Rand Fishkin identifies 10 SEO myths, from keyword density to reciprocal links, that might scare even experts but shouldn't. He tells marketers not to stress the small stuff like keyword density being too high or too many links connecting to the site from one domain, but rather focus on building great editorial links and building an Internet brand. Fishkin provides insight on how to get it done.

Search marketers need to pay more attention to the string of keywords and word choice as engines continue to tweak algorithms and move more toward serving up semantic search results. Bill Slawski points out that keyword phrases have become more than a string of words -- they are concepts that may contain many different aspects. Microsoft published a patent application earlier this month describing processes that identify entities within search queries, and respond by showing answers that might make it easier for searchers to perform tasks like buying tickets for events and much more. Slawski describes the importance -- as …

Major improvements in a company's campaign can be accomplished by either doing great work to raise the bar, or mediocre work on a badly broken program. That's one of the four reasons George Michie gives for not putting much faith in case studies. He also tells us that some people bury bad results. And in a long detailed example, he tells us how and why few companies will publish the results of studies that run counter to the story they would like to tell. "Hiding the bodies only serves to convince CMOs that the engines are just another in a …

From Pengiun to Panda to social sharing, SEO strategies have gone through an evolution during the last year. Considering all the changes, SEOmoz has updated its guide to include a new definition, why search engine optimization can be important to a Web site, social sharing techniques, link-building strategies, and suggestions for what to do after tracking search queries.

SEO best practices are not clearly defined, and there are no safe shortcuts to improve a site's search engine ranking. Deceptions or attempts to shortcut the goal of serving Web site visitors and customers could drop a business from search results. Virgnia Nussey give marketers advice on serving Google algorithm updates, which includes a guide to reducing links -- a necessity when it comes to adhering to Google's Penguin update.

What are the pitfalls to driving Web site traffic with online discounts? For starters, losing money. If the campaign catches on through Facebook, Twitter and other social tools, it can quickly turn a small promotion into a major ordeal. Kevin Gibbons serves up tips on voucher codes, mailing lists, gating the Facebook campaigns, improving organic traffic, and more. Publishing discount vouchers on a Web site also will encourage inbound links, boosting its presence in the search engines and building customer loyalty.

Citation building can become tedious, but Eric Covino identifies a way to integrate this tactic into a part of a local search engine optimization campaign without being too boring. He explains what he believes is a better way to set up the project, find quality citations, compare the profiles between companies and competitors, and build the citations.

Kirby Winfield gives us a "total BS" list of the top seven things people in technology have been saying for the past five years. It begins with "brand dollars will come online if we just do ____ " and ends with "ad networks are dead." He explains why brand dollars will really "come online," why the industry doesn't need a GRP for digital, how ad bidding isn't like buying stocks, and more.

Optimizing Web sites for software as a service (SaaS) vendors can become a long and drawn-out process. The sales cycle takes more time and consideration. It's not an impulse buy. And some potential clients can keep a company's brand in sight without actually making content. Naomi Niles gives us tips to keep in touch with prospects, and in turn, increase conversions and lower acquisition costs by not adding marketing expenses.

Hangouts aren't just for Google+ any more. Facebook will implement a hangout-like video chat feature through a deal with ooVoo, according to Ed Oswald. He explains that the social site launched video chat last month through a partnership with Microsoft's Skype service, but it only allows one-on-one video calling. This feature will allow multiple users to join the video call.