Sitemap to Boost your Rankings

Google provides a webmaster interface from where you can present a sitemap which is an XML file that contains links to all pages on your site. Some website owners submit a sitemap each time they effect a change. That’s not necessary. If you submit a sitemap it will not affect your rankings. It only adds pages that are not already indexed.

SEO has no Connection with the Social Media

Before Twitter and Facebook came along, SEO was the way to get traffic in a natural way. Some marketers think social media and SEO are entirely different entities, but that’s not true. Google now provides Google Plus, its own social media, into its search results. If you have an adequate number of significant people to talk about your services/products and link to your website, their recommendations will show up in the Google search results that your pals do. This definitely affects SEO. Facebook too has forayed into search. Their recently-introduced Open Graph engine makes searches that are based on interests and friends.

Google doesn’t Read CSS Files

Google’s bot used to see just text, so many people focused on that in their website. Now Google reads CSS, JavaScript and more. The crawler can clearly see if your website’s presentation appeals to users or not. For instance, if somebody searches on a mobile gadget and you have no provision for mobile layout in your website, you could be missing out.

Your Home Page Needs to be Updated All the Time

Some people feel they will get good ranking if they update content on their home page frequently, or if they don’t update it their rankings will fall. Generally that is not true, for if your sales page is offering a product, there would be no need to update that page unless there is some change in product changes.

I have examined a large number of prevailing myths in this post which I hope you have appreciated. Don’t miss out the second part of this article and share your comments.