Why “White Hat” SEO Is Just Another Excuse For Not Delivering Results
Going back to the comments. I was told by several individuals that I was unethical and that they wouldn’t ever consider hiring me based off this one “white lie”. Since ignoring such statements is simply dumb I decided to address them head on. Many replies later I noticed the conversation wasn’t going anywhere. In fact it almost felt like an individual getting in trouble, being hauled down to the police station and being asked to talk. Anything you said at the point was only going to make matters worse. Regardless I continued to stick up for my tactics while acknowledging difference of opinions and “Acceptableness” (a fun word I decided to pull out during a response).
SEO Regulations, “White Hat” SEO , & Ethics
The first part of the conversation I didn’t blink about. It was about Ethics. Yup, I have them but they may not align perfectly with yours. Case closed. Where I was taken off guard was when Tom Parker (yay free link!) told me about “White Hat” SEO. “white hats are the good guys, black hats are the bad guys, and the gray hats are worthless individuals who straddle the fence and play both sides.” REALLY!?
SEO Regulations
This sure has been a hot debate in the past. Some people think it would be good for the industry and others don’t. The one thing in common between the two groups is neither really has a good idea on who or what would deem anything SEO related “Good” or “Bad”. Until then every SEO technique will only be judged by the SEOs who deem it one way or another. Which brings me to my next issue. “White Hat” SEO.
“White Hat” SEO & Ethics
This issue has been going on even longer then SEO regulations. What is “White Hat” and what is “Black Hat”? Let’s for a moment assume “White Hat” SEO is built around 100% positive & ethical behavior. No lies, no deception, and SEO done by the rules. A questions that I asked in response to “White Hat” SEO: “would a ‘White Hat’ SEO consider offering search engine optimization (or any service for the fact) for publicly questionable or “unethical “businesses? Let’s be more specific. Porn, Poker, Pills. Many people would argue that these industries just in themselves are unethical.” Let’s forget about SEO tactics & link building for a moment and focus on the question. By accepting a project in one of the many publicly questionable niches does that automatically make you a “Black Hat” SEO?
More importantly I want to touch base on SEO being done by “the rules” aka what im assuming is the “White Hat” way. Last time I checked there were no guidelines to “Proper SEO”, nothing sanctioned by a regulated business or SEO commission. Just because Rand Fishkin white boards one topic or Matt Cutts talks about certain SEO-ish stuff through his videos im to take it as “the rules”. I DON’T THINK SO. I respect both individuals immensely but I refuse to take anybodies SEO word as a fact.
The absolute best part of SEO is the competition in every niche. The fact that YOU may outperform me because you create better content, test theories, go out on a limb and even push the ethical boundaries is great. I use to vehemently argue that I was “white hat” SEO. As if that actually meant something these days. I think most people use “White Hat” as an excuse to NOT think outside the box, to NOT push the envelope and last but not least justify why they can’t outrank their competition. If that’s true, im the exact opposite of “white hat”. Whether that be “Black Hat”, “Grey Hat”, or even “Purple Hat”. I’ll let others determine that for themselves. I’ll continue to let my results speak on my behalf.
How Much Should Ethics Be Taken Into Account With SEO?
This is really what I want to talk about. Forget “White Hat” or “Black Hat” and let’s just get down to business. How much should ethics play a role when you implement SEO? Is it any different for link building? Finally, is it possible to be 100% ethical with your clients while twisting the “rules” to obtain rankings and subsequent conversions?
Please share your thoughts in the comments.
Nick,
Great post, I think it is great that you bring up the point that there is no single group that governs SEO and there are no laws that regulate “white hat SEO”. I always try and be ethical and use white hat techniques but what you demonstrated in your last post should be applauded, this type of SEO is harmless compared to what others do. Also I would like to point out that while ethics should always be considered in any business decision you also need to take into account the fiduciary responsibilities that managers of a business have, they have the goal of providing a rate of return that is acceptable to shareholders. Is there anything unethical with a website listing a resource that their audience will find useful while the business obtaining the link can improve their rankings and thus hopefully improve profitability? I don’t think so, no laws broken and nobody is cheated. Businesses are not charities and need to constantly push the limits, it’s always been this way and great businesses will continue to do this.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thanks for the support Dustin. Could one argue that ‘ethics’ could be the reason for creating some official rules of SEO or a group that governs SEO?
