The Ethics of SEO

In today’s fast-paced and high technology society, marketers and advertisers are constantly looking for new ways to engage the public. What used to be simple print and television ads has turned into an interactive and multi-concept strategy. Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a key aspect of drawing in more Web users to certain sites, whether in Utah or another state. Two strategies, black hat and white hat, are ways of getting more site visits. 

Black hat and white hat optimization strategies are about as different as night and day—both in terms of strategy and ethical soundness. Black hat SEO involves tactics for better results that are unethical, such as keyword stuffing, link farming and hidden texts. 

Even though black hat can generate results faster than white hat SEO, the website will eventually be removed from top rankings altogether. Search engines such as Google do not tolerate the black hat method. From Utah to the East Coast, one can be sure that their website will have short-lived fame if he or she decides to use the black hat method. 

White hat, as one would guess, is a strategy that is deemed ethical and is approved by search engines. Because of the honesty and integrity involved with white hat, results can last a long time. White hat techniques such as conducting and publishing original research, using relevant content tags and conducting search analysis can all be quite effective. 

White hat is basically using SEO in a legal and fair way. Anyone wanting to generate a lot of traffic through good, old-fashioned hard work will certainly use the white hat method. Whether it be a business in Utah or a personal website in another state, the white hat method has proven to be the best way to go. 

One must consider the possible outcomes when deciding to use black hat or white hat. Those who are willing to be patient and honest will seek to use white hat. What benefit would it be for someone to use black hat if the website will certainly be penalized for it? There is no legitimate reason. Black hat SEO is not an honest way to conduct business, and one should be wary of using the services of anyone who utilizes black hat, whether in Utah or the West Coast. 

Honesty and integrity is a valuable attribute, especially in the world today. One should not be tempted to use black hat—in the long run, it will cost much more than expected. 

Hayden Ratliff writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. He writes for many other clients as well. Follow on Twitter.

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Created on Dec 31st 1969 18:00. Viewed 0 times.

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