Search Engine Optimization Ethics – Leadership By Example
At Wolf21, we adhere to a strict code of ethics in all our search marketing efforts. We do not engage in behavior that would compromise your site or our reputation as a search engine marketing agency.
What is Meant by SEO Ethics?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is, unfortunately, a business easily tainted by people lacking good business ethics. These people and their companies engage in what is sometimes known as "black hat SEO", "spamming" or "spamdexing". You may be more familiar with "spam" as a reference to unsolicited e-mail, but it is also used to describe unethical SEO techniques. Spamming or black hat SEO practices include:
- Keyword stuffing – Overloading a site with keywords in hidden areas.
- Invisible text – Adding keywords to a site using text that is the same colour as the background. The keywords are invisible to site visitors but can be detected by search engines. Some SEO companies will also make use of very small text that is visible only to search engine spiders.
- Doorway pages – A page loaded with keywords that attracts search engines, but then immediately redirects them to the "real" site or a site that may contain unrelated or offensive content.
- Targeting keywords that are not related to a page - This method is used to attract search engines with popular keywords that do not pertain to a site.
- Trademark infringement - Using the trademarks of other companies in a site's HTML code or in other hidden areas of the page.
- Pagejacking - Pagejacking is the practice of stealing the content of another site, word for word, usually by copying the source code. The stolen pages are identical to the original and are used to siphon targeted traffic to another site.
- Link farms - Link farms are sites that provide nothing more than links to other Web sites. Inbound links are an important part of SEO, but link farms often link to irrelevant sites. This practice will get sites penalized by major search engines.
This lack of ethics in SEO is not just an issue of conscience. It can ruin all chances for a site to rank well in search engine listings. Black hat techniques may improve rankings at first, but the search engines soon figure out that unethical techniques are being used. When this lack of ethics is discovered, the search engines penalize the offending sites, sometimes going as far as banning the site from their search results.
Wolf21 Ethics Guidelines
At Wolf21 we take ethics seriously.We offer excellent service and improved search engine rankings through legitimate means. Our ethics policy is a critical component of our business. We value our integrity and we want to extend our excellent reputation for ethical SEO to all of the businesses we work with.
We do not engage in any black hat techniques and we do not violate the published rules of search engines and directories. Our ethics policy ensures that the reputation and ranking of your site will not be jeopardized by questionable practices.
Communication is an important part of our ethics policy. Your site and your business are affected by your SEO strategy. You have the right to know what we are doing. We will always keep you informed about the SEO methods we are using and any changes in our strategy.
We have a long history in search marketing. Our stellar reputation is based on strong ethics and legitimate, successful SEO practices.
Contact Wolf21 for national Yellow Pages Advertising and search engine marketing,