SEO Ethics: White Hat, Black Hat, Grey Hat?

Whether you’re involved in a business, a personal relationship, or simply interacting with people and things each day, you’re exercising some form of ethics no matter what you do. Ethics is a philosophy that involves the systematic concepts of what is right and wrong behavior and how we judge those who make decisions.

Even back before SEO came into play and was a fully recognized system, ethics was a game played on the web that really didn’t have any boundaries or moral codes saying what is and isn’t acceptable for the user. We can see this evident in early web hacking where some would argue that they were simply learning more about the internet and not committing an online crime as it would be known today. 

This has come up several other times involving the loosely associated hacking group Anonymous who has claimed responsibility for attacks on corporate databases in the past. Back to SEO, we can see that there is a fine line that separates what is okay SEO, and what is frowned upon SEO either by SEO ethics experts, or Google themselves.

White Hat
Let’s start with the good stuff that Google and other industry experts see as acceptable forms of search engine optimization. Most of what people consider to be White Hat SEO comes from the idea that the less web-spam the better. As time has gone on from the early beginnings of SEO in the 1990’s, some tactics that initially helped earn web traffic have become poisoned and less fruitful because of overuse and less legitimate practices. So where does the term come from? It’s origin in essence comes from the idea of purity and integrity that would be applicable to enhancing web traffic to a webpage and increasing their rankings. So which tactics meet this criterion?

Content Creation
The lifeblood of the internet and all knowledge based information; this tactic relies heavily on the idea that you cannot gain web traffic if you do not have something of valuable to offer your visitors. While sometimes this tactic can be confused with doorway passages, it’s better to just hire someone to write quality content or do it yourself. This will prevent all assumptions that your content is worthless. Creating good content can be time consuming but it will be well worth it in the long run. The richer the content is, the better the chances that you will appear in search engines and become a resource to human visitors and webmasters who want to link to your webpage. Content also provides the chance to use keywords that relate to your topic and will be used in conjunction with search engines.

On Page Optimization
This tactic is a small factor when employing a white hat SEO campaign, but remains valuable in that it will make your webpage more “spider” friendly. A spider is another word for a crawler, which will evaluate your page and extract links from it, and return information found to be indexed. Some factors that go into on page optimization include formatting your title, body text, headings, link text (anchor text), domain names, and the amount of keyword repetition on your site. Overall this accounts for about 20%-30% between on page and off page.

Off Page Optimization
As stated above this is the largest piece of optimization, and accounts for about 70%-80%. Another name associated with off page optimization is called external linking or link building. This is one of the easiest yet tedious methods of increasing your web traffic and rank and can be the most time consuming. Beginning a link building campaign can be like having all the needed materials to construct a building, but not having the architectural blue prints in hand. The internet is huge and according to a recent survey, there are about 400 million webpages and counting. That’s a ton of resources to look through, but where do you actually get your link value from? Well you have to start somewhere and decide for the sake of your company what is relevant and what niche you should target. Start by looking through blogs, forums, and online articles. Some will be valuable to have a link on, and some will be worthless. This all depends on the site’s Page and Domain Authority. Remember to keep it relevant so that people who see your links can follow them and find something useful. Another way of link building can be reciprocal linking, where you exchange links with other webmasters. This tactic can be beneficial but the values of these links have declined over the years.

Black Hat
Now here’s where things get a little strange in regards to SEO tactics and how they are implemented in an SEO campaign. Google and other search engines can’t necessarily see exactly how you’re driving traffic to your webpage so they’ve improved this the last few years, especially since the Panda and Penguin updates. The method you use to increase your rankings can fool search engines but most likely will be visible to human guests. Using methods or techniques that are used in order to rank higher on search engines using prohibited tactics are considered unethical. Before SEO was as well-known as it is today, all techniques were considered legitimate. However due to abuse they are no longer accepted by SEO communities. These tactics may produce a short term gain in rankings, but will eventually fail. White Hat is always better for a long term gain and will circumvent being penalized by search engines. There are numerous tactics employed by those who violate SEO ethics, so I’ll summarize the main ones.

Keyword Stuffing
Probably the most commonly used Black Hat SEO tactic out there, this includes placing a large amount of instances of a targeted keyword phrase on a webpage in hopes that a search engine will read it as relevant. Sometimes this will be placed in body text but can be incredibly hard to read for users, so to avoid this they will sometimes be placed at the bottom of a page in very small font. Remember that creating a user experience that is positive is a large part of SEO, so those who practice unethical tactics will find ways to trick search engines without alerting human guests.

