Often described as one big process, good search engine optimization involves a number of different steps. The intricacies of these steps is what leads many website owners to hire professional SEO firms that claim to 
have the magic formula. Going it alone could seem very daunting and unrewarding even after months of hard work. If you truly want to get the most out of search engine optimization, the following mistakes must be avoided at all costs.
Watch Out for SEO Gurantee Scams
The web waters are infested with companies looking to bank off the prevalence of SEO. These firms often guarantee services that will put you on the first page of Google in the number one spot. What you should know is that no company can guarantee such rankings. The fact that most of the top ranked sites report to having no dealings with SEO firms should be enough for you not to rely on such claims.
Cloaking
The term cloaking refers to a black hat search engine optimization (SEO) technique in which the content presented to the search engine spider is different to that presented to the user’s browser.
While this may seem like a viable strategy, cloaking should be avoided if you want to remain on favorable terms with the search engines. It might have worked a few years ago, but today’s search engine’s are sophisticated enough to detect this and other unethical forms of SEO.
Multiple Search Engine Submissions
Contrary to popular belief, submitting your website to search engines regularly can be a mistake. There are some companies that offer services utilizing special software that will automatically submit your site on a regular basis. Don’t buy into this as it can actually get you penalized and hinder your efforts.
Don’t Overuse Flash and Rich Graphics
If at all possible, Flash is a technology you want to do without. Though nice from a visual aspect, Flash can leave your site heavy and difficult to process, making it nearly impossible for search engine spiders to interpret. The best technologies are integrated with HTML as this the language embraced by all search engines. Whenever you put important information in a graphic form make sure to have it a text version of it for the search engines to index.
Moving Too Fast
SEO is an ongoing process., not something you can do just once and put to the side. Reaching a top search engine position in two days or even two weeks is virtually impossible. So, even though an SEO firm may claim to get you there in a short amount of time, stay away from the these bogus claims and keep your money. Generally speaking, some changes can take less than a week to take effect, while many take 3-6 months or more for measurable changes to be observed.
These are the basic no-go principles of SEO. If you follow these simple guidelines you’ll save yourself from a lot of trouble and unnecessary expenses.
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