SEO
SEO Myths That Waste Small Business Money
By Mohamed Eltoukhy, founder of EVOGENCY ·
A lot of SEO advice floating around is outdated or was never true to begin with. Believing it wastes both time and money that could go toward what actually works.
Here are the myths we see small businesses pay for most often, and what to spend that money on instead.
The meta keywords tag
Google Search has not used the meta keywords tag in years. Any service still selling this as part of an SEO package is either behind the times or padding an invoice.
Buying backlinks and guaranteed rankings
Paid link schemes violate Google's policies and put a site at real risk, and nobody can honestly guarantee a specific ranking, since nobody outside Google controls the algorithm.
Google's own advice for hiring SEO help says to be wary of anyone who guarantees a number one ranking or claims a special relationship with Google.
More words always rank better
There's no ideal word count. Google has said it doesn't prefer content of any particular length. What matters is whether the page fully answers what the searcher wants. A clear 500 word answer can beat a rambling 3,000 word one.
Keywords in the domain name
Buying a domain like best orlando plumber dot com won't magically rank you. Google says keywords in domain names have little effect beyond appearing in the breadcrumb. Pick a domain that fits your brand.
Submitting to thousands of search engines
Services that promise to submit your site to thousands of search engines are selling nothing of value. Google finds sites on its own, and you can submit a sitemap for free in Search Console.
SEO is a one time project
Sites change, competitors improve, and content goes stale. SEO works best as ongoing maintenance: keeping pages accurate, adding useful content, and building reviews. A one time fix helps, but it doesn't last forever.
You need a special file for AI search
Some services now sell special AI files or markup to get into AI answers. Google says its AI features draw on the same core ranking systems as regular search, and it doesn't use special AI text files. Good SEO fundamentals are what count.
Where the money should go
A complete Google Business Profile, a fast and clear website, genuinely useful pages for each service, and a steady flow of real reviews. That's where small business SEO budgets pay off.
If you want an honest assessment without the myths, our free audit is a good place to start.