Search Engine Optimization or SEO relates to how a target audience searches for information, products and services online. Every search is broken down into keywords. Sufficiently used keywords improve rankings. If a site uses keywords and phrases that match an online user’s search, a company has an increased chance of better targeting their audience.

There are various processes of Online Marketing to reach this, they are ‘honest’ (ethical) or ‘dishonest’ (unethical). The chief difference between the two is quite simple: one follows usually accepted processes and the other does not.

Ethical SEO is typically referred to as ‘white hat’ and is generally used to illustrate the use of trusted search engine optimisation techniques or code of conduct. Ethical SEO techniques are generally considered as those that can be obviously visible to a website visitor. Any secreted tricks are usually indicative of a concealed or unethical approach.

In contrast, unethical SEO is often referred to as ‘black hat’ or ‘spam’. Unethical SEO is not necessarily an illegal activity, but is seen 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 instant or short-term Search Engine Placement or high page positioning. A good way for an online user to almost instantly recognise unethical SEO practices is to determine the number of links a website uses, as well as their quality.

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

The following SEO processes and techniques are considered ethical:

• Different links for separate site pages can be created
• Keywords and content that are used is information that is relevant to the site searcher
• Inbound links (links within a site) can be built in. These can be useful if Online Marketing is used through a social media site.
• Websites can be updated often with relevant information. These can take the form of press releases, articles and blogs.
• Keeping up to date with the kinds of keywords a target audience is often using. This way, keywords within content are built to cater for a customer or client, getting better rankings, as well as giving a site more standing. Using keywords properly and sufficiently encourages a target audience to regard and remember a site as being reliable 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 site of a low quality or containing information that is not relevant to a targeted audience.
• Adding a sitemap to a site that can be effortlessly found by search engine spiders and helps to better index the whole site.

The following SEO practices and techniques are considered unethical:

• Text is concealed – 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 concealed or made to appear less obvious to a site visitor – eg. links can be made into the same font 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 site. This is known as keyword stuffing. Online users are normally not aware of this.
• Javascript re-directs can be used whereby search engines are pointed to a web page that is different from the one that is expected.
• Using duplicated content.
• Trading links – many websites have a habit of 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 irrelevant content or a collection of more links.