May 2009

In this issue:

From the Editor:

With the economy in a slow down I'm getting lots of inquiries about Search Engine Optimization. I've had a few conversations that really disturbed me because these folks had been getting some VERY bad advice on how to get better rankings. The advice they got can and will get them banned altogether from Google! Read on for some good tips and advice.

As always, remember to Surf Safely - use your anti-virus and firewall's!

- Michelle

“You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, "My God, you're right! I never would've thought of that!" -- Sean Connery”

Don't get banned from Google"

Like in every other field, there are are good guys and bad guys so to speak. With so many people desperate for great search engine rankings and with little money in their budget for it they are falling for some bad black-hat techniques in SEO services.

Many businesses adopt black-hat SEO methods with an intention to gain quick results, but ultimately they invite disaster to the Web site. Once caught as blacklisted, the Web site will be deleted from the search engine index forever. Good, organic SEO is the only way to achieve a good page rank for a Web site.

Many black-hat SEO techniques are popular though. Some of them include link farming, keyword stuffing, cloaking, and hidden text.

• Link farming is the practice of connecting irrelevant links to a Web site so that it generates more traffic.
• Keyword stuffing refers to filling the Web site pages with more 'searchable' words, and not words or phrases related to the contents of the Web site.
• Cloaking and hidden text are techniques adopted by black-hatters to dupe the search engine spiders and viewers respectively. In cloaking, the actual link of the Web site is 'cloaked' by a 'made-for-search-engine' link. In hidden text method, the text content of the page with 'unethically rich' keyword is merged with the background with the same color so that they are 'viewed' by the search engines and not by the visitors of the Web site.

All of the above methods clearly point at duping search engines as well as prospective visitors. Why