Search Engine Optimization

Black Hat Vs. White Hat SEO: What's Right For You?

When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), there are two ways that it can be carried out: through black hat or white hat SEO. Black hat SEO is when the technique follows the rules of search engines in a manipulative way while white hat SEO is when the technique complies to a search engine’s rules with no manipulation.

Black Hat SEO

Black hat SEO involves attempting to get a website to rank higher in the search engines using methods that companies such as Google and Yahoo do not approve of. This deceptive technique can result in a website being punished if it is found to be using it. That punishment could involve ranking a particular website lower than it was ranked before or removing it from a search engine’s database all together. These penalties are often issued by an automated program within the search engine itself but can also be issued as the result of a website being searched manually. One example of this is when Google removed the websites of two car companies in Germany because they were found to be engaging in practices Google deemed deceptive. Once a website has been removed from a search engine’s database due to deception, the website can and will be entered into the database again when they have taken the deceptive material off the website.

Some of the deceptive practices that can get a website into trouble with the various search engines include using hidden text on a website. This is achieved by using a text color that cannot be seen due to the color of the website itself or by using “invisible” text. Another way to hide text is to have it in a position on the website where it does not show up on a computer screen. Cloaking is also a practice that can get a website into trouble with search engines. This practice involves a different version of a website’s appearance, which is based on whether or not the website is accessed by a search engine or by a human being viewing the site.

Using what is called “spamdexing,” search engines focus on finding black hat SEO websites and make every attempt to curb peoples’ use of the black hat technique. Those that use black hat SEO are usually aware of the fact that eventually they will be caught and their website will be penalized.

Black hat SEO techniques are often employed when someone is creating a website that they know will only be viewed and used by the public temporarily. One example is creating an affiliate website so you can sell accessories for the hottest, new mobile devices to hit the market. You then may use black hat SEO techniques if you know your site will not be around for long.

White Hat SEO

White hat SEO is a technique that is not deceptive and fits in with the guidelines set by search engines. Part of white hat technique is only including information on a website in a way that allows it to be presented truthfully. This means that the website content that is indexed by the search engines is the same content that visitors will see. The white hat technique is about creating website content that is meant to please site visitors as opposed to pleasing the search engines. It is also about making sure that a website’s content can be accessed by the spiders search engines use.

Which Technique To Choose

Whether you choose to use black hat or white hat SEO techniques for your website depends on a few factors. First of all, if you want your website to last a long time it is critical to design it using white hat SEO. If you are running a business, chances are you want that business to be around for many years to come. Designing your website using black hat SEO could ultimately end up hurting your business.

How you want to be perceived by those who view your website is another factor that will help you decide if white or black SEO is the right choice for you. You have to decide whether or not you want to pursue a low-value or a high-value tactic when building your website. Many people associate low-value tactics with spam. Since no one wants to be spammed, if you care about your image you will want to use high-value tactics. Low-value tactics are generally only employed when a website is designed to take advantage of a current trend.

Written by Angela Walters. She is an SEO consultant and mostly does freelance work. She often write articles for her blog which mostly feature SEO related content. 

5 Steps To A Successful Social Media Campaign

5 Steps to a Successful Social Media Campaign

Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest --- the list goes on! Social media is the newest marketing channel to hit the industry, and it has shown some amazing results. Ten years ago, only the curious and technological savvy users were on these networks. Now, millions of users and businesses use social media every day.
Incorporating social media into your business strategy might seem tricky, but once you get a hang of it the benefits are well-worth the time and effort. Businesses have had great success with social media, with benefits ranging from increased sales, to even greater brand exposure and credibility.

Below are 5 simple steps to help your business with their social media marketing.