Doorway Pages
One of the worse Black Hat SEO tactics, this technique is solely for search engines and not humans. They’re basically fake pages customized with a few particular keywords or phrases that a user never sees and is immediately redirected to the homepage. Considered to be one of the quickest ways to gain short term ranking, search engines have become more intuitive and will ignore or outright ban these pages once discovered.

Hidden Text
These tactics are still being used more so than the last few because search engines have a hard time seeing them. Those who use this tactic set up a page’s text color to be the same as the background so that users cannot see them. Spiders that index the page will then rank them higher for relevance. Sometimes they can be camouflaged into pictures in the background so that it’s harder for users to detect the hidden text. This tactic is considered web-spam and will quickly be reported by competitors like cloaking, which is another method of tricking search engines to be ranked higher. 

Cloaking
Cloaking is a method of presenting information to search engines that users would not necessarily see when visiting a webpage. This method is like hidden text and when discovered by competitors will be reported for unethical behavior.

Interlinking
This method is common with link building and creates the most web-spam for search engine positioning. By building multiple websites and linking them together to build link popularity, this can be hard for search engines to detect. Some forms of interlinking can be considered legitimate, which leads us into the grey area between White Hat SEO and Black Hate SEO also known as, you guessed it, Grey Hat SEO.

Grey Hat SEO
Here’s where you’ll scratch your head and wonder why there’s even a grey area between the two, because most of the tactics listed below will be similar to both White and Black Hat, hence the term grey. Some will even argue that there isn’t such thing as Grey Hat because the line is so thin between the two. Remember that it’s important to understand that just because these tactics work for some, they can be detected as spam and will undoubtedly result in your site being banned or penalized.

Cloaking (Again)
Most of the time cloaking will be seen as Black Hat because of its deceptive nature. In some cases there is a logical reason to present different information to a search engine instead of the user if for example you were describing content that was for “member’s only”. This would have to be approved by search engines before use because the chances of being penalized are great. Sometimes it’s possible to legitimately use cloaking if your site is art based and is comprised of just images. This could be a reason that you would want to cloak some information so that the webpage creates a better user experience and can still be searchable by spiders.

Paid Links
This tactic is arguably considered Black Hat SEO because it includes purchasing links for the sole purpose of increasing link popularity. Sometimes it is possible to buy links for advertising purposes alone, and this is considered legitimate. Purchasing links to increase your ranking is considered abuse and will result in an effort to degrade the link’s value or penalize the site. A rule to keep in mind is if you’re buying links it should be for an increase in traffic, not to increase your webpage’s ranking.

Duplicate Content
I left this out in Black Hat SEO on purpose so that I could explain why it’s more grey area than black. The increase in popularity of providing content that is relevant to users has increased over the years and is why it has become a significant problem for search engines and users alike. One way of addressing this problem is adding filters to search engines that will seek out pages that contain the same content and eliminating the duplicate. Even when this filter does not work, the duplicate page will be reported by competitors and penalized. Another form of duplicate content is spinning content. This means that someone has taken an original piece of material and “spun” the words and sentence structure so that it reads differently and often makes no sense. This can be realized by human guests on a webpage, but sometimes isn’t by search engines.

Conclusion

While most of the tactics that were listed are on the fence and considered Grey Hat SEO, you can’t assume that they won’t be looked upon as unethical at some point. Every person is different who analyses SEO, including SEO ethics experts who make their opinions known by ways of writing articles and blogs defaming companies who have employed these tactics to not only increase their web traffic, but increase their ranking as well. When it comes down to what truly is Black and White or even Grey, Google and all other search engine authorities will be the final decision makers on whether you’ve been cheating the system and whether you deserve to have your website’s rank discounted or all together penalized. Such instances have occurred before and Google gave those targeted by Panda and Penguin updates a chance to explain themselves and why they deserved to not be penalized.

Guest Post

Special thanks to Austin Carver for today's guest post.  Learn more at http://www.bytelaunch.com/bytelaunch-blog/

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/austincarver

Brand Update : Advance RIP wishes for "Only Vimal"

In a rather sad news for brand lovers, Reliance Industries has decided to sell off their textile business including their iconic brand " Vimal ". The brand which once had an iconic status now is on the verge of extinction.Vimal was also one of the few consumer brands of India's largest private sector company Reliance. 

