Here is a list of the most popular myths floating around about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Google rankings:

1. PageRank is dead.  This is completely wrong.  PageRank is an important factor in SEO rankings or Google search rankings however it isn’t the only factor.  Google has a complex algorithm that calculates the search rankings.
2. Paying for submissions to 1000s of directories and search engines is critical.  This is false.  Submission of your main page, sitemap, and robots.txt is all you need for search engines to map out your site.
3. Duplication hurts your website ranking.  Duplication within your own site won’t hurt your website ranking.  However be careful about the amount of duplication of content from other sites.
4. Participation on AdWords, AdSense or Google Analytics will hurt your website ranking. This is completely untrue.
5. Repetition of  keyword is important.  The usage of keywords on your niche websites are important however writing readable articles are more important.
6. Usage of XML Sitemaps will hurt your SEO or Google search ranking.  This is completely false
7. Usage of “Index, Follow” in robots meta tags is important.  This is false.
8. Hosting of a site on a shared IP address will cause your rankings to drop.  This is false.
9. Regular re-submission of your website is vital. This is completely false.  So do not pay for those services that will advertise that they will help you auto re-submit.
10. The more links the higher the SEO and Google search ranking.  This is false.