Just as in most things in life, there is a set of ethical standards when it comes to search engine optimization. While some companies strive to create user friendly content that organically attracts new visitors, others attempt to manipulate search engines into thinking they are producing quality content when in reality they are not. As with anything that takes such careful thought, time, and knowledge, there are those who will look for shortcuts and cheap tricks to try and get higher rankings.
You may be wondering where ethics comes into play here, as it might seem like sketchy SEO really doesn’t hurt anyone. But this isn’t true. The entire purpose of so-called “Black Hat” SEO is deception. It is designed to lure visitors and to presumably make money off of those visitors despite not actually containing the information that the visitor was searching for in the first place.
As the most respected authority in search engines, and the internet in general, Google has earned a certain level of trust with web users. As the most widely used search engine, it promises to work towards a better internet where searchers are given exactly what they want – trusted reliable sources and experts that will provide them with the exact information they are looking for. This is why for years Google has warned against black hat SEO and given clear advice about how to create quality content that gets you recognized as an expert. Now, they have gotten even more serious with a very recent upgrade to Google Penguin that features sophisticated link analysis that devalues paid links.
Google has declared time and again that it will stop at nothing to give users the absolute best results possible. Ethical SEO practices will always benefit your business, while unethical ones, while tempting, most likely will be discovered and can face penalties. While sneaky black hat tactics may have worked at one time, they are no longer acceptable if your company is getting serious about SEO.
What to do, AKA “white hat” practices:
1. Create rich content that people want to read, come back to, bookmark, or share.
2. Spread the word around by guest-blogging or otherwise getting reputable sources to link back to you.
3. Write well-thought meta tags that are designed for the user and not the search engine.
4. Use Google Analytics to come to an understanding of your traffic and to expand upon your visitor base.
5. Keep current with keywords and topics.
Make sure your site does not employ any of these “black hat” tactics:
A general rule of thumb is not try and outsmart the search engines and avoid putting in the time, effort, and patience involved with getting your site a high listing organically. Unethical SEO tactics can give you short term results, but SEO is a long-term investment that takes time and a lot of hard work.
1. Hidden content, whether it be commented out, scaled down, or colored white – it cannot be seen by the user and therefore does not benefit them. The search engines, on the other hand, can read this text – but are smart enough to know the difference.
2. Don’t stuff keywords in your meta tags or in your content. Repeating the same words or content over and over is not what visitors need, and therefore won’t get you ranked.
3. Subscribe to a link farm / pay for links. Your links need to come from credible sources, not form websites that simply spew out lists of links.
4. Doorway or gateway pages are sometimes created that feature high quality, optimized content, but then immediately direct visitors to another page. This bait-and-switch method can get you banned from indexes.
If you want to learn a little more about Google’s newest update and future plans, check out this informative video:
Customer Success Manager
