Summer Of Search – Part 1: Introduction To SEO

Search is one the primary activities of Internet users. Being found on the Web has become a key driver in both brand awareness and sales. The results of search engine optimization (SEO) are profound and even minor tweaks can catapult your web page to a very good search ranking. Using some minor SEO tricks I’ve managed to boost one website’s Google position from page 6 to position 3 (on page 1). SEO works and the results are noticeable within days (sometimes weeks). There are, however, different ways to perform SEO. The distinction that I would like to point out in this point is that between white hat SEO and black hat SEO.

White hat SEO refers to best practices that rely on quality to improve search rankings. White hat SEO is based on the premise that the quality of the content will naturally lead to high search rankings. It also encourages good design, which includes the clear use of titles, headings and tags. White hat SEO should not require the user to apply more tools/methods than there are available as standard and encourages users to make optimal use of those tools/methods.

Black hat SEO refers to “dirty” practices that often rely on quantity to improve search rankings. Black hat SEO tactics tend to consist of shortcuts that are able to boost a website’s search ranking quickly. A key search ranking factor is, for example, the number of back links, i.e. the number of websites that link back to your website. A typical black hat SEO tactic that makes use of this factor is to back links on “ghost sites” or “link farms”. Using an entire network of these back link-generating websites, the website’s number of back links is artificially inflated.

Black hat SEO tactics are frowned upon by search engines and generally result in major penalties, such as a lowered search ranking or even (temporary) removal from all search results.

Therefore, I discourage you to employ black hat tactics. If you’re working with a SEO consultant, make sure that s/he does not use black hat SEO tactics to boost your search rankings.

In part 2, I’ll be sharing some simple white hat SEO tips that will help you improve your search rankings.

Update: Here is Part 2