There are several common misunderstandings of SEO. Many people think search engine optimization is about tweaking the meta tags. Others believe in tricking the search engines into giving them the traffic.
The biggest and most common misunderstanding of SEO is to believe that #1 ranking in Google search results can be guaranteed.
No One Can Guarantee a #1 Ranking on Google
In Google Webmaster Help, there is an advice to “beware of SEOs that claim to guarantee rankings…” – http://http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35291
Search engine ranking can be very complicated and sophiticated. It involves large computer programs, databases and algorithms to rank a Web page in the search engine result page(SERP).
It is quite impossible to guarantee #1 position for your Web page. Nobody can guarantee a certain ranking, not even a Google scientist since the algorithm prevent human intervention.
Google ranks each Web page in the search engine result page based on over 200 factors. These factors and the ranking algorithm are closely guarded to prevent exploitation by competitors and Internet marketers using black-hat SEO.
Black-Hat SEO
Black-hat SEO is usually defined as the practice of using unethical techniques to get higher search rankings. Some of the common black-hat SEO practises are keyword stuffing, doorway pages and the use of link farms.
Black-hat “optimized” pages are designed solely for the purpose of search engine robots and disregard the actual user experience of human visitors. Many of these black-hat methods are meant to rank fast and then disappear after a week or so.
Search engines, such as Google, look for sites that used these black-hat techniques and remove them from their indices.
Good SEO Practices
Some of the areas which good SEO practices focus are keyword strategy and user experience. Having a good selection keywords for your pages to be visible in the search engine results will increase targeted traffic. Offering an excellent user experience when people visited your pages will help to convert them into paying customers and make them return again and again.
SEO is more than just #1 ranking in saerch engines. Understand the big picture of branding and building reputation for your online business, focus at making every visitor a happy customer or becoming an ambassador for your website.