Ethics is how one lives their entire life. It’s not a question of ethics in SEO or any other industry. Either a person lives their life in an ethical manner or they don’t. And that typically carries over to the way they conduct themselves in business.
It’s of course not quite that black and white, with varying degrees of acting in unethical ways. My personal belief is that one never needs to resort to being unethical. Every unethical act by any individual only serves to undermine their trustworthiness and credibility in the eyes of others. (Just my opinion.)
Thanks Jill – I do value your opinion. I agree with your comment about ethics and it being a life style not just business decisions. As much as I try to separate work and home they do blend. If you personally believe a technique is unethical its hard to pull it off in a business scenario too. I guess it all comes down to everyone’s level of acceptance. What you may deem ethical could be something I wouldn’t even consider and vice-a-versa.
I guess it really comes down to whether or not you can sleep at night after knowing what you’ve done that day. SEO of course only being a small part of the day.
I’m not talking about techniques. I’m talking about dishonesty. SEO techniques come and go and are open to interpretation as to whether they’re ethical. Being honest or dishonest , however, is fairly straightforward, IMO.
In the original post, my comment was in regards to being dishonest with a potential link partner.
All I’m saying is that to me, dishonesty is unethical, regardless of how one tries to spin it. And I also have noticed in life that those who are dishonest with small things, find it easier to be dishonest with larger things. Just an observation.
Here’s a little story for you: I had an employee a few years ago who certainly seemed like a nice guy who was on the up-and-up. Heard him lie to his girlfriend a couple of times on the phone, and didn’t really think much about it. (Like perhaps tell her he had to work late, when he really didn’t.) Strike one.
One day when I and my other employee were out of town and he was supposed to be in the office, it became clear (I forget the details) that he wasn’t actually there. Now, no biggie really, if he was working from home, but he never asked if he could and he was pretending as if he were in the office. Strike two.
Not too long after that, I realized some of the reports he was creating for clients had content that was plagiarized from elsewhere in bits and pieces. Not outright stolen, but words moved around a bit so that it seemed original. But it wasn’t. Again, he could have simply cited those pieces in the report and that would have been fine, but instead he wanted to make himself look smarter (I guess) so he did it what I would call the unethical way. I called it to his attention thinking that perhaps he truly didn’t realize it was wrong. But sure enough, some time later I found similar instances and I fired him.
I’m not sure if there’s a point to my story other than to show how being deceptive is usually built into ones character. It’s also part of a company’s culture. If lying is allowed for any reason in a company, it tells people just a little bit about the culture of that company. If a client is okay with the lying, then it tells a little bit about them as well. If a client knows that their consultant is lying to potential partners, wouldn’t they also wonder what their consultant might be lying about to them, though? I would!
For me personally, I tend to trust people from the outset and assume that they are honest. Then I just pay attention to their actions and what they say. It doesn’t take too long to learn how honest one is if you talk to them enough. And even if I learn that someone may be less than honest at times, that’s fine. I simply make a mental note of it so that I am not fooled by them at some point in the future.
Dishonesty, even in tiny doses is not fine if they were someone who worked for me, though, nor would it be fine if it were someone I was in a close relationship with such as my spouse or my children.
On another note, what’s up with the Title of this post? What a way to twist the entire topic! It doesn’t even seem to be about that. If you want to claim that honesty in SEO doesn’t get results, then I think you should provide some evidence of this. I can’t imagine how there’s any correlation between being an honest marketer and someone who makes excuses. In fact, that would be an oxymoron!
I really think the response Joel gave below sums up why extra lengths have to be taken in some SEO campaigns. Is it unethical? That’s for each and every individual to determine. I truly appreciate your story too Jill. Its unfortunate that you had a bad experience with someone who had potential. However, is it fair to group every individual that has told a fib into a slacker who attempts to cheat the system of get away with something? I’m sure you also have many stories of people who have told a lie and are still looked at as stand up individuals.
As for the title, yes its a spin on what we have been discussing. I’ve finally come to the conclusion that everyone is “white hat”. It’s not until you differentiate yourself from the pack that you start to see results. At this time you need to give up your “white hat” card and exchange it for a darker shade “hat”. The purple one is my current favorite.
