subject: Ouch ! Ways To Not Get Blacklisted And Burned! [print this page] Search engine optimization (SEO) is probably the most important part of marketing a business online and a good way to achieve the best results is to hire an SEO company. However, care should be taken when choosing one as some can be unscrupulous and use black hat methods of SEO. This could have a negative effect on page views in the long run and even get your site blacklisted from Google and other search engines.
Black Hat Techniques
One of the most commonly used banned practices used by less reputable SEO companies is to use hidden text and links that are invisible to the user and provide no value to them at all. Sometimes it can be the same color as the background, set to font size zero, hidden behind an image or hidden with CSS.
Keyword placement is a vital part of Search Engine Optimization for any site, but there is a line that must be toed. Stuffing a page or site with particular words or phrases to enhance SEO not only has a negative effect on the content of your site, but like other black hat techniques, can see your sites Google presence severely diminished.
Another important factor that SEO services have to consider is link backs to your site. Although it may seem like a good idea, joining a link sharing scheme is another thing that should be avoided as it breaks Googles terms of service and again may see your site blacklisted.
Search engine optimization can illegitimately be enhanced by using software packages that automatically submits websites to multiple search engines. Certain packages can save time and money for SEO Company, but as they violate Googles terms of service, can also get you blacklisted.
Doorway pages are pages that are loaded with specific keywords and phrases but have substandard content. Their sole purpose is to literally act as a doorway, getting high traffic then funneling visitors to your site.
Another technique sometimes used by SEO services that can get your site blacklisted is search engine only content. Using redirect links and cloaking, the content looks different for the user than it does for the search engine spiders and is often used for sites built using Adobe Flash.
While these black hat techniques can, at first, work well and increase visitors to a site, good SEO Services providers avoid them at all costs as not only do they often diminish the experience of your visitors, but ultimately they can also see you get blacklisted from the search engines, making it difficult or even impossible for prospective customers to find you.
