You’ve probably heard them all before. SEO is just a matter of doing this and tweaking that. Well, there’s a little more to get it right. Avoid these 6 SEO myths at all costs and you will be on the right track.

1. SEO is easy.

Perhaps for professionals who do it every day, all day. Even then, there is a learning curve and to keep up with the curve, the learning must always continue. That said, search optimization isn’t necessarily a difficult thing, it just takes experience, applied knowledge, and time to make it all happen.

2. SEO is built into my theme.

Do not believe it. While many website themes advertise their “SEO friendly”, all this really means that they are ready to be optimized for SEO. Without taking a comprehensive approach to optimizing the entire finished site (with all the content), it’s impossible to really optimize in any way. Optimizing the code of the site is one thing, but optimizing the whole package is something else entirely. Also, this is another good reason to avoid using template or theme based sites.

3. SEO is just a matter of meta tags.

not so Meta tags are relevant and play an important role in the overall SEO factor of a site, but they are only a small part of the overall pie, so to speak. Back in 1998, optimizing just meta tags was a great way to rank high. In 2010, it’s really just an incidental factor.

4. SEO requires you to get hundreds of incoming links.

Maybe, maybe not. Having just a couple of very good quality backlinks is usually better than having dozens of low quality, irrelevant inbound links. The key to taste and SEO is to maintain a balanced link profile that targets all types of links with all types of anchor text. Links must be natural.

5. SEO is simply a matter of producing a lot of content.

Having more content certainly helps… when it’s well planned and brings something of value to visitors. But simply adding a lot of filler content in the hope of increasing search engine rankings isn’t really a very wise strategy.

6. SEO means I need to use artificially high keyword density in my website copy.

Don’t force keyword density on articles. While strongly representing specific keyword phrases in your copy is a good thing, there’s also a fine line where being helpful becomes spammy. Never focus primarily on a percentage, number or density of keywords; aim first to create very high quality content that is appreciated by your visitors.