You know who you always hear screaming loudest when things go south? It’s the “white hat” SEOs. They did everything by the rules and their not “winning”. They wrote content and perfected their site structure to be optimal. When they don’t rank #1 its because of the damn “black hats” and their unethical techniques.
Jill you didn’t answer my question about the 3 ‘p’s. As an ethical white hat SEO can you accept one of these clients? It’s a widely believed unethical business and at this point the competition to achieve rank shouldn’t matter in the decision to accept or reject the project.
Now seriously, Nick. Do you really think I’m basing my thoughts about honesty and ethics on one experience?
Regarding hats, it’s a silly way to even have a conversation about our industry and I can’t even believe we’re still talking about white hat vs. black hat in 2012. There’s no such thing.
I’ve never called myself a white hat or any other kind of hat (although others have labeled me that way). To me, there are a couple of different types of SEOs. Incompetent ones and competent ones. It’s the incompetent SEOs who use useless SEO tactics that don’t get results. They have nothing to do with being a white hat SEO (or blackhat) they just plain suck.
As to doing everything “by the rules” in SEO, I don’t even know that that means since there are no rules in SEO. I’m not sure why people think there are rules. Sure, Google has Guidelines, but they can be summed up very simply as don’t do anything deceptive. Simple enough. As long as you you’re not doing that, you have nothing to worry about. Anyone who feels the need to read Google’s guidelines have no common sense and understanding of what SEO is all about, e.g., making your site be the best it can be for your users and the search engines. No rules necessary when that’s what you’re doing.
Regarding this:
As I said, I’m not an white hat SEO, I’m simply an honest marketer. I wouldn’t personally take on a client who was doing anything illegal as to me it would be unethical (and likely illegal) for me to help further an illegal business.
Gambling sites are illegal in the US, and Pharmacy sites that don’t require a real prescription are also illegal in the US. I don’t believe porn is illegal unless it involved minors. That said, I don’t take clients in any highly competitive industry, the above included. Not because of ethics, but because I wouldn’t have the slightest idea of how to help them. I don’t take mortgage sites, payday loans and a million other types either. My niche is in working with real companies who have real physical businesses (for the most part).
Differentiating yourself and your business is highly recommended. It takes a lot of time, money and creativity. Differentiating yourself through deception, however, is a good way to make all that hard work and creativity all be for naught.
It’s pretty easy to see that our line in the sand for ethics is clearly different Jill. With that said I can say that I do respect and appreciate all your thoughts & opinions in these last couple discussions we’ve had. It’s obvious that we have a passion for the SEO industry and many different (and probably not so different) ways to achieve results.
The “White Hat”/”black Hat” conversation does get exhausting. We both very much agree on that. I simply used the analogy as it was referenced in the last discussion and what I used in this post.
Once again pointing to Joel’s post about opportunities and getting the best bang for the buck while working with difficult clients. What do you anticipate SEOs who aren’t fortunate to own their own business do? When you read Joel’s comment outlining some of the difficulties does my example really come off as deceptive and manipulative? Maybe, maybe not. I think it allows more individuals to understand that you can’t let link opportunities for this type of client get away. Even if that involves a little white lie to ensure the link acquisition.
Like Jill, I believe that ethics involves how we live our lives and conduct ourselves in any situation. However, I think that what each person thinks is ethical or not depends on many things. There are the universal taboos but then there are things like smoking, drinking, gambling, porn, liking bad music. My parents think all those are unethical. I don’t. I think that Google does tell us what they’d consider a violation of their guidelines, and while I knowingly violate it many times, everyone involved (except Google hopefully) knows about it and is ok with it. In an ideal world I wouldn’t do it I suppose, but then again I wouldn’t drive 10 miles over the speed limit either.
Great points Julie. I agree that Google does give some guidelines but they hardly scratch the surface. I do keep this in consideration in my daily practices but every rule has an exception or a way to pull it off that still meets such guidelines and gives value.
If speeding is unethical I guess I can’t even pretend to be an ethical person lol.
“In an ideal world I wouldn’t do it I suppose, but then again I wouldn’t drive 10 miles over the speed limit either.”
The best line I’ve read in quite some time. And one I think sums up my take on where my views are.
BTW, I’m a 9 mph over kind of guy when the kids are not in the car.
