SEO Myths

You've heard old wives' tales your whole life; you may have even believed a few of them. But, at the end of the day, your eyes didn't stay crossed and nothing more than cramps happened when you swam less than an hour after eating. We recommend that you fully discount the following SEO myths, as well.

Myth 1...Meta Keyword Tags

Once considered greater than Google (hard to imagine, isn't it), the Meta Keyword tag was pushed into early retirement in September of 2002.  Relevance has since occupied the fancy corner office of Search Engine algorithms. Today, the Meta tag is used to gauge a page's relevance, but doesn't influence rankings.

Myth 2...Keyword Stuffing in Alt Tags

Alt tags hold the text that appears before an image loads. Filling Alt tag space to the brim with keywords for the sake of marketing is not just ineffective; it's counter-productive. Search Engines are wise to this scheme, and using it will guarantee nothing but botched rankings and heartache.  Remember, Alt tags are for users, not the search engines, so treat them that way!

Myth 3...Tiny Text

The teeny Tiny Text is big huge waste of time. By placing keywords in a nearly unreadable font size along the tops and bottoms of Web pages, users of this technique hope that Search Engines read the text, think the page has more relevance, and therefore deserves higher rankings.  But this is wishful thinking. Search Engines prefer that Websites be designed for users, not for algorithms. It is possible, however, to satisfy both entities by creating keyword-rich and relevant copy.

Myth 4...Invisible Text

Done by placing a ton of keywords throughout a Web page in an identical font and background color, Invisible Text, like Tiny Text, is meant to fool the Search Engines into granting undeserved higher rankings. Again, this is wishful thinking and an insult to the Engines' intelligence.

Myth 5...Invisible Links

Granted, this trick once worked, but please don't try this at home; the Search Engines can spot these things a mile away. Invisible Links were the brain child of Invisible Text and a Clear Image (1 pixel x 1 pixel in size), in which links would be placed, leading once again to undeserved higher rankings.

Myth 6...Doorway Pages

A Doorway Page is the sister to an Invisible Link.  It serves as a platform from which Search Engines are provided with keywords and phrases, but little to no context or graphics.  Search Engines will drop a site down a rank or two (or 300) or drop the site altogether if they spot Doorway Pages.

Myth 7...Guaranteed Rankings

A company may be confident of the service they're able to deliver, but beware of Search Engine Marketing firms that promise exceptional rankings. How can they guarantee something that is out of their control? Besides Pay-Per-Click advertising, don't be fooled into hefty promises.

No act of trickery or subterfuge will outsmart a Search Engine.  For optimum results, just play by the rules. They're there for a reason.

For more SEO folklore debunked, see our Fact v. Fiction comparison.