The
temptation to find an easy way to get to the top of
the search engines is a strong one. However, many popular
techniques either do you no good whatsoever, or even
worse, actually end up hurting you. We have
never had a site graylisted or banned from the search
engines. This is because we only utilize proven,
ethical, and effective techniques to get your site to
the top.
In addition
to black hat methods, there are many "black hat
optimizers", as we call them. A black hat optimizer
is an optimizer who, quite simply put, either does not
know what they or doing or engages in poor or unprofessional
business practices.
Here are
some excerpts from Google's Webmaster Help Center. We
are republishing it here in an effort to educate you
and assist you in making the decision which is best
for your business.
From Google's
Webmaster Help Center:
Search
Engine Optimizers
SEO is
an abbreviation for "search engine optimizer."
Many SEOs provide useful services for website owners,
from writing copy to giving advice on site architecture
and helping to find relevant directories to which a
site can be submitted. However, a few unethical SEOs
have given the industry a black eye through their overly
aggressive marketing efforts and their attempts to unfairly
manipulate search engine results.
While Google doesn't
have relationships with any SEOs and doesn't offer recommendations, we do have a few tips that may help you distinguish
between an SEO that will improve your site and one that
will only improve your chances of being dropped from
search engine results altogether.
Be wary of
SEO firms that send you email out of the blue.
Amazingly, we get these
spam emails too:
"Dear google.com,
I visited your website and noticed that you are not
listed in most of the major search engines and directories..."
Reserve the same skepticism
for unsolicited email about search engines as you do
for "burn fat at night" diet pills or requests
to help transfer funds from deposed dictators.
No one can
guarantee a #1 ranking on Google.
Beware of SEOs that
claim to guarantee rankings, allege a "special
relationship" with Google, or advertise
a "priority submit" to Google. There
is no priority submit for Google. In fact,
the only way to submit a site to Google directly is
through our Add URL page or through the Google Sitemaps
(Beta) program, and you can do this yourself at no cost
whatsoever.
Be careful if
a company is secretive or won't clearly explain what
they intend to do.
Ask for explanations
if something is unclear. If an SEO creates deceptive
or misleading content on your behalf, such as doorway
pages or "throwaway" domains, your site could
be removed entirely from Google's index. Ultimately,
you are responsible for the actions of any companies
you hire, so it's best to be sure you know
exactly how they intend to "help" you.
Choose wisely.
While you consider
whether to go with an SEO, you may want to do some research
on the industry. Google is one way to do that of course.
You might also seek out a few of the cautionary tales
that have appeared in the press. While Google doesn't
comment on specific companies, we've encountered firms
calling themselves SEOs who follow practices that are
clearly beyond the pale of accepted business behavior.
Be careful.
Be sure to understand
where the money goes.
While Google never
sells better ranking in our search results, several
other search engines combine pay-per-click or pay-for-inclusion
results with their regular web search results. Some
SEOs will promise to rank you highly in search engines,
but place you in the advertising section rather than
in the search results. A few SEOs will even change their
bid prices in real time to create the illusion that
they "control" other search engines and can
place themselves in the slot of their choice. This scam
doesn't work with Google because our advertising is
clearly labeled and separated from our search results,
but be sure to ask any SEO you're considering which
fees go toward permanent inclusion and which apply toward
temporary advertising.
Search engine
spam and SEO scams.
Ask your SEO firm if
it reports every spam abuse that it finds to Google
using our spam complaint form at http://www.google.com/contact/spamreport.html. Ethical SEO firms report deceptive sites that
violate Google's spam guidelines.
What are the
most common abuses a website owner is likely to encounter?
One common scam
is the creation of "shadow" domains that funnel
users to a site by using deceptive redirects. These shadow domains often will be owned by the SEO
who claims to be working on a client's behalf. However,
if the relationship sours, the SEO may point the domain
to a different site, or even to a competitor's domain.
If that happens, the client has paid to develop a competing
site owned entirely by the SEO.
Another illicit
practice is to place "doorway" pages loaded
with keywords on the client's site somewhere. The
SEO promises this will make the page more relevant for
more queries. This is inherently false since individual
pages are rarely relevant for a wide range of keywords. More insidious, however, is that these doorway
pages often contain hidden links to the SEO's other
clients as well. Such doorway pages drain away the link
popularity of a site and route it to the SEO and its
other clients, which may include sites with unsavory
or illegal content.
What are some
other things to look out for?
There are a few warning
signs that you may be dealing with a rogue SEO. It's
far from a comprehensive list, so if you have any doubts,
you should trust your instincts. By all means,
feel free to walk away if the SEO:
- owns shadow domains
- puts links to their
other clients on doorway pages
- offers to sell keywords
in the address bar
- doesn't distinguish
between actual search results and ads that appear
in search results
- guarantees ranking,
but only on obscure, long keyword phrases you would
get anyway
- operates with multiple
aliases or falsified WHOIS info
- gets traffic from
"fake" search engines, spyware, or scumware
- has had domains removed
from Google's index or is not itself listed in Google
- If you feel that
you were deceived by an SEO in some way, you may want
to report it.
The Federal Trade Commission
(FTC) handles complaints about deceptive or unfair business
practices. To file a complaint, visit: http://www.ftc.gov/
and click on "File a Complaint Online," call
1-877-FTC-HELP, or write to:
Federal Trade Commission
CRC-240
Washington, D.C. 20580
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