This is how I feel as well. The reality is that without guidelines, you don’t really know what is ethical or not a lot of the time. My thought is that if you have a great website of value to a query, that should naturally be ranking for a term or niche, it’s ok to step on the gas a little bit to get there faster, as long as you aren’t doing any long term damage to your car, the road, or other drivers.
Nick – this is a great post. I am really enjoying your blog! MSP is doing some great things
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Thanks for stopping by Jeff! You’re absolutely right. You just have to think about the future and any consequences made by actions made today!
PS. Go MSP – we rock!
Hey Nick,
I am sorry you felt I was calling you unethical. I did not mean to sound that way. I think your post inspired me to think about the topic and I was simply thinking out loud in my comments. I really like the fact that you are taking the issue head on and exploring it further. I will be reposting your thoughts around.
Also (if I was hiring) I’d hire you in a heartbeat based on what I’ve read from you.
Hi John, I’m not worried about being called unethical here. I actually think these comments have been very well written. It’s a good debate between two sides who think drastically different when it comes to efforts needed to achieve rank/results.
The fact that you admit that you thought about the ‘big picture’ and came to your own conclusions is all I could hope to achieve. I’m not trying to persuade anyone to one side or another. What I really want people to do is stop slinging the “white hat” BS and admit that different techniques outside of good content, article submissions and directory listings work.
Kind of a “bait and switch” title there, Nick. You caught me, but I expected a more polarized view.
Either way, here’s my feelings on the issue. I do SEO for an agency – not my own sites and not in-house. That means my experience and relationship with the company is third party.
The life of an agency SEO is a complicated one. Everyone talks about link bait – great content, industry best resources, all of that. Fact is, I’d love to be putting these together, but clients don’t want them.
Now, I’m sure the first thing people will accuse me of is not pushing hard enough, not educating the client, not explaining the benefits of these “white hat” tactics properly. This could not be further from the truth. I have at-length conversations with clients about why these tactics are best, why they work, why they create a sustainable competitive advantage. I give compelling reasons for buy-in, push for their cooperation and involvement, pick up a phone and call them. I go to great lengths to try and get clients to understand why I’m making these recommendations. Sometimes clients get it. At the best of times, they buy in and everything is fantastic.
But the fact – the absolute fact of the matter, is that getting buy-in from clients on these types of link building efforts is really, really hard. They don’t want to be involved. They don’t want to pay for them. They don’t want to help you create resources and infographics and videos. They just want results. Part of this stems from the fact that there’s this massive misconception out there that SEO is easy, fast and straightforward. Part of it comes from the fact that they expect online marketing to work like all other marketing – fast, immediately measureable results.
So what options am I left with?
Well, whenever possible I STILL go ahead and build this great content, market it through all channels available to me and keep pushing for client interaction. I do everything I can within my limited and often isolated ability to put together compelling link bait and useful content. That sometimes means studying topics I have absolutely no knowledge of prior (like MiG and TiG welding, etc.)..
But they know their market. THEY interact with their market. This material would be better received coming from them.
But when I can’t do that, then yes, I am 100% comfortable resorting to “little white lies” to secure links. I’ll adopt a persona, no problem. I’ll tell you I think your website is the bees knees and that I love your breastfeeding pumps (despite my serious lack of breasts). WHY? Because clients expect results, results require links and links require some sort of incentive to acquire. If I can’t do that with content, I need to try to do it with a “relationship”.
I can tell you straight out that the whole “I’m from X agency representing X company” has an enormous failure rate in situations where I otherwise would have succeeded. Clients are as financially sensitive as they are results sensitive – so even if I secure the opportunity for a link in exchange for cold hard cash, clients often still balk. So I use the technique – and it works. I sleep fine at night. Clients are happy with their results.
Let’s be serious – if we take a hard and fast look at Google’s TOS, artificially acquiring ANY link is against their rules. Link building in and of itself is a “Google felony”.
As for whether I’d do SEO for poker/pills/porn – the answer is no, but not because the industries are unethical but because they are immensely competitive and I have no interest in bashing my head against a wall for hours at a time.
Joel – This is a great response. In fact you saved me a lot of time responding to Jills comment. Thank you! It’s truly not as easy as choosing to be “white hat” or not. I would love to come up with a list of 5-10 link building tactics and get everyone thoughts on whether they are “black hat” or not. I can pretty much guarantee you that everyone will have a difference of opinion. Could it be a difference in opinion of what is ethically acceptable?