1. Set up accounts. Social media is constantly coming out with new networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and more. Scour the web to see which outlets cater more to your audience base and.
   Tip: Although having your business on several networks is good, make sure you don’t bite off more than you can chew! Make sure that you spend time nurturing each account so that you have activity within them. Quality over quantity!
2. BE PATIENT. Like most great things, social media success takes time. Don’t be discouraged if your following starts off low. Over time and with posting perseverance, your business will gain visibility and momentum.
   Tip: Have postings on queue for posting to optimize your time spent.
3. Post interesting and relevant content. People on social media are typically scanning their feeds and dashboards for something to pop out at them. Grab attention with interesting content and pictures to make them gravitate towards you.
   Tip: Shareable and entertaining content typically get the most views. Posting an occasional funny meme or interesting video can work to grow your exposure.
4. Interact with your audience. Social media engages businesses on a personal and public setting. This gives businesses a unique voice that can show-off how helpful and personable your business is.
   Tip: Ask questions! Getting feedback and responding positively towards audience posts help build your likability.
5. Stay Persistent. Allocate time to manage all your social media networks. Social media will only be as successful as you enable it to be. Your online audience is huge, making your potential to convert friends into customers even greater.
   Tip: Be sure to stay active and keep record of which types of postings give you the best results. Don’t be afraid to try new and different approaches.

If your business isn’t on social media yet, now is the time to start!

 This article was written by Rona Cerillo, a mobile text campaign aficionado and marketing specialist for Trumpia, an SMS and multi-channel marketing service provider.

What To Look For When Choosing SEO Services

SEO is an important aspect of online marketing and web visibility. A quick search shows there are many SEO services that promise to make your online ranking better. Some even state they can get you a number one position in rankings. Some of these SEO services are legitimate, others are spammy and don’t provide quality services. Great SEO services have certain qualities you should look for. So what should you look for in a company providing SEO services? There are five important criteria that all SEO services should provide or adhere to.

Manual Services

The company providing SEO services should manually link content. Automated links or any other automated information such as comments doesn’t really work. This process can also get you banned in Google searches or have your rank lowered, both of which are the opposite affect you want your content to have. The search engine algorithm changes at times and automated processes and content can’t compensate or update to reflect those changes.

An SEO company that has manual outreach will fare better in SEO rankings. Other manual services that are crucial for SEO to work are guest blogging with relevant, quality content, webmaster outreach, and manual links from real sites with useful content. Actual people doing actual work and building actual relationships are the real tools for creating competitive SEO content.

Keyword Research

The keywords used for SEO purposes are very important. Keyword research helps you decide which keywords will increase your ranking and also gives you more insight into what your customers are searching for. Keywords are valuable to SEO, so any SEO service that is worth using will implement this practice along with everything else.

Guaranteed Service

A sign of a good company offering SEO services is whether or not they offer a guarantee on the work they do. The guarantee can cover different aspects of the SEO services such as the search engine rankings, what page your website lands in a search, or the time it takes to see results. Some guarantees are for a full refund, others are partial. With any SEO service chosen, it’s important that a guarantee of their services is available. If they’re system doesn’t work, you don’t want to have wasted money. One thing to note is that although some SEO services claim to be able to guarantee a number one position, they can’t.

Company Blog

SEO agents will agree that creating a blog for your company will increase your SEO, but remember automated content isn’t a good idea. Blog implementation works, but quality and content are essential. If you’re not advised to create unique quality content related to your business, then the company you hired to increase SEO was not the best choice.

Cost of SEO

Quality comes at a price. Most SEO services are ongoing and paid monthly. Those that provide service with a onetime payment are usually low quality or automated. As search engine algorithms change, your SEO requirements will change. A quality SEO company will be with you along the way to make those necessary adjustments. Prices can vary based upon the amount of work needed or the intensity. Quality SEO services are not cheap and can start around $500 per month and go up from there.

Other Services

SEO services aren’t just about keyword rankings and a good SEO professional knows this. The services rendered should also include social media and website links. Internet marketing is an aspect of SEO that should be considered because the ultimate goal is to be seen.

Reporting

Companies should also provide ranking reports with analysis, project management systems, and unlimited consulting. With services such as these it’s evident why a company providing a onetime payment and service wouldn’t work. They should also employ their own practices. Every company is concerned with SEO, so conduct a little research. How do they rank? Do they have a current blog with quality content? Do they actively use social media? Are they professional?

Quality SEO comes with research, experience, and time. SEO companies that offer professional service will employ many tactics to guarantee your rankings and solidify your hold in the online market. Always do your due-diligence when choosing an SEO provider.

