subject: White Versus Black Hat Search Engine Optimisation [print this page] There's no getting away from it - all search engine optimisation companies are not created equal, and many will sacrifice compliance and long-lasting results in order to get positions in the short term. This is the difference between natural, compliant SEO and nefarious 'quick wins' or 'white hat' and 'black hat' techniques.
It's easy to see why people might opt for black hat search engine optimisation techniques - if nothing else, the results tend to be quick and are usually easier to get than they are by taking the white hat or organic approach, but that doesn't mean that it's the right way of doing things. Search engines, Google especially, work much like real life - there are rules to follow and if those rules are followed, or only bent a little, you'll climb the ladder, or at the very least maintain a nice stable position. Black hat-ing is a lot like criminal activity; you might get the results in the short term, but when Google catches up, chances are, those results will disappear, to the point that your site may well be removed from the search engine index for a period of time, similar to how getting caught committing a crime in reality will land you in jail.
The downside to opting for white hat search engine optimisation techniques is that results will quite often take time - it's very rare that ethical SEO is applied and page one positions follow instantly, but this patience will likely be rewarded with impressive - and long lasting - rankings in the major search engines. Combine the white hat SEO process with some conversion rate optimisation and an encouraging design and you will likely see not only improved positions and traffic but also more people actually buying from you or signing up for your service which is the goal of having a company website after all.
Ultimately, gaining strong positions in Google, Bing and Yahoo is only half the battle, and there are other aspects of your site which should be followed in order to guarantee an increase in traffic and return on investment, but all the conversion rate optimisation and beautiful design in the world won't help you make money from your website if you can only be found on the twentieth page. This is always going to be the main function of search engine optimisation and a compliant, 'white hat' approach should always be considered a vital part of any online marketing campaign.
