Search engine optimization is an area that abounds with myths. SEO myths are born almost everyday but do not really die that frequently. As a result, its number keeps growing every day. At times, even after being busted, they often come back after a period of time.
This blog is an attempt to fight the menace of SEO myths by busting the common misconceptions surrounding it.
- Google endorses our search engine optimization company: This is a complete lie told by many a SEO company. But the fact is you won’t ever find them listed.
- Onsite SE Optimization is not important: It is. Onsite SEO factors like title tags, internal links, clean code, semantic mark-up etc. do help in improving ranks, index and usability.
- Manipulating search engines boosts results: It can’t be done. All you can do is risk your credibility and get blacklisted. Google and its tribe can sniff out such sites as it smells of over-optimization.
- Stuffing keywords gives better ranking: This is absolutely wrong. Keywords are important but there is not really any magic number. It does not really work that way. Your content has to be informative, persuasive and punchy. You should also have good inbound links with the correct anchor text in order to rank better.
- Google Analytics is not to be used as it can spy on you and use the information against you: Google does not use your conversion data or traffic to profile you as a spammer.
XML Sitemap boosts Google rankings: Google uses the sitemaps for seeing if you have any duplicate content. It certainly
does not help the URL in any way.
- There is nothing like No.1 rank as everyone views different results: There is no denying the fact that Google does personalized results on the basis of a user’s browsing history but the difference between a personalized and non-personalized result is pretty small.
- Meta tags help in good rankings: Spammers have exploited Meta tags so badly that none of the search engines now give importance to it.
- A high Google PageRank means a high ranking in Google: It is not really so. A high PageRank is good but it is certainly not the be-all and end-all. It does not really assure huge traffic and sales.
- Guaranteed rankings: There is no such thing in the world of organic results. Any SEO Company that says so should be questioned whether they are referring to organic or paid search results. The truth is that results vary and can take months to become visible. A good SEO expert is likely to set realistic goals using SEO to benefit your website rather than making false promises.
- Search Engine Optimization is to be done once and then forgotten: Just like a website never gets done, the same is true of SEO. It is a continuous process. There is always more productivity to be squeezed out.
Healthy SEO is all about marketing a website by making it as good as it can be. Visitors should be given priority and the search engines will follow.