This post was written by R. Swingle, article writer and SEO Consultant. Professional SEO packages from VirtualWebProductions.com, a local Orlando SEO company can substantially increase the effectiveness of the online marketing efforts for any website.

Four SEO Fails To Avoid At All Costs

SEO needn’t be complex but many who practice SEO are making things difficult for themselves. Laid bare SEO is fairly straight forward, although it can be difficult to look at it this way when your results don’t seem to reflect your work. You could be going wrong somewhere, but it may easily be rectified. Here are five SEO fails to avoid no matter what-

Cutting And Pasting

Duplicate content is a massive no no in the SEO world. Having duplicate content on your site or producing duplicate off site content can have dramatic affects on your SEO efforts. Even if you just have small pieces of content repeated on each page of your site Google could deem this duplicate and de-rank you.

Use content checkers such as copyscape to check your onsite content on a monthly basis. Unfortunately many industries do have problems with their content being copied and used on other sites, so even if you produced your onsite copy yourself check it regularly and change it from time to time.

Link Buying

Way back in the day link buying was perfectly normal, for the most part acceptable and did work for SEO. Now there is almost nothing worse than link buying in the world of search engine optimisation. Google can now recognise when you buy links as they will be from low quality sites and a sudden increase in links means Google will be onto you. Instead build links naturally using content marketing.

Keyword Stuffing

This is another element in SEO that used to work and help with rankings. No keyword stuffing is always something to avoid. As a rule of thumb aim for one key word for every 100 words is best. Anymore and Google will think you’re up to something fishy.

One Hit Wonder

SEO is something that needs to be consistent not a one off. Producing content once every three months is better than doing nothing at all (just about) but it should be a weekly occurrence, not a one off. Your efforts are far more likely to pay off if Google can see that you are a constantly and consistently contributing to offsite blogs and your own sites. Set up an SEO plan and stick to it, producing high quality content with key words to focus on on a regular basis and publishing it on high D/A sites and on your own on site blog. 

Eilidh MacRae works at Marketing By Web who are a Bristol SEO Agency. 

The Benefits Of Custom 404 Pages In SEO

One aspect of Search Engine Optimisation that is often overlooked is custom 404 pages. When a URL has a wrong file path a 404 is used to show the users a separate page to indicate where they should go next. There are a few reasons as to why you should use a custom 404 and when you can get inventive.

Receives Important Links

If you have a webpage that receives a lot of important links from authoritative sources and you don’t currently have a source to link to, you should consider making a custom 404. It at least gives your visitors an option to do something different to achieve their goal.

Gets A Lot Of Traffic

Another reason is if it generally gets a lot of traffic. The worst thing you want is for your users to not know what to do next and go somewhere else. A good 404 will let them know what they can do next and act accordingly.
Is Linked To Frequently Internally

There are simply some pages on your website that are linked to more than others. This could be because they are important or that they were a good asset at the time.

What Can You Do?

Direct to other important pages. One of the first things you should look at doing is making sure that on your custom 404 pages direct to important pages. Other important pages can include the homepage, category pages or best seller products. This enables the users to see the real value of your website and give them a reason to stay on. When you direct them to some of the most important pages they will be less inclined to just go to another website.

Be Used As A Link Asset

However, there is another route to take when it comes to making a custom 404 error page. If you decide to put a bit of effort into your custom 404 error page then it can heavily pay off. There are examples of error 404 pages out there that have been linked to extensively due to their creative use.

When you make a page like this you not only keep your users engaged but you make it more likely for some of them to link to you. This work has been seen on some link directories over the years that once received a lot of traffic and made them a great linking asset.

However whichever way you want to approach custom 404 pages you should always aim to make them branded. Not only will this help your visitors know that the page is related to the website, they won’t be as likely to click away.

There are many webmasters out there that simply don’t put any effort into 404 pages. This approach will potentially see them lose traffic, links and customers. If a visitor is to use a custom 404 page and go to your best seller product it could result in an extra sale.

This post is by Kev Massey from seo3D. Kev produces high value SEO information to help you succeed online.