As for the title I get what your saying about not expecting some ridiculous claim about …. blah blah blah. The reality is im going off the previous conversation where “white hats” are almighty and anybody else who outranks a “white hat” must be a horrible, judgemental, unethical black hat SEO. So if the “white hats” aren’t doing what it takes to rank in the search engines then what are their clients paying for? Results… well obviously not.
I’ll also let you in on a little secret. This client in which I showed an example for falls into almost every point you mentioned earlier. Sometimes you just have to go that extra mile to get a link. If you don’t, they quit which then makes the SEO look bad, which then leads to an opportunity to letting the SEO go. Is it ETHICAL for a company to sign on a client that isn’t doing all they can to succeed in SEO?
Yep – I’m in the same boat!
I have something to share: I have a client who is very proactive, he helps me write content., He helps me find suitable blogs for guesting on. He even helped me with my original keyword research. His site reached position 1 in the SERPs (for his main keywords) within 3 months of us working together. I don’t think he could have got these results alone, but I do think his input was and is invaluable. It’s not easy to achieve the holy grail of SEO: position 1, but it really helps to have a proactive client!
I have other clients that don’t see why I ask them for input. They just don’t want to get involved. I get results, but it’s so much slower! If they were willing to give me a little of what my other client does, then yes I’d get them results far faster. They put pressure on for me to achieve results for them, and yes, I have lied on their behalf. Made out I’m some sort of expert in their products or do the same sporting activities as their core market (I have even pretended to be a farmer!!! lols) – just to get results for them. I don’t like telling fibs, but neither do I want to be out of a job because of my ethics – how would that feed me and my partner. I am not saying I would make up that I have a kid (though I may say ‘my nephew’, ‘cousin’ etc) just to get a link… But I have and will continue to tell the odd fib, just to get the links I need to get a client’s site to perform. If I need to relate to a webmaster to get a link, then I will do my best to make sure I can find some sort of common ground.
As for ethics – I don’t really think that comes into it – after all, if I provide a service, and that service requires me to bend the truth in certain situations (like I’ll often imply a site I’m working on is my own, rather than state that I am working on behalf of someone else) then I just have to get on with it – or not take on the job in the first place. It’s a big wide world, and some of us will bend the truth to get what we need in order to achieve results for whoever is paying for it.
Would I take on any of the 3 P’s – no. I wouldn’t. I think SEO for such clients is too difficult for an agency to take on. These types of businesses need inhouse SEO. Would I like to do inhouse SEO for any of them – well, no, not really! If I was to do inhouse SEO it would have to be for a business that I believed in and in all honesty, I can say hand on heart that I neither understand or want to understand a poker site, a porn site or a pills site. That’s just the way a roll!
Yes, I may tell the odd fib to get links, but underneath it all, I’m an honest, and I think a good person!
This debate is interesting, and I;m pleased I came across it!
Julie & Jill covered the “ethics” portion of this quite thoroughly and in a manner I also believe in. Google is not the government, it is a website that has established some rules. Feel free to break them as you conscious guides you. But you also need to understand the game you are playing and the risks involved.
Regarding white vs black hats, I don’t normally get into these debates. We run our company in a manner that lives up to my ethics and could careless what others do. Like Jill pointed out, some times things happen with your staff that you discover later and there is not much you can do to “undo” it…. other than take action with the employee.
Lastly, I am willing to be that the vast majority of SEOs who call themselves whitehat and have been around for more than 2 years, have purchased links. I know you can debate whether that is black, white or gray, but in the strictest sense it does violate Google’s guidelines.
Enough ranting for now, need to get back to being productive
Arnie this quote is one of the best things I have read so far today.
“We run our company in a manner that lives up to my ethics and could careless what others do.”
PERFECT. Thanks for adding to the conversation.
Show me the results! I don’t care what is considered white hat or black hat, just what is the right hat. If the right hat means doing things a certain way to get results, then great! If right hat means to not do things a certain to get results, then great! I’m all about the ‘right hat’, and not so much concerned over colors. The right hat is what works for you and your goals. The right hat delivers results based on those goals. The right hat is color blind. The right hat only cares about results. I’m a ‘right hat’.
