On a daily basis i3Search.Worx get's enquiries as to what's fact and what's ficition in the world of SEO. We have compiled a list of the top 5 Search Engine Optimisation myths for you to sink your teeth into:

1) Search Engine Rankings Can Be Guaranteed - Nonsense. Absolutely nobody can guarantee (except for Google themselves) that you will be ranked in a search engines index. There are many SEO's which make bold claims such as first page rankings, or even in some cases, number 1 rankings and this is quite simply, impossible. To help you along with this, see the internal help page on Google which states that this is impossible - straight from the horses mouth. You can find it here

2) Meta Description Tags Affect Rankings - There was a time where Google used keywords from the Meta Description tag to rank websites within it's index. In actual fact, the Meta Description tag has absolutely no effect on where you rank for particular keywords - although we do encourage writing a description which will entice potential visitors as this will be show as the description in the search results.

3) The More Inbound Links The Better - Inbound links from third party websites via a process called Link Building is essential if your website is to do well on major search engines. However, there is a common misconception that it's the amount of links which is important, when actually, it's the quality of the inbound links that really count. Links that are thematic from sites which are trusted by major search engines with few outbound links on the page would be idellic.

4) Keyword Density Ratios - We have a strict rule here at i3Search.Worx - write for visitors, not search engines - the rankings will follow. Google has admitted is a sucker for incredibly helpful content - you will hear SEO's speak about Keyword Density Ratios and the truth is, these are nonsense. Yes, keywords will need to be found on a page, but there is no set figure or perfect balance of keywords - it's to do with what we call, keyword flow. Write great content, forget ratios and percentages.

5) PageRank Is The Be All And End All - People always talk about PageRank and how they can increase their PageRank - the truth is, PageRank is only a reflection of Google's idea of the importance of a particular web page - not how it influences where a site ranks for a specific keyword. Google have time and time again tried to steer people away from becoming PageRank Freaks...Forget PageRank. Google's PageRank algorithm is updated 4 times a year (once a quarter) therefore all PageRanks are out of date constantly and therefore is not a measurable way to utilise an SEO campaign or even base your SEO campaign around.

Posted: 07/09/10 12:56