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Debunking the Top 10 Search Engine Myths
By Marc D. Ensign (c) 2008

We've all done it at some point in our professional lives. We
search a keyword that describes our business only to scratch our
head as to how our competitor's website shows up on the top of
the list instead of ours. If you've gone one step further and
read about Search Engine Optimization, then surely you have come
across the conflicting information online.

One article tells you to do one thing while another tells you to
do the opposite. Which one should you believe?

This gray area of what you should or should not do is much like
the modern day "Bat Cave." If you are lucky enough to stumble
upon it, chances are you don't quite know how you got there and
if you had to go back one day you would probably just find
yourself lost in the woods.

So what should you believe? The general rule is to combine what
you read or heard with what you have experienced and somewhere
in there lies the truth. To get you started, let's debunk some
of the more commonly used myths floating around.


1) Use a Keyword Rich Domain Name:

It is widely believed that if you include your keywords in your
domain name like www.professional-website-design-in-nj.com it
will greatly increase your rankings. This is not true. It is
best to choose a domain name that is short, easy to remember and
if possible includes your company name.

2) Google Partnership:

If you are ever approached by a company claiming to have a
partnership with Google, run in the opposite direction. There is
no such thing as a "preferred" relationship with Google and in
fact on Google's website it even states: Beware of SEOs that
claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special relationship"
with Google, or advertise a "priority submit" to Google.

3) Meta Keyword Tag:

It used to be that the Meta Keyword Tag was given a lot of
weight in the early days of Search Engine Optimization, but
people abused it and now it does very little. You may still want
to include your keywords here, but know that it will not do much
and in fact most search engines won't even check it.

4) Bold or Italicized Text:

Adding emphasis to certain keywords like using bold or italics
can make your text easier to scan for the reader if done
properly, but has little to no effect on your search engine
ranking.

5) Content Length:

There is no search engine rule stating that your content needs
to be a specific number of words in order to get indexed. Any
recommended length is more to assist the reader in understanding
what you do than to aid the search engines.

6) Duplicate Content:

Posting specific content like an article or blog entry on your
site and then on another site will not get you penalized. In the
search results, Google will recognize that the content is the
same and only choose one of the pages to display, but it will
not hurt your overall search engine ranking.

7) Avoid Flash:

Any text that you place in Flash will not be readable by a
search engine, but this doesn't mean you have to avoid flash
altogether. You can still very successfully incorporate Flash
into your site through rotating pictures or a header on the
page. Just don't have an all Flash site or use a Flash intro if
you are interested in increasing your search engine rankings.


8) Pay-Per-Click:

Some say that using Pay-Per-Click will help your organic listing
while others say it will hurt. Both are false. The fact is that
Google has gone to great lengths to separate the two departments
of organic and paid listings to a point where the two
departments don't communicate or even sit at the same table for
lunch.

9) Update the Site Frequently:

Updating your site often is a good idea if you have something
new to say. Just don't change around a few words to accommodate
the search engines as that won't help your listing at all.
Regularly adding legitimate content like articles, press
releases and blog entries will help though.

10) Doorway Pages:

Many companies will sell this idea of increasing your ranking by
creating hundreds of one page sites loaded with keywords that
link to you from various domains. This is considered spamming
the search engine and is not recommended. If you properly
optimize your site and focus on the correct way to get listed,
you will increase your ranking much quicker than these doorway
pages ever could.

Of course there are many other myths out there confusing the
general public about what works and what doesn't work. Some of
them are spread by people who don't really know the truth and
others are spread by SEO companies in an attempt to make search
engine optimization confusing... mission accomplished!

Regardless of where the myths come from, if you or the SEO
Company you hire use common sense and do things the right way,
you will have no trouble finding the proverbial Bat Cave and
when you get there please tell them that I want my utility belt
back!
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Marc D. Ensign is the CEO and Visionary of Sound-n-Vision, a New
Jersey web design (http://www.sound-n-vision.com/services/
website-design) and Internet marketing company
(http://www.sound-n-vision.com/services/search-engine-optimization-seo).
Marc actively teaches workshops and seminars on web design and
search engine optimization throughout the New York Metropolitan
area.
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