Choosing the right SEO provider means finding a partner to work with your business to increase your visibility and viability online. In this report we will identify the key points to help you chose an ethical SEO professional by utilizing the guidelines put forth by Google and widely adopted by top industry professionals. Identifying Ethical SEO Utilizing Google s Best Practices and Webmaster Guidelines By Brian Forrester, Dynamic Web Solutions
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Identifying Ethical SEO Utilizing Google s Best Practices and Webmaster Guidelines Introduction SEO is an acronym for Search Engine Optimization, a strategy for improving a website s visibility in search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo!. SEO is the process of improving organic non- paid search traffic and should not be confused with Pay Per Click marketing such as Google s AdWords, which is a paid search strategy. The end goal of ethical SEO is increased website performance, visitor engagement, and new client or customer acquisition. While it is possible for business owners to perform SEO for their own site, many businesses may choose to hire a professional SEO service provider in an effort to save time and increase the probability of success. Done correctly by knowledgeable SEO providers, SEO can have a significant impact on a businesses online success. Unfortunately the profession of SEO has seen its share of snake oil salesmen which has had a negative impact on people s perception of SEO and SEO providers as a whole. Utilizing information from Google s own guidelines, I ve created Identifying Ethical SEO as a way for business owners who are looking for professional, ethical Search Engine Optimization strategies to arm themselves with the right information before choosing an SEO company to work with. While there is a ton of information scattered about the web regarding ethical, or white hat SEO, I ve tried to consolidate it into its essence here to save you time. We are going to cover: ü Ethical SEO strategies ü SEO tactics to Avoid ü Questions to ask your SEO provider ü What to expect from an ethical SEO provider Ethical SEO Strategies First let s take a look at ethical or white hat SEO Strategies. Ethical SEO is a term used to describe search optimization strategies which are not frowned upon by the search engines. These strategies have been approved and are the legitimate way to help increase your website s rankings. When you are looking for an SEO provider, you want to ensure that only ethical SEO techniques are utilized to avoid any penalties or harm to your site. These SEO techniques include (but are not limited to): improving meta data such as title tags and 2
description meta tags, properly structuring URL s, improving your site s navigation, preparing sitemaps for users and search engines, creating a custom 404 page, creating and optimizing valuable content, using valuable anchor text for in- site linking, using relevant alt text with images, create an image sitemap, using heading tags appropriately, using robot.txt files appropriately, utilizing blog posts to generate traffic and create conversations, sending out press releases when appropriate, participating on social networking sites, utilizing Google and Bing Webmaster Tools, configuring Google Analytics for accurate tracking of KPIs, article writing and syndication, structured data reviews and optimization for rich snippets, and local listings optimization. These are some of the valuable ways SEO can help your site appear in front of your target audience. SEO Tactics to Avoid Some SEO techniques are referred to as black hat because they violate certain guidelines put forth by the search engines like Google and Bing. These guidelines are put in place in an effort to keep the most relevant results available for visitors. Be wary of the emails and calls from SEO firms making vague promises of #1 rankings on Google, sometimes within 24 hours! Like most things in life, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A general rule of thumb is: If it doesn t feel right, don t do it. Here are some tips for spotting substandard SEO practices and avoiding their pitfalls. 1. Avoid working with an SEO provider who has secrets for ranking. Any ethical SEO provider should disclose their tactics and techniques with full transparency. 2. Avoid linking schemes. While creating quality links to your site utilizing the techniques above is common practice, there are black hat linking techniques including: paying for links, linking your site to hundreds of useless search engines, free- for- all links, shadow domain linking, and doorway pages. 3. Avoid SEO providers who want to use excessive keyword stuffing in an attempt to increase rankings. Keywords should be used throughout a website as part of an ethical approach to SEO but obvious keyword stuffing negatively effects user experience and should be avoided. 4. Avoid scammers who guarantee #1 rankings in the major search engines. No one can guarantee #1 rankings as search engine algorithms are constantly evolving in an effort to improve user experience and relevance. Especially avoid SEO providers who claim 3
overnight rankings. This is always a scam and often involves ranking your site for keywords that don t even drive relevant traffic and have no keyword competition. 5. Avoid companies who s monthly deliverables consist of a ranking report. Search has become much more highly personalized and ranking reports are less and less valuable. You should look for someone who is asking about the KPI s that matter to your business and is actively helping you better track them. There are other techniques used by black hat SEO providers so get references and call them if you are interviewing and SEO firm. When possible, schedule a face- to- face meeting and ask specific questions about their approach. Questions to Ask Your SEO Provider Choosing the right SEO provider is a big decision, and can be a fairly pricey investment. Now that you know the difference between ethical or white hat SEO and black hat SEO, you are in a much better position to make an educated decision. When it s time to interview a potential SEO partner, you ll want to be able to ask the right questions. Below is a list of questions/items you should discuss before hiring an SEO provider. ü What methods of SEO will you be utilizing to achieve the desired results? ü What experience do you have working in my industry? ü What are the terms of your SEO agreement? ü Can you share some examples of other SEO work you have done? (success stories) ü How will we be communicating? (email, phone, in person, a combination) ü How often will I receive updates and reports? ü What s your experience in my city or area? ü How long have you been in business? ü Are there any other online marketing services I should be aware of that may increase the results of my SEO campaign? Remember that if you are feeling unsure about answers to any of these questions, or have hesitation about whether or not this provider is utilizing ethical SEO techniques, it s ok to either request more information, ask if you can contact a satisfied customer, or continue looking. What to Expect from an Ethical SEO Provider If you are working with an ethical SEO provider, they will welcome these questions and may even answer some of them before you have a chance to ask them. Since ethical SEO providers 4
work within the guidelines put forth by Google and other search engines, these providers have nothing to hide. What you should expect is that your SEO provider asks you questions about your business; who are your ideal clients, who are your competition, what are your goals online and offline? Without knowing these answers your SEO provider won t be able to help you attain your goals. A true ethical SEO provider will want to become engaged in your business to help you succeed and grow. Next the SEO professional should begin keyword analysis, site analysis, and competitor analysis to determine the best strategy for improving your website s performance. You should also expect that your SEO provider will submit a proposal which will outline work to be performed and costs associated with this work. This proposal is another opportunity for you to review work to ensure only ethical SEO techniques are performed. Depending on the scope of your individual SEO project, your budget, and the business model of the SEO you decide to hire, you may be billed once or the work may require monthly SEO services and reporting. Be sure you understand the scope of the work being proposed, the timeline for desired results and maintaining those results, and the reporting schedule. This should all be clearly explained in the interview and proposal. Once you ve made your decision on an ethical SEO provider, you will start to notice improvements on your site s performance, traffic and conversions after some time. SEO done right does take some time, and your SEO provider should disclose this up front when discussing the timeline for desired goals. Conclusion Not all SEO providers are equal. Having read this brief overview of SEO you now know how to spot an ethical SEO provider and should avoid the pitfalls of those with less integrity. Done properly, Search Engine Optimization can prove to be a very valuable asset for almost any business looking to increase visibility and success online. If you are interested in SEO for your business, considering looking for a referral from someone locally who has had a positive SEO experience. I hope this guide has proven useful to you in your quest for more information about SEO. If our team at Dynamic Web Solutions can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us. 5
Contact Us Brian Forrester Owner Dynamic Web Solutions 804.482.1576 www.dynamicwebsolutions.com brian@dynamicwebsolutions.com 6