SEO Marketing

White Hat SEO Marketing: The Pitfalls

Although viewed by many SEO experts to be a defunct term, distinguishing between white hat and black hat SEO marketing could make the difference between a successful group of authority pages, and a totally useful site which is purposefully “de-ranked” by Google or Yahoo as punishment for unfairly manipulating search engine traffic.

Is All Fair In Love and Marketing?

In short, no. Search engines are operated by businesses with specific goals and best practices in mind. Google and Yahoo are not out to simply make money, but to accomplish specific goals designed to enhance the user experience in the information age.

Google has a desire to organise all textual information known to man, as is specifically stated in their public information. Whilst this goal may have ominous undertones, it gives a clear picture of Google's approach toward information, as it is primarily concerned with data that’s useful to the end-user. White hat marketers take a cooperative approach with the premise that useful information is desirable, and especially if it coincides with products and services for sale.

Many white hat marketers feel at the mercy of major search engines, whilst those who employ more shady tricks believe themselves to have the inside track on “the algorithm.” Neither of these perceptions is accurate, since search engines themselves must acknowledge the value of information, whilst at the same time constantly updating and improving an algorithm which no one - not even individual, top employees of Google or Yahoo really masters.

The Dark Side

Black hat marketers could care less about the actual usefulness or real value of a particular page, so long as it produces traffic, sales, and ROI. At first glance, this seems like a normal business practice, with the caveat that crossing Google could mean the difference in marketing life and death. Google and Yahoo are both within their rights to de-rank pages, entire sites, and any page associated with a particular product or address. This means that, should Google become aware of undue manipulation, that your websites will disappear entirely from search engine results, and that's not what any marketer wants.

White Hat, But Not Too White Hat

Because of all these factors, many white hat marketers feel that they are at a disadvantage, since the Web is crawling with desperadoes unconcerned by the possibility of search engine retribution. Even marketers who play by the rules must ultimately admit that they are only doing so because it will increase traffic and ROI over time. Erring on the side of caution may ensure a long-lived relationship with search engine traffic, but white hat marketers may never know the levels of traffic available to the “Dark Side.”

As always, information is the key. Learn from the examples of both sides of the issue, and adopt policies when contracting services which reflect attitudes. Ask SEO services which approach they prefer, and how exactly they plan to increase traffic to a given page. This will not only help with ensuring the safety of your page and the good will of search engines, but will provide valuable information about targeting specific markets, and the expected gain per Pound of specific SEO activities.