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March 17th, 2010 by Mike
If you are using search engine optimization to help promote your website and have decided on which of the various SEO techniques you want to use to achieve your goal then you can start to implement them. However there are certain pitfalls and not all SEO advice you may receive will be good advice – especially if you are going the DIY route and looking for information online, so before you start, you should always check to see if you are using SEO correctly and if you are following the guidelines which search engines such as Google set out to help you stay on the right side of ethical. The way you approach your search engine optimisation campaign will speak volumes about your business and you need to be doing it the right way in order to acheive your online reputation management goals and bring SEO success.
Non-ethical Behaviours
Some website owners commit ‘SEO sins’ without realizing that they are doing it. If you are not sure what would be considered to be unethical (or black hat) with SEO and the use of keywords on your website, there are some common examples of what to avoid doing and to be safe. One common behaviour that is considered unethical with SEO is a process called keyword stuffing. This is when a website owner places their keywords everywhere they can, in content, meta tags, images etc. Search engines are now able to detect keyword stuffing so, even if you try to hide it somewhere on a page on your website, such as behind an image or by using the same colour text as background, it could be noticed.
Another common type of unethical behaviour with SEO is cloaking. This is when you present one form of content to the search engine and a completely different one to the users of your website. This can be avoided by making sure that whatever it is you submit to the search engines, you are backing it up with providing that same information on your website. You can check what Google sees to make sure that the page is saying what it should be to both user and search engines by using free online SEO tools.
Keep It Safe
When you are doing anything with your site, including SEO, try to consider ethical behaviour in all of your actions online. If you are telling the search engines that a link goes to a specific product and page, make sure that you back that up with actually having the right content and SEO keywords on the right page. Taking the time to analyze your website to make sure that you are using SEO correctly can make the difference between getting good search engine rankings and getting booted out of the search engine results altogether if you get it wrong. If you are not sure if a particular marketing method is using SEO the way it should be, consult with an expert offering comprehensive search engine optimization services before you place the ad or submit it to a search engine.
Usually, if you are unsure if whether a method that you are going to use could be ethical or not, you should probably trust your instinct on it and not use it. If still you are unsure whether or not you should proceed with the ad or listing, consult with someone else who is familiar with the correct use of SEO and can help you decide if you need to change something to keep it ethical and not risk you getting booted out of the search engines. Consult with an ethical SEO company who can help you decide if you should use it.
Be Respectful
The key to ethical SEO is to show respect not only the search engines for the job that they do, but also respect the users that are going to be on your website. You do not want users to get the image of your business or website as being unethical or spammy or more conerned with search engines than them. Your website is the representation of your business. You want users and search engines to see that you are using SEO correctly and that you are operating a respectable business online. Don’t give off the image that you are trying to do whatever necessary to get the SEO keywords into your website and that you don’t care about how it reads or the message that it delivers. Getting good search engine rankings is important but if you don’t use SEO correctly and practice behaviour that is not considered to be correct online, your users are going to be able to see it along with search engines and all of your internet reputation management efforts will be in vain.
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Interesting topic on here. SEO really matters for businesses and even for small-to-medium businesses, for promotional and advertising purposes, there are lots of methods that are essential for optimizing those businesses, on or off page that is. SEO has become a trend and is considered to be really big in upcoming years.
Thanks for sharing that with us!