Search Engine Optimization

It’s happened to me dozens of times, and it will probably happen a dozen times more. I’ll be pitching a potential client who I think is a good fit, only to have them go with another SEO company that is offering the same services for the low, low price of $99.99 a month! I understand that companies in any industry will try to underbid each other in order to win a client (especially when the economy is as unstable as it is right now), but if I’ve learned anything in my 12+ years as an SEO consultant, it’s that you get what you pay for.

More often than not, if you come across an SEO company promising everything under the sun for an unbelievable price, they are probably a black hat SEO company.

I do my best to convince the prospective client that they are about to head into dangerous territory, but such a low price point can be pretty convincing. However, I’ve also learned over the years that the potential client almost always comes back once they’ve been burned by the black hat company. Only instead of handling their SEO, they need me to fix the problems created by the other firm!

When you stick to white hat SEO , you don’t need to be worry about algorithm updates or the ever-changing will of the search engines. Every tactic employed by a white hat SEO company is soundly within the guidelines of the search engines, so you can rest assured knowing that your brand isn’t about to get flagged or penalized.

Black hat SEO can be very tempting for site owners, especially when it looks like the competition is getting away with it and succeeding. Don’t get caught up in the short gains that black hat SEO brings! The search engines are well aware that spammers are trying to game the system and rig the SERP for their benefit, and they have many ways of identifying such sites. I’ve seen sites get flagged by the search engines for black hat SEO and get completely de-indexed! If potential customers can’t find your site in the search engines, you might as well not exist.

Your online reputation is the most valuable asset your brand has. It takes a long time to position your company well and gain the trust of the search engines. But all the effort is for naught if your site gets caught trying to beat the system with black hat SEO. You aren’t just back to square one, you’re somewhere in the negatives. Now you have to go back to that white hat SEO company (the one that was a little more costly) and have them repair the damage. Imagine how much farther ahead your SEO would be in they had been handling it in the first place, as opposed to playing catch-up and trying to pick up the pieces.

Just about everyone over the age of 3 is familiar with “The Lion King,” arguably one of Disney’s most famous films (and rampantly successful Broadway show). One of the film’s quintessential songs is “Hakuna Matata,” which Timon and Pumba teach to young Simba. The moral of the song— no worries.

I’ve seen plenty of experts and clients fret over their SEO. Sometimes it feels like our entire industry lives by the will of the search engines and their algorithms. A new update comes down the pipeline and website owners are scrambling to make sure their site will pass muster. But it doesn’t have to be that way! SEO may not be totally worry free, but we are a lot closer to Hakuna Matata than you may think.

If you stay white hat, there is no need to worry.

Most algorithm updates are designed with one end goal in mind—to improve the user experience. Search engines want to keep their users happy and coming back, just like any other business. Delivering the best results for a user’s search is how they make that happen. This means combing the Internet for the most relevant sites, and hopefully that means yours.

Google’s Panda update that launched earlier this year was designed to take on content farms that were cluttering the search results. The low quality, spammy sites were not what users were looking for, so Google updated their algorithm to remove them from the SERP. A lot of site owners claimed to be unfairly affected by the Panda crackdown, but my company’s site, as well as the sites of all my clients, sailed through with flying colors. Why? Because I take a strictly white hat approach to SEO.

If you are a site owner or marketer looking to expand your knowledge of SEO, I suggest you start with the Google Webmaster and the Bing Webmaster SEO Guidelines and consider the information in them your line in the sand. When it comes to SEO, you have to play by the search engine’s rules if you want to succeed! Abiding by the search engines guidelines is white hat SEO.

Black hat SEO includes any tactics that are designed to artificially manipulate the search results and trick the search engines. Black hat SEO can be very appealing because it often produces quick (yet unsubstantial) results. It usually cheaper and faster to go about SEO in a black hat fashion, but sooner or later the search engines catch on and the site is penalized. Some sites drop into the depths of the search results, while others are removed entirely. If no one can find your site in a search engine, you’re practically dead in the water.

Because I practice white hat SEO and white hat only, I know that no matter what updates the search algorithms put out, my site and my client’s sites will weather the storm perfectly. Nothing I do is on the fringe of being black hat, so I can be sure than any updates (like the attack on content farms) won’t affect me. I have my SEO Hakuna Matata.

For a more in depth look at black hat SEO, check out this Brick Marketing blog post.

Star Wars is a quintessential story of good versus evil. The dark side of the force offers limitless power—and even though Darth Vader’s suit is pretty much the greatest uniform ever, it also means he’s half machine. The light side of the force requires self-discipline, training and a lot of patience. In essence, the force is a great metaphor for SEO, where black hat SEO and white hat SEO are fighting for search engine ranking positions instead of Luke’s soul. But Luke wins in the end, and even Darth Vader realizes the error of his ways. Practicing white hat SEO is the only way to go to come out unscathed.

Just like the dark side of the force, engaging in black hat SEO can be very tempting. Black hat techniques like buying links and article spinning are quick and easy. They don’t require any time commitment and very little individual attention or critical/creative thinking. And the numbers definitely look more impressive. A black hat SEO practitioner could get your site 10,000 links in the first month and shoot your site to the top of the SERP.

Chances are it’s also a lot cheaper than the rates of the white hat SEO professional. A lot of black hat SEO companies outsource client work to foreign countries. However, the old adage of “you get what you pay for” for holds fast in SEO. Those 10,000 links are going to come from completely irrelevant and maybe even dangerous sites to be linked to (like pornography and gambling sites). Any commenting/articles done with your company name is going to be written by non-native English speakers who don’t understand your brand or target audience. And while your site is riding high, enjoying the fruits of joining the dark side, the search engines’ algorithms are preparing to blow up your Death Star.

Sites that get caught using black hat SEO tactics (like the JCPenny SEO scandal as reported by the New York Times in February) suddenly find themselves facing the wrath of the search engines. Google quickly responded and JCPenny dropped substantially in the SERP. They had been ranking number 1 for “Samsonite carry on luggage” and within two hours of Google catching on, they had fallen to #71 for the same keyword.

Engaging in black hat SEO is an easy trap to fall into, especially if you are looking to do a little DIY SEO. I always tell people that they should read the Google and Bing Webmaster Guidelines before they begin any SEO activity. The Webmaster Guidelines clearly outline what the search engines do and do not allow. Regardless of what you think or what others have told you, these rules are the line in the sand for SEO. If they consider something black hat, stay away from it.

Google’s Matt Cutts hits the white hat SEO nail on the head with one of the very first sentences he states. “Standing the test of time”. Websites that might rank well in search results from black hat techniques are not here for the long haul. They are typically fly by night websites that might be around for a short bit of time and then fizzle out because Google has either caught up to them or the white hat websites have surpassed their power.

Check Out the White Hat SEO Topic Video From Google’s Matt Cutts Below:

Matt Cutts also states that when using the white hat techniques you are building a foundation for the future of your website. Don’t worry so much about who is ranking because of black hat techniques and just keep moving forward with your white hat SEO techniques and eventually you will push the junk out of your way.