Post on 16-May-2015
description
The Ethics of Black Hat vs. White Hat Search Engine Optimization
Ash Buckles | President
• Search engine guidelines– Google: http://goo.gl/EsRmf– Bing: http://binged.it/guadRe– Yahoo: http://yhoo.it/x57zxY
• Marketing initiatives• Search engine optimization tactics• Business ethics
What’s In A Hat Color?
#SEOethics
Source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/ethics.html#ixzz1oXU0S5an
“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.”- Potter Stewart
What’s In A Hat Color?
#SEOethics
1. Read the chapter2. Complete your
homework3. Turn in your
assignment on time
1. Read the cliff notes
2. Copy odd answers from the book
3. Turn in your assignment
1. Pay someone to do your homework & go skiing
Sources: White (http://bit.ly/wqhioE), Gray (http://bit.ly/xvaXWs), Black (http://bit.ly/wlZ2ph), Skiing (http://bit.ly/y6d3zL)
• Fake business listings• Keyword stuffing• Hidden content• Cloaking for search engines• Content scraping (plagiarizing)• General deception• Links from link farms• Many more
Examples of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
Examples of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
Examples of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
Examples of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
Examples of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
Examples of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
Examples of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
Examples of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
• JCPenney– Knocked out of top rankings for about 90 days
• Overstock– Dropped for about 60 days
• Forbes– Penalized for selling paid links
• BMW– Penalized for about 30 days
Risks of Black Hat SEO
#SEOethics
• Business listings matching your company information• Related content, links, and news releases• Unique content produced just for you• 3rd party supported content & links• Social media presence (harder to fake)• Schema.org• Structured markup
– Title– H1, H2, H3, etc.– Text– Alt attribute– Internal links– etc.
• Many more
Examples of White Hat SEO
#SEOethics
Search Engine Experience
#SEOethics
Black Hat Activity Detected by Google
• Regulate guidelines throughalgorithm changes
• Crawl & index web pages• Build trust among users• Provide the best results• Sell advertising
Purpose of the Search Engines
#SEOethics
$
• Keyword research• Blogging• Link attraction• Architectural updates• Social media• Infographics• Press releases• Viral articles & videos• Badges & Widgets• Many more
Winning with White Hat SEO
#SEOethics
White Hat Content
#SEOethics
Keywords & Content
#SEOethics
IPO
underwriters
banks
initial public offering
new credit
social network
845 million users
$3.7 billion in revenue
2011
GoogleYahoo
advertising dollars
estimates
Wall Streetlegal dispute
patents
Facebook IPO
hedge fund
stock
credit line
filing
2012
Keywords & Content
#SEOethics
IPO
underwriters
banks
initial public offering
new credit
social network
845 million users
$3.7 billion in revenue
2011
GoogleYahoo
advertising dollars
estimates
Wall Streetlegal dispute
patents
Facebook IPO
hedge fund
stock
credit line
filing
2012
Ranking Like Wikipedia
#SEOethics
“Wikipedia ranks for 92% of the 100 most searched terms on Google. Imagine if you ranked in the top listings for 92% of your industry terms.”– Matt Tuens
Home
Business
Marketing
Internet Marketing
Search Engine Marketing
SEO
Ranking Like Wikipedia
#SEOethics
Ranking Like Wikipedia
#SEOethics
• Google tells us exactly what they expect• Bing does a pretty good job• Search engines control the guidelines
– “The standards of 1997 do not match the standards of 2012. Ideally, a search strategy is established and the work performed thereafter improves visibility without risking your brand through deceptive techniques.”
• Businesses have a reputation to protect– Risks associated with tactics
• Different algorithms focus on different objectives• Web pages are living documents
Take Aways
#SEOethics
The Ethics of Black Hat vs. White Hat Search Engine Optimization
#SEOethics
Ash Buckles
President, SEO.com
ash@seo.com
@ashbuckles