Posts Tagged "Black Hat"

If you are looking around for a search engine optimisation company to carry out some SEO work on your website, then make sure you choose the right colour hat. There are a large number of companies that adopt a fast and unethical approach to SEO, known as black hat SEO, while there are a smaller number or companies that implement ethical SEO work, known as white hat SEO. The key to choosing the right colour, which is obviously the white, is as follows…

Before you even think of taking on a search engine optimisation company, the first thing is to shop around and see what is out on the market. The same principles would apply if you were to buy a new computer. You would look at a few models, prices and what each model has to offer. If an SEO company was to offer a service that would guarantee you top ranks, there is a very good chance they are wearing a black hat. No SEO company can guarantee top ranks since they have no direct control over the search engines and their ranking algorithms. They can however mention that top ranks are highly achievable due to their previous success with other clients.

Be sure to look at a companies’ portfolio page (if they have one on their website or simply ask them) and carry out some research on their clients. This can be done by looking at the client’s website performance within the search engines for the selected keywords they have been optimised for. Another good idea would be to write a courtesy email to the client asking for a reference on the SEO company they have used to optimise their website.

The most important giveaway on a black hat SEO company is the way they would describe their services. If a company cannot go into detail on how they carry out their work (meaning they are very vague), and this involves justifying each step of their work, then it would be best to avoid their services. A proper SEO firm will be more than happy to explain their services in detail and justify their reasons for using such techniques. If you cannot quiet understand the techniques they use then be sure to do some research on the internet and read SEO articles that explain each technique. If you find that their work fits along the lines of your research and that it is all ethical, then they are a company you should put on your list.

A last point to mention, a company should stress the phrase ‘patience is the key to success with SEO’. If a company claims that they can achieve results very fast, then it is time to start running. In theory, SEO that is carried out correctly on a website will take time until the results start to show (most cases 3 to 6 months but could be longer).

Would you like to know what could happen to your website if you hire a black hat SEO company, regardless of how big or small your website is in terms of brand recognition? An example would be the story of the BMW German website. They hired a black hat SEO firm to carry out some work on their website and that resulted in their site being banned from the Google ranks. So it is best to do your research on SEO by reading articles such as this one and question a companies approach on search engine optimisation. This will ensure that you have selected the clean white hat and that your website will not be tarnished from the black.

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The Creare Group introduce ‘The SEO Song’ starring Charlie And The Martyrs! It aims to promote the problems associated with black hat SEOs, and to raise awareness of the need for small to medium sized businesses to protect themselves against illegitimate optimisation techniques. Too many companies are promising to achieve top results in the search engines when they just cannot achieve these positions. The video seeks to place SEO at the forefront of attention in a fun and accessible way …

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I’ve been asked by many friends and media folks about the Google Sandbox phenomenon. I will use this post to explain what it is, although more importantly, how to use this knowledge to best capitalize on an effective SEO strategy.

What is the Google Sandbox? (Also called an Aging Filter)

Wikipedia has a basic explanation, yet I will go into a bit more detail. Yes, it is not something I’ve seen or heard Google speak about publicly (although Matt Cutts has commented) however, given my experiences, I am convinced it exists. There is also some recent empirical evidence as published by SEOmoz.org on the topic. Clearly there are differing opinions about the Sandbox’s existence.

At a basic level, the Google Sandbox is a novel set of filtering technology used by Google on new domains (www.newsite.com) to protect the Google index from so-called “black hat” spam strategies. It is designed to prevent a bunch of new sites to suddenly appear and do manipulative tactics (ex. bulk link purchases, duplicate content, link manipulation, etc.) to quickly rank in the Google index for specific keywords.

New domains (regardless of who or what they are) go into the sandbox with a PageRank of 0 and forcing limited rankings for competitive keywords. Its a probation period that allows Google to observe the site and figure out many things about it. Below is a listing of specifics related to the Sandbox:

1) Being in the Sandbox has nothing to do with how well the site is optimized.

2) Sandbox is only a Google thing, not the same for other engines. In my experience Yahoo and Bing update rankings rather quickly… Ask.com is slower.

3) Typical time frame in the Sandbox is three to eight months. Usually a longer time frame for sites with more competitive keywords.

4) There is no consistency with how and when sites come out of the sandbox. I’ve heard that Google does like to “release” sites from the sandbox in quantity… basically a bunch of sites at a time. So, if two sites get started on the same day it is very unlikely they both will come out of the sandbox on the same day.

5) Sandbox only effects new domains. If you’ve taken over an existing domain or created a sub-domain on an existing site (ex. blog.xxx.com or xxx.com/blog) you should not be effected by the Sandbox.

6) You can be in the Sandbox and rank well for less competitive keywords.

What now? Yes – there are things you can do… see below:

1) Get started right away and plan long-term and over time you will never think about the Sandbox. This has always been my philosophy to media executives when consulting or with friends. Product development on the web begins when the site is live and customers tell you what they like with their clicks. If the site works well – or is feature rich – you’ve waited too long to make it live.

2) Get your SEO strategy in order, fast. This takes smart thinking, a good tool-set, analysis, and persistence. In my consulting practice we promote a simple “three-legs-on-a-stool SEO strategy. It works very well.

a) Great Keyword-Targeted Content
b) Smart Architecture (including On-Page Metadata)
c) Inbound linking in Scale

A much longer conversation here – for another post.

3) Buy some Pay Per Click Keywords. There is evidence amongst SEO experts that doing some PPC advertising pushes sites out of the Sandbox quicker. Rational is that if a new site(s) is trying to game the system with black-hat strategies PPC advertising is not the desired path.

How long did it take for your site to come out of the Sandbox?

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