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Scary SEO Myth #4: You Can Trick Google

OK, admit it...how much of your kids' candy did you consume yourself? Did you pick out some good stuff once they went to bed last night?

Moving on to our SEO Myth #4...Some SEO hacks, programmers, website designers and overall Internet "know-it-alls" will tell you (if they haven't already) that you can trick Google and other search engines and earn higher rankings.

Oh, be very careful with this one.

Unethical and dishonest SEO techniques will result in one of two things happening:

• Your website will actually lose rankings and drop like a brick in the Ohio River, or
• Your website will be banned from search engines.

Recovering from such a tragic event will take a long time and you'll pay dearly for it.

These techniques are called "black hat" (you know, from the cowboy movies...the bad guys wore the black hats and the good guys wore the white hats).

I won't mention any of the bad techniques here, but if they have to do with creating extra pages in your website; stuffing your site with links, hidden links or hidden keywords, they you are going down the wrong path.

When in doubt, talk to another SEO expert or search the Internet for more information.

Scary SEO Myth #3: SEO is a One-Time Event

Happy Halloween!

While the goblins and witches are out looking for treats, we'll continue with our "Scary SEO Myths".

This myth is more common among website designers.

Now, before I get a ton of hate mail, I work with a lot of website designers and, yes, most of them know SEO. However, website designers do a much better job of designing, NOT doing search engine optimization.

Here's what happens:

You hire a website designer (or a developer) to design a nice website for your company. They do a great job and you're happy with the work.

However, you've spent $1,500 to $5,000 (or more) for the site, but Google isn't ranking you high. So, your designer throws in some keywords and writes some meta tags and says you're good to go.

NO...not true. You are far from it. You're not even close to being ready for search engines.

Designers should stick to designing websites. Plumbers do plumbing, not electrical work.

SEO is not a one-and-done process. It is an on-going process that takes time, effort, lots of work and involves many tactics.

Enjoy your Halloween!

Scary SEO Myth No. 2: Submit Your Site to 1,000 Search Engines!

Admit it...you've already broken into the Trick or Treat candy. I have. Quality control right?

This is a great SEO Myth. Someone sends you an e-mail or an SEO chop shop tells you they will submit your website to 1,000 search engines.

I'm still waiting to see that list.

There are not 1,000 search engines. At best, there are around 50 search engines and that's counting everything between Dog Pile, Ask, AOL, Netscape, Hotbot, etc.

Of all the searches taking place on the Internet every day, 95% belong to Google, Yahoo or MSN. That means there is only 5% remaining for the other search engines to fight over.

Don't get suckered by someone who says they are going to submit your site to 1,000 search engines. You're better off trying to decide if you give out the Tootsie Rolls first or the Smarties (save a few for me, OK?).

Scary SEO Myth No. 1: First Page in 48 Hours!

Since we celebrate a scary holiday this week (no, we're not celebrating your ex-spouse's birthday), it makes perfect sense to take a look at the Top 5 Scary SEO Myths.

Today's SEO Myth is one of my favorite.

You've probably seen the ad and/or received the e-mail: "Get your website on the First Page in Google in 48 Hours."

Here's the scam...

Your website won't be ranked in the Top 10 organically. Instead, an SEO chop shop will set you up with a Google Adwords account; throw in some keywords and writes a few ads. YOUR ad appears on the first page in Google. You'll pay for the service and you'll pay every time someone clicks on your ad.

Do this instead...

Set up your own Google Adwords account (for free). Use Google's tools to research keywords (for free). Write the text and the headlines for your ad (for free) and you're in business. Granted, you'll still pay for the PPC campaign, but you can set up a budget and monitor your own results.

Now go carve that pumpkin!