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Ethics, Best Practices and SEO - A Crisis in the Profession?
from: James PeggieThere has been much debate recently on the practice of ethical
Search Engine Optimization (SEO). The recent removal of a high
profile SEO company from the Google results has plunged the
industry into yet another debate on what is ethical and what is
not in our profession.
I have been involved in the SEO industry for a few years now and
the mention of the word ethics and best practices in what is
still an unregulated industry creates a level of confusion the
likes of which I have not observed in any other industry. Why
does this reluctance to discuss ethics and best practices exist?
After all, we call ourselves professionals and as professionals
we should strive to be part of an industry which stands for best
practices and quality of service.
The confusion seems to come from the way that search engines
rank sites. Each search engine has an algorithm which is a
complex method of giving a value to a site which will ensure
that it is returned in the search results when a relevant
keyword is typed into a search engine. These algorithms are kept
secret by the search engines for obvious reasons. The SEO
industry is highly focused on analyzing these algorithms and
using any knowledge gained to modify and rank websites. Ask any
two SEO's what they consider to be ethical in their pursuit of
top results and you will most likely get two very different
answers. Hence, the lack of agreement on what is ethical and
what is not.
So where do we start? Our commitment must always start with the
client and our responsibilities to them. An ethical company will
always demonstrate loyalty and respect to their client. This is
true whether they are an SEO, a doctor or an accountant.
Having sound business practices and a professional approach to
all that you do then we can move onto the 'search engine
guidelines.' All the major search engines and directories
publish their own guidelines of use for webmasters. This should
be the minimum that any SEO practitioner complies with when
working on a client's site. Search engines have a right to
protect the integrity of their results and the SEO practitioners
should respect those guidelines.
The confusion seems to arrive with the interpretation of the
guidelines. One SEO will interpret the rules to mean one thing
and another SEO will see it as completely different. The stakes
are high and a top ranking in Google for your site is powerful
branding and can lead to a major upswing in your business.
SEO practitioners have been classified as 'whitehat,' and
'blackhat.' Whitehat practitioners are the ones that try to
stick to search engine guidelines while blackhat operate using
more questionable techniques and view the search engines as the
'enemy.' Unfortunately blackhat techniques can sometimes
adversely affect the sites ranking and worse, get their client's
sites banned.
Blackhats traditionally play to the emotional needs of their
clients and often convince them to part with their money without
giving clear and specific information on the changes they will
make to their sites. If a client is fully aware of the risks and
is prepared to buy into short term gain then that is their
choice. However, many Blackhat SEO's do not disclose their
tactics. Would you hire a CPA who submits your tax return
including questionable practices and breaking all the IRS rules?
You are the one who will get audited, prosecuted and have to pay
huge fines.
Blackhat techniques are just plain bad business practice. They
also do the search engines and the search users a huge
disservice by contributing to poor quality of results. This adds
nothing to the end user experience.
The search engines say that any type of manipulation to get a
site ranked is a threat against them and the relevancy of their
results. Whitehat practitioners will say that they are not
manipulating sites but rather fixing search engine obstacles
within a web site. The need for their services is great as many
web site designers do not know how to integrate search engine
friendly designs.
Last year a prospective customer contacted me after being burned
by a "rogue" SEO company who got their site (and others) banned
from Google for spam tactics. A few weeks later they were
contacted by the same "rogue" SEO company under a new name.
Perhaps naively she almost fell for it again. She reasoned that
if they had been banned once they would not do anything wrong
again! This demonstrates the lack of knowledge that consumers
have regarding our industry. They don't know the difference
between good and bad SEO. People are being taken advantage of
because of their lack of knowledge.
No matter what techniques your SEO uses; 'ethical' , 'whitehat'
,'blackhat' none at all it all boils down to one thing. Doing
right by the client? Ethics is often viewed by many in the
industry as hype.
I think the focus should be on serving users as opposed to
manipulating the search engines. SEO's who concentrate of making
the sites the best that they can be for the end user will create
a much better longer term affect. The SEOs who chase algorithms
and try to game the search engines get burned when there is an
algorithm change. Following search engine updates involving an
algorithm shift, the industry message boards abound with posts
along the lines of "I hate Google, they have killed my site" If
these posters had spent more time improving their site for their
clients, and the search users, the algorithm updates would be
much less stressful for them. At this time there is no
initiative within the industry to create a trade body which sets
a code of best practices. It is down to the consumer to practice
"buyer beware" and ensure that they practice due diligence in
selecting an SEO. They need to use even more caution than they
would use to select any other vendor. I also believe the
industry has a responsibility to provide education and resources
for consumers and help de-mystify the profession.
Great SEO companies share their knowledge willingly. They hide
nothing to either clients or search engines. They know that they
have a specialized skill and are proud of what they do. They get
their results through hard work and perseverance. They also know
that to do the job properly takes a lot of time. This is
something which most business owners feel they do not have. They
are confident that when it comes to hiring a professional, their
honest and open approach to their trade will be acknowledged by
organizations who only want to work with the best.
The following are some golden rules I have written on choosing
an SEO. If the consumer sticks to these rules then they should
avoid the practitioners in our industry who give the rest of us
a bad name.
* Only work with a company that follows search engine
guidelines. (If I could only make one recommendation this would
be it). The three main search engines are Google, MSN, and
Yahoo. Look on their sites for their webmaster guidelines.
* Only work with a company that documents the SEO process they
will use to rank your site
* Only work with a company that provides a written contract
outlining their process and their costs
* Get at least four proposals for your site and compare services
before you make a decision
* Do not work with a company that offers guarantees of top
rankings. Nobody can offer these types of guarantees.
* Do not lock yourself into a contract you cannot get out of if
you are not getting results
* Ask for references and follow up with them. If you still have
any doubts ask for more. Ensure that references check out. Check
that the suggested site is real and that the contact details
given check out against the contact details on the site.
* Do not allow any work to be carried out on your site without
your approval.
* Do not give the SEO carte blanche to do as they will with your
site. It is your site not theirs. It is your responsibility to
ensure that the SEO does not apply any techniques that would
result in getting your site banned.
* Check the companies BBB (Better Business Bureau) report. Check
for membership of any other established trade bodies such as the
AMA (American Marketing Association) Many companies claim that
they are more reputable because they are part of SEMPO (Search
Engine Marketing Professional Organization.) However this is not
the case. All that is required to be a member of SEMPO is a $299
annual subscription.
* Do not work with a company that engages in site wide link
exchanges. Question their linking methods. Ensure that they only
have a policy of linking with on-topic sites. Remember, your
site is built for users not for search engines. If your site is
about computers and your link to a site that sells children's
toys how useful do you think that link will be for your
visitors.
* Ask other companies doing well on the Internet who they use
for SEO. Always ask about the quality of customer service that
is offered. It is not much use having a great SEO if you can
never get hold of them.
* If it sounds too good to be true. IT IS!!!
In conclusion the SEO industry is a dynamic growing industry.
This rapid growth has created some challenges for the industry.
One of these challenges is the perception that outsiders have of
SEO practitioners being unethical. To counteract this many SEOs
are now promoting themselves as 'ethical SEO.' However, as the
industry is unregulated it is up to the consumer of the service
to become informed and exercise caution when selecting a SEO
vendor. As the demand for SEO continues to grow the number of
unethical practitioners calling themselves SEOs will also grow.
To protect yourself, take the vendor selection process
seriously. Look for vendors who are willing to share knowledge
and partner with you to provide the best possible outcome for
you business.
About the author:
James Peggie is the Director of Marketing for Elixir Systems - a
search marketing agency located in Scottsdale, Arizona.
www.elixirsystems.com
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