Every industry has myths.
SEO has more than most.
Probably because the algorithm is a black box, so everyone fills the gaps with guesses, hearsay, and whatever they read on Twitter in 2014.
Let's kill the big ones.
Myth #1: "SEO is dead"
People have been saying this since 2005. Google processes 8.5 billion searches per day. SEO is very much alive.
What's dead? Spammy, manipulative SEO. Good riddance.
Myth #2: "You need to post content every day"
Quality over quantity. Always. One excellent piece per week beats seven mediocre ones.
Myth #3: "Meta keywords matter"
Google hasn't used the meta keywords tag since 2009. If you're spending time on this, stop immediately.
Myth #4: "More backlinks = better rankings"
More quality backlinks = better rankings. 10,000 links from spam directories will get you penalized, not promoted. Link quality vs. quantity is one of the most misunderstood concepts in SEO.
Myth #5: "SEO takes 6-12 months to work"
Some things take months. Others work in days. Fixing a broken redirect on your highest-traffic page? That can show results in a week.
Myth #6: "Keyword density matters"
"Make sure your keyword appears exactly 2.3% of the time." Nonsense. Write naturally. Include your target keyword and related terms where they make sense.
Myth #7: "Social media directly impacts rankings"
Social signals are not a ranking factor. Social media can indirectly help (more visibility = more potential links), but likes and shares don't move rankings.
Myth #8: "You need to submit your site to Google"
Google will find your site through links and sitemaps. Manual submission hasn't been necessary for years.
Myth #9: "SEO is a one-time project"
This is the most dangerous myth of all. SEO is ongoing. The businesses that treat it as a system -- not a project -- are the ones that win.
Build the system
SEO Checkup turns SEO from a one-time project into an ongoing system. 113 tasks. Status tracking. Regular progress.
Free. No credit card. 30 seconds.
Kill the myths. Build the system. Get results. And while you're at it, stop using outdated tactics too. Moz's SEO guide separates fact from fiction beautifully.