The evolution of search engine optimization carries with it the creation and dismissal of myths on a daily basis. Then there are the myths that have been disproved but not dismissed. The following is a list of new myths as well as a couple that keeping hanging in there:
1) Links are links, whether they’re “Do follow” or “No Follow” – There is definitely a hierarchy here and “Do Follow” links rule. These links score points in Google’s Page Rank system while “No Follows” do not. While “No Follows” don’t help with page rankings, they can still add value in terms of interaction and backlinks.
2) Posting new content will consistently push rankings higher – New content is only going to push rankings higher when it has relevance to the rest of page it’s on. Posted content that off topic can actually hurt a page ranking by diluting the percentage of relevant keywords.
3) The speed of a site doesn’t affect Page Rank – This is a new myth, as Google has recently included calculations for site speed into their Page Rank system. Remember, Google is trying to give their searchers the best user experience possible and a slow loading site is part of that experience.
4) Flash on a site will hurt SEO efforts – This myth is evolving (see #3 above) as flash can slow down the speed of a site. The original version of the myth was related to spiders not being able to read flash, which they can’t. This inability doesn’t hurt a site’s ranking; it just doesn’t help it either. Considering site speed’s new influence with Google and the extremely short attention span of a site’s visitors, Flash could actually work against both sides of the equation if it is slowing down a site’s speed. That issue is would definitely something to consider prior to a new web design or a redesign.
5) An SEO campaign is a failure if it doesn’t result in a ranking on the first page – The definition of a successful SEO campaign should be related to its return on investment (ROI), not on search engine page rankings. Think of it this way; is a company better off on page one with a negative ROI or page two with a positive return?
SEO continually evolves as do the myths associated with it. For a free consultation on your SEO needs.