Search Engine marketing or SEO relates to how a target audience searches for information, products and services online. Every search is split into keywords. Sufficiently used keywords increase rankings. If a website uses keywords and phrases that match an online user’s search, a business has an increased chance of better targeting their audience.

There are a lot of methods of Online Marketing to accomplish this, they are ‘honest’ (ethical) or ‘dishonest’ (unethical). The chief difference between the two is quite straightforward: one follows normally accepted methods and the other does not.

Ethical SEO is typically referred to as ‘white hat’ and is generally used to depict the use of accepted search engine optimisation techniques or code of conduct. Ethical SEO techniques are generally classed as those that can be clearly visible to a website visitor. Any consealed tricks are usually suggestive of a hidden or unethical approach.

In contrast, unethical SEO is mainly referred to as ‘black hat’ or ‘spam’. Unethical SEO is not necessarily an illegal activity, but is viewed as trying to deceive the searches and the search engines. These techniques and practices are viewed as manipulative and devious. Unethical SEO is about cutting corners and cheating the accepted code of conduct for webmasters. Unethical SEO has one fundamental goal, to achieve instantaneous or short-term Search Engine Placement or high page positioning. A good way for an online user to almost instantly recognise unethical SEO methods is to determine the number of links a website uses, as well as their quality.

Unethical SEO practices and online marketing are not typically clear to a visitor. A Search Engine Optimization Company who makes use of unethical techniques in order to achieve high search engine placement by ‘tricking’ the market can be excluded or black listed from all major search engines.

The following SEO methods and techniques are considered ethical:

• Alternative links for separate website pages can be created
• Keywords and content that are used is information that is relevant to the website searcher
• Inbound links (links within a website) can be built in. These can be useful if Online Marketing is used through a social media website.
• Websites can be updated on a regular basis with relevant information. These can take the form of press releases, articles and blogs.
• Keeping up to date with the types of keywords a target audience is always using. This way, keywords within content are built to cater for a customer or client, getting better rankings, as well as giving a website more integrity. Using keywords properly and sufficiently encourages a target audience to regard and remember a website as being consistent for the information that they seek, and using an established SEO Company ensures these keywords are up to date.
• Links are not exchanged with other website of a low quality or containing information that is not pertinent to a targeted audience.
• Adding a sitemap to a website that can be effortlessly found by search engine spiders and helps to better index the whole site.

The following SEO processes and techniques are considered unethical:

• Text is hidden – eg. white text is ‘hidden’ on a white background, text can be ‘hidden’ behind images or a size zero font can be used.
• Links are hidden or made to appear less obvious to a website visitor – eg. links can be made into the same typeface colour as the main content.
• Making use of automated queries without the agreement from search engines.
• Too many keywords and hidden text are used on a website. This is known as keyword stuffing. Online users are normally not aware of this.
• Javascript re-directs can be used whereby search engines are directed to a web page that is different from the one that is anticipated.
• Using repeated content.
• Trading links – many websites have a tendancy to trading links. This can be very misleading and disruptive to an online user.
• Creating false doorway passages to direct users to other websites that may contain unrelated content or a collection of more links.