I absolutely agree with the ‘right hat’ sentiment but remember that you need to not only get results today but for the FUTURE as well. SEO isn’t worth a damn if its all stripped away one morning…
Unfortunately most people have the wrong definition of Ethics. In society our conduct is governed by laws, regulations, and codes. They clearly define how we are to conduct ourselves in most matters. So how do ethics play in these areas? Well ethics are not in any of these categories and only come into play when your action is not governed by laws, regulations, or codes. Here is the true definition of Ethics:
Ethics govern your actions when there is no law, regulation or code governing the action. So in its simplest form it is a Principle. For instance Jesus gave us a command to “love one another just as I have loved you” or treat others as you would like to be treated; the golden rule.
I personally do not aspire to the three hats of SEO since Google gives no clear law, regulation, or code on how to do it. Also I do not aspire to the popular definitions of these hats but list them as:
White Hat – the fear of Google so you do not do anything
Grey Hat – the area that Google’s algorithm team is working on banning
Black Hat – conduct that Google bans
So when someone says to me a certain method of SEO is Black Hat I say it is not since the site has not been penalized. I have several techniques that others have labeled as Black Hat but it has been in place for over 7 years so it would more than likely to be in the Grey Hat area. Sadly any strategy of SEO that you us is all Grey Hat. This is because the true essence of SEO is to take advantage of Google’s algorithm to have your website position higher in SERPs.
Unfortunately the internet is governed by a war lord, which is you guessed it Google, on how you should conduct yourselves. Yes the internet is actually in a state of Anarchy. So how do you conduct yourself in the SEO field. Well you covertly hide your actions from the war lord until you are able to overthrow him.
Google’s real mantra is the “Pursuit of Absolute Relevance”. Personally I know where Google is going with their algorithm and I estimate they will be there in 5 to 7 years. Microsoft had the opportunity to usurp Google from the top. Sadly they spent their money on Advertising rather than setting up an algorithm that would beat Google to the punch. Google knows they cannot just change their algorithm drastically in one day since they are a business and need revenue and do not want to jeopardize their revenue stream; do gradual changes to the algorithm is their pattern.
My SEO strategy is based on where Google is going. The reason for this is consumers are already searching in this manner so an algorithm that is setup to give results on where Google is going would quickly dominate the search market and thus run Google out. Then I would be the internet war lord but i would definitely by a benevolent one.
“Unfortunately most people have the wrong definition of Ethics.”
How very true. And another quote as my 2 cents: “Those who think change will never happen will get swept away by it, Those who believe in change will ride it to new victories.”
Simply awesome!
I agree that part of what makes an SEO good is using tactics and marketing for the future. But we all need to do what works now. Best of both worlds, get results today and in the future!
the great thing about it is it works now
I don’t know. I never had to resort to tricks which are never smart with the kind of clients I traditionally dealt with. Not sure you would think changing robots.txt is black or white hat. It resulted in some 40% increase of search traffic overnight to IBM. They originally blocked all engines except Google at a time when there were more engines than just Google. Or what about changing the nasty param configuration of the J2EE that was powering Bluefly resulted in quadrupling their e-commerce sales (in one month!) by way of going from zero to total indexing? As an online-only play, do you have any idea what that actually meant to Bluefly’s marketing staff?
I always giggle a little picturing a walnut in the skull of marketing staff that chose cloaking in the old days. They wanted something easy that didn’t change anything. It changed everything for them. I lost some walnuts to iDoubleCrossing in those days. Those particular walnuts all got booted from Google rather famously. Walnuts in skulls felled by fate set to the sound of the Nutcracker Suite. Even iDoubleCrossing got booted from Google back then. There’s always been religion about a code of ethics. Some get reborn like iCrossing was. Just help solve puzzled clients and do good work. Google is the new Black Hat SEO. They page-jacked Facebook and Twitter!
The examples you give are fantastic SEO tactics for websites that have existing authority and web presence. Doing this type of stuff for small businesses or brand new websites only sets you up for a brighter future, but does nothing for TODAY. Implementing SEO on existing website and brand new websites is different. Some would argue one is easy then another but both have their own challenges IMO.
E-commerce sites are actually my favorite to work on. Proper site structure, dynamic title tag generation and internal linking can make e-commerce sites EXPLODE. Super rewarding to see the results.
