18 Sep

Cheating with SEO

Some people will stoop to any means to get noticed. That principle could well apply to the tactics of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) masters.

For years we have seen it lived out, as organizations discovered nefarious methods to rise in the Google rankings. Everyone knew it was happening, but there was no clear way to address it. Most of those ill-conceived efforts found their way to ruin when Penguin and Panda were unleashed on the world. (A thorough review of the fallout can be found in this article from seomoz.)

Businesses that were once at top of page one are no longer to be found. Those that employed link farms to gain an advantage would now be better off just trashing what they have and starting over.

It provides a healthy reminder for what we’ve known, but have chosen to ignore: when we try to game the system, it eventually catches up with us. When it feels likes cheating, it is cheating. And along the way, innocent people will be punished with the bad, proving that collateral damage can exist in the virtual world as well as the real world.

As we look ahead, we are hopeful that honesty and authenticity will lead the charge in SEO. A breath of fresh air for us all…

 

Image Credit Flickr

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