Ethical SEO is actually the only form of search engine optimization that I practice. To me, this means staying above-board (or “white hat”) with all of the techniques that I use, and not doing anything shady or spammy that could get a website de-indexed (or “removed from Google). I have been doing SEO for about 18 years (since the “first dotcom boom” in San Francisco in the nineties) and do several hours of continuing education/ research on my own sites every single day, so I have a thorough understanding of what works and what does not. In practice, this mostly means matching up the “supply” of the internet, which can be found in client knowledge and expertise (or my own knowledge) with the “demand” of internet users, which is found in keyword research. This process results in websites that are constructed properly and contain interesting and engaging content that ranks well because people actually like it. Imagine that!
Another thing “ethical SEO” means to me is that I will never attempt to influence search rankings on behalf of companies that are clearly providing sub-standard services and trying to cover this up. This means that I turn down more work than other SEO experts, which is fine with me. I don’t think the purpose of SEO is to cover up the truth about businesses or people that actually ARE shady, so I just don’t do it. That’s not to say that there isn’t a place for this kind of SEO, and I totally know people who make big money doing this kind of thing. I just don’t do it myself. In fact, on more than one occasion, I have given full refunds and absorbed losses if it becomes clear that the client’s philosophies and mine differ. I will not put crap on the internet, and I will not try to game the system. This means no spun content, no crappy videos, no buying links, nothing else you might have heard of as the “next big thing that will get your site ranked overnight!” Yes, this does mean that sometimes other SEOs make fun of me. I’m fine with this.
I also will not work on any sites that are in questionable sectors, like payday loans, gambling, adult films, etc, because I do not think the world needs more of these things, so I will not use my skill to help more websites appear in the internet for them.
Another feature of “ethical SEO” is that I truly believe there is a stopping point for outside SEO service and that the person/ website owner/ business owner truly should gain an understanding of this and start doing this themselves. To that end, I enter into contracts that have a finite period of time, which people seem to like. My SEO method DOES take longer and is more work, because I do not rely on shortcuts of any kind. My philosophy is basically “make good stuff, optimize it properly, network, rinse repeat.” This goes on until you have achieved the rankings for the keywords you want.
So, that’s my company’s philosophy, in a nutshell. Ethical SEO for the win!
If you, your website, or your company feel like you could use some search engine optimization, get in touch!