Thanks for adding to the conversation Disa! Hope to see you around in the future.
Is lying unethical? Yes.
Is it worth the link? It all depends on how much you want it.
If noone was hurt in the aquisition of the link, and both parties are happy with the exchange, does it really matter?
Personally I would have probably given the request a spin, like; “I have a favorite site, where a lot of parents probably like to buy stuff, when holidays/birthdays roll around for the kids.”
It still carries a similar meaning, but doesn’t actualy tell any lies. Anyway, let he who is innocent cast the first stone. We’ve all told white lies one time or another.
Thanks for the your take on this issue Bob. The best part about link building and SEO in general is that everyone can put their own unique spin on every technique. I think your suggestion could have worked well too. Someone may argue that when you say that “I have a favorite site…” could be a lie if its really not a site you would visit if they weren’t your client.
But now im just playing devils advocate!
I agree that part of what makes an SEO good is using tactics and marketing for the future. As per my views, White Hat SEO is the most popular and reliable method of bringing your niche to the upfront of the GOOGLE SERP. Thanks for sharing such a nice article with us….best Wishes.
Unless its natural, all link building is Blackhat!
I often read many posts where SEO experts frown upon Blackhat strategies but then openly promote link building. According to Google’s TOS, natural links are links others point back to your site without the need to pay for it, ask for it, comment for it or insert a link in your article to gain it.
So, if all link building strategies are in effect manipulating search engine results, doesn’t it stand to reason that all link building is Blackhat and the majority of off-page SEO practiced by SEO firms is in effect, Blackhat?
Isn’t having an online business all about rankings, traffic and conversions in the first place and search engine optimization should essentially be a technical, and possibly not a moral or ethical issue?
This is not a question of ethics. It is a question of risk mitigation. Some tactics are riskier in the long term than others. Period. Question answered.
Ethics in this field does not exist – OPINIONS as to what is or is not ethical do, but not ethics. The test between knowledge and opinion is this: You may describe reality for me, but you cannot dictate it.
Ding Ding … When I wrote this post this was the exact response I was hoping to see. Ethics and opinions are completely different. One can be argued where as the other can not.
Weird. The premise for this article seems flawed to me. The social concept of ethics has nothing to do with white hat or black hat. And, I rewrite this on purpose, white hat or black hat seo doesn’t have anything to do with ethics. I can violate several or all of big Gs guidelines and still maintain full social integrity while I advise my colleges to not promote pharmacy programs who berry extra unrelated recurring charges in a TOS. I realize you can question this too but society functions because of norms, not the lack of. 2c
This was the bigger point I was hoping people would take away from the blog post. Ethics isn’t as black or white as some make it seem. Thanks for commenting Tim.
I remember when purchasing links was fine. You could get them from very nice authoritive websites like weather sites and news organizations. It was called ummm advertising. Banner ads were worthless and text links worked. They had the added benefit of giving you a backlink. Adsense was just starting so google wasn’t in that space yet. Then just like meta keywords and descriptions they got abused. All of a sudden they were “bad” or “black hat”. Did I turn unethical overnight? Since Panda I can see the same thing happening with article marketing within a few years. Google changes the algo, everyone scrambles to get back what they lost, and then that will be considered blackhat.
This is not an easy profession and the rules change all the time. If you here long enough you end up getting your hands dirty one way or another. If your not TESTING theories black or white your not providing the best service and knowledge your client is paying for (just don’t use their site to test with).
We all have our personal lines wether it’s SEO or turning in a wallet you see laying on the ground. I know what I am willing to do let’s me sleep at night and I am able to look my kids in the eye when I tell them not to lie, cheat or steal. White, black, grey or purple I wear them all depending on the party. When I am with a client they get to choose. It’s thier website and thier dime. I just make sure they know the cost of wearing the wrong hat. I have walked away from jobs that I was not comfortable with because I knew what they wanted to do would get them banned within a couple of months. It crossed my line but I am sure they found someone else willing to do it. No hard feelings it’s just business.
As far as the 3 P’s go. I have worked 2 out of the 3. I would do it again if the money was right but those are tough markets and I don’t work them for free.
Great post and sorry for the long reply.
Thanks for dropping by Steve. Definitely don’t worry about too lengthy of responses. We like them around here.