This is the second post of a 5-part series on search engine optimization myths. Part 1 covered the myth of the magic formula.

Many SEO companies offer services that make it sound as if success in organic search results can be accomplished in one fell swoop. But an initial round of keyword research, link building, and site restructuring will only get you so far, and without continuous improvement your SEO campaign is likely to fall on its face.

The Myth: One and Done

Search engine optimization campaigns just require an initial effort and then results will keep coming in.

The Reality

A successful SEO campaign requires continuous monitoring and improvement to succeed.

Most small business owners juggle a huge variety of tasks, making it very difficult to spend a great deal of time and effort developing their website. Frequently, online efforts are given a "project" mentality - just complete the project and then it will be done, needing only minor repairs, for the next five years. However, this approach is rarely effective.

This is especially the case with search engine optimization efforts. Ensuring success with SEO requires ongoing commitment, for several reasons.

1.) Customer habits change. There is a need to continuously monitor keyword trends. Even if your initial keyword research was spot on, trends change over time. Tip: Use Google Trends to monitor changes in search behavior.

2.) Search engines change. As we discussed in the last article, search engine algorithms change very frequently. Matt Cutts explains that Google makes 350 to 400 changes per year - approximately a change a day! Sometimes very large-scale changes take place that may require a fresh look at SEO efforts.

For example, a few years ago Google developed "Universal Search", which meant that results from Google Maps, Images, News, etc. could appear mixed in with regular search queries based on the search context. This meant that optimizing for these other Google properties became more important for achieving organic SEO goals.

Another important example is the increasing focus on local search emphasized by all of the search engines. Major search engines have started showing localized search results on certain queries even if location-centric keywords are not used in the query itself. Using location technologies based on IP addresses and other data, search engines are able to provide localized results with great accuracy. Local search engine optimization is thus an extremely important subset of overall SEO efforts, and it is especially important if you have a location-centric business like a restaurant or a coffee shop.

3.) Competitors change (and new ones spring up). Even if customers and search engines never changed, continuously monitoring and updating your search engine optimization campaign would still be vital just to ensure that you stay one step ahead of your competition. If you are sitting on your laurels, you can be sure that at least one of your primary competitors is not. Moreover, new competitors are constantly entering into most industries. Even if you are beating them all in the search engines now, don't be surprised if you fall behind if you pay no attention to a continued SEO effort.

These three factors, and many others, entail that a "one and done" SEO philosophy is bound to end in failure. If you are serious about your Internet marketing efforts, make sure that you take the long term view. And if you hire an outside company or consultant to help you, make sure you get one that takes continuous monitoring and improvement seriously.