Search Engine Optimization Myths
Finding and selecting an SEO/SEM company is pretty much the same as trying to buy a used car from a dishonest dealership. You are at their mercy when it comes to the information they give you about the car you want to buy.
That’s why you need to be aware of some of the common tricks that dishonest
SEO/SEM companies use. This won’t protect you against all the unethical guys, but having some understanding of what they are could save you a lot of money and a lot of
frustration.
One thing that should be pointed out is that use of some of the following ‘lures’ might be the result of an SEO’s inexperience, or incompetence, rather than a deliberate plan to separate you from your money. Even if that is the case, hiring that company can end in the same frustrating results. That makes avoiding the honest, but impaired optimizer just as important to you.
Also, please keep in mind that there are a lot of honest Optimizers and Marketers out there, just as there are honest used car dealers. You don’t need to assume that you’re being ripped off. Just proceed with caution.
3 of the Biggest Myths or Misunderstandings
#1; Multiple search engine submission on a regular basis.
You DO NOT need to submit your site to search engines. Simply get an existing site that is indexed in the search engines to link to your site. All the major search engines use "spiders" or "robots" to follow links on existing sites and they will find yours. If you have an entirely new business, you can simply add your main domain to the various engines. You can find these on our resources page
Any SEO company that tells you that they will submit your pages to 1,000+ search engines on a regular basis, is not going to do you any favors. They may claim that this is to keep your listing "fresh", but all they are doing is wasting your money. The only time you may need to submit more regularly is to "Directory Services". Be cautious with this too, as many of them require an email address and invariably you will start to get a heap of unsolicited mail.
#2 Promising to get you into the top 10 on Google quickly.
If this is a claim made by an SEO, steer clear. They could well be using really subversive techniques that will get you thrown out of their index and getting your sites banned. Reversing this is a process you really do not want to get into. Alternatively they may use some "related" key words, but these will probably be so obscure that they may never have been used in a search - ever. Which is as much good as selling discount ham to a Synagogue.
#3 Optimize your Keyword Tag
The Meta-Keywords tag is no longer used by search engines - period. In the early days of SEO, it was easy enough to simply add some commonly used key words in this tag and - hey presto - your site was there. As a direct result of total abuse of this technique, search engines have abandoned the inclusion of this tag in their review of pages and content.
There are only two tags in the head of your page that are used, the Title and Description. If an SEO company includes "keyword optimization" in their proposal, you are wasting money.