When it comes to search engine optimization, the fact of the matter is that it is always changing. What was true for years ago may not be true today, and what is true today may not be true tomorrow. We all know that Google is the number one search engine around and if you want the most traffic you have to play by their rules. Let’s talk about some of the most common misconceptions about search engine optimization.

#1. You have to get back links from sites that are in your same niche for them account in Google.
Google wants the best experience for their users and understands that not every natural links from one site to another is always going to be in the same niche. In fact that was always in the same exact niche, you can Google might be a little suspicious.

#2. The page on the site that actually carries your link must have high page rank for it to really give you any juice.
Naturally, if a new page pops onto a website with your link or maybe even a review about your product or website, it goes without saying that it’s going to take some time for that page to get ranked in Google, and also climbed up the page rank scale. If Google likes the entire website as a whole, chances are they going to be some great SEO juice for that link going back to your site regardless if it is in the same niche or not.

#3. If Google’s back links record doesn’t show your backlinks, they don’t count in Google’s results.
Google’s backlink checker really doesn’t show all of the backlinks that their algorithm tracks. If you really want to see a more complete list of your backlinks, try looking on Yahoos link checker.

#4. I need to have one of the top 3 spots to get any traffic.
It is true that the first 3 spots get most of the traffic, but what if you have hundreds or thousands of keywords that you rank for. It isn’t always about quality, but it can be about quantity sometimes. And as your site grows, so does the strength of all of your pages.