The future of this brand will be decided by the new brand owners. Although its is premature to write RIP for the brand, its sad that Reliance chose to sell of the brand despite the fact that the company is rich with cash and could have revived the brand anytime.

The brand which  marked the arrival of the advertising agency Mudra will be known for some classic advertisement campaigns featuring brand ambassadors like Allan Border and Vivian Richards.The writing was on the wall for some years. There was virtually no investment in building this brand in the last decade except for some random campaigns. The move is a part of Reliance strategy of exiting loss making business and focus on new sunrise sectors. 

The brand has failed because of negligence on the part of the owners who lost interest in building the business nor the brand. 

Lets hope that the new brand owners will try reviving this brand . Till then RIP Vimal ( 1980-2012)

Related Brand

Only Vimal

Copywriting – The Most Undervalued Skill in Marketing

Although most of us were raised in an environment where education was the priority, and writing a required skill, it doesn't always translate into effective copy writing.  Composing a well researched article is not the same as firing off an email and although we all have the ability to write, few of us have the ability to do so while being informative and entertaining. I’ve come into contact with countless agencies who have tried to outsource copywriting either for simple articles that will be syndicated for SEO purposes, or for blog posts that need to be of a high standard.

Every digital media agency should have an in-house copywriter, yet so few do. Many have copywriters and don’t even know it. It is likely your copywriter will also be an account manager or a web developer or one of your social media strategists. In print media this issue doesn’t exist because it’s an old industry, it’s been around for decades and due to the very nature of the industry good copywriting is heralded with the respect it deserves. But online marketing is still a relatively infantile world, still figuring out its morals and values.

Engaging copy is essential for marketing, it is the backbone of any successful campaign, on or offline. And trivial spelling or punctuation mistakes can not only overshadow a good campaign but can overtake it too, becoming the amusing focal point which quickly goes viral and turns the brand into a laughing stock. Not everyone can write engaging copy, it is a skill. It’s a skill that can be taught, true, but also a skill that must be practised, refined and implemented confidently, and unfortunately the majority of marketing agencies don’t seem to have the time for this sort of employee investment.

Those workers that have ten, twenty, thirty years experience in copywriting and are looking to branch out into online marketing are getting ignored due to an abundance of fledging search engine marketers and social media junkies who can cram a few keywords into a semi-literate sentence.
But the economic climate is also a contributing factor.  Both established and start-up marketing agencies have been and still are struggling over the last few years.  The recession has forced people to cut corners and save money where they can, so a skill such as copywriting - which everyone should be able to do anyway, is one of the first to get neglected.  Rather than pay more money on quality content, cheaper outgoing is a more attractive option.
These days copywriters need to work harder than ever to garner recognition. Producing dazzling content on time and on budget is no longer enough, we need to have a list of on and offline editorial contacts, we need to regularly contribute pieces to a range of different outlets, the more varied the material the better, and we need to save time to promote ourselves, our content and our expanding skill set.
Special thanks to our guest post contributor Zac Colbert. Zac Colbert is a writer wading through the SEO industry one debunked issue at a time, covering topics as diverse as sustainable living, online dating sites and music journalism.

The Secret of Successful Websites

Have you ever visited a website that instantly hooked you and wonder ‘How did they do that?’ Websites are like an art form. Between the necessity of optimizing content for search engines, creating an eye-catching but soothing design, and providing just the right amount of information there is a lot that goes into creating the perfect website. So how do you do it?

Here are a few of the secret components behind every successful website.

1. The messaging and design is instantly compelling – Studies show that visitors only take 8 seconds to form an opinion about your company from your website. With compelling messaging and design, you can hit them with what you want right away, and keep them reading.

2. Navigation is intuitive – You want readers to read what you have to say, so you should make it easy for them to do so. Keep navigation clean and easy to follow so the visitor can easily find the information they are looking for.

3. Use analytics to your advantage – Successful websites are the ones who have tested messages, layouts, and color schemes. Use analytics to find out where your customers are leaving your site and where they are engaging the most. Make small changes, and test again. Keep testing to keep your site current and as optimized for usability as possible.

4. Put videos on your site– Not only does it help your search engine rankings to have videos on your website, but it also gives your visitors more dynamic content to interact with. Videos can be used in a variety of ways from product demos to tidbits of advice on what your industry provides.

5. Create engagement – If a customer likes what you have to offer, they will want to hear more from your company. Create a place for them to follow you on social media, or sign up for a newsletter so you can continue to keep them engaged.

Websites do not have to be overwhelming. Make it easy and engaging and your readers will reward you with more traffic and referrals.

Marketing Online: It's All About Content and Community

Wow, things have really changed.  Google Panda, Penguin, and Peanut Butter.  Okay, I don't know what comes after the "Penguin" update but things are certainly going to change.  As I think about marketing online and what will differentiate those who find success (versus those who don't), I can't help but think about key characteristics that drive online success.

The two factors that I believe have the greatest influence on online marketing success - today and well into the future - are content and community.  Sites that produce valuable, original content, are those who will succeed.  Sprinkle in the concept of "community" and you're sure to win.

The sites and online businesses that are creating value today have something with community.  Whether the site is a community itself like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, or supports a community in some way, social sharing/community is the future of the Internet.  Heck, it's more than the future, its the key driver of online businesses.

To enhance the effectiveness of your website, blog, or even "app", consider how content and community are playing role.  Are you attracting like minded people to your site?  Are you using engaging, unique content to draw them in?  Are you fostering a dialog that keeps people coming back time and again?  

Before you spend another dollar on content, advertising, or even your next marketing campaign, think about the value of content and community and how it applies to your business!

Flash Mob Marketing: Get A Health Check

This week we’re taking a look at a great campaign I learned about from Gary Stringer. Gary is an executive at Accuracast – an agency based in England. I was so impressed by the agency’s campaign for national health checks, I had to reach out to Gary and ask him all about it.

The campaign encouraged residents in the local area to visit their local centre for a free health check. The NHS in Telford and Wrekin took to a local shopping centre for a flash mob performance. During this they lip-synched along to Maroon 5's 'Moves like Jagger' and created a lip dub video, which was then uploaded to their YouTube profile. This is an interesting and novel approach to promote healthcare from an organization like the NHS, using a viral video and sharing via social media has rarely been tried by such organizations. 

1. Hi Gary, tell us about your current role at Accuracast?
I am currently working as a digital marketing executive at Accuracast with a broad number of responsibilities under this title, although principally I undertake link building exercises for clients. This involves a number of tasks designed to increase the number of backlinks to clients websites and in addition to this I also produce copy on behalf of clients. I am also involved in implementing social media campaigns, such as the campaign for NHS Telford and Wrekin which is discussed below.

2. Tell us about your strategy for promoting Telford Health Check.
Essentially the strategy for the flash mob performance was to generate further awareness of the free health check service provided by the NHS Telford and Wrekin, which was evident in each aspect of the approach for the campaign. The flash mob began with the recruitment of individuals for the performance, with local organizations, students and dance schools becoming involved, which helped improve awareness on a local level. Conducting the performance at local, and often busy, shopping center also led to greater awareness due to the resulting coverage from the local press. Once this had been achieved the campaign moved online, with the performance uploaded to a specific YouTube and were are currently in the process of promoting this via social media.

3. Where did the idea for a flash mob come from? What were your goals?
Quite often people are afraid to visit their doctor for a health check as they are worried about the results, therefore it was important to communicate the messages of the campaign in a light hearted and humorous manner. The results from the health check will either provide patients with a clean bill of health or allow any problems to detected and treated early. The purpose of the flash mob performance was principally to increase the awareness of the health check service, but also to reduce the fear associated with it and therefore increase the likelihood of people using the service.

4. Did you achieve your marketing goals with the program?
As the campaign is yet to finish it is difficult to determine whether the goals have been achieved, although awareness of the free health check service has improved since the beginning of the lip dub campaign. Similar campaigns that we have conducted in the past have led to an increase in the number of people using services of this manner and therefore it is expected that the number of people using the free health check service will increase.

5. What advice do you have for others who may want to use this form of promotion?
The best piece of advice for others planning to use flash mob performances is to ensure that your message is clearly conveyed and make certain that the performance is relevant. In order to deliver the messages of the campaign effectively, each participant in the performance wore a t-shirt emblazoned with the “when you get the call GO!” slogan. As the campaign was conducted for the NHS Telford and Wrekin, staging the performance in a busy Telford shopping center ensured relevance and highly targeted communication with the desired audience. Finally you should also make the content as engaging as possible and ensure that it is easy to share online, in order to increase awareness.


Gary - thanks for sharing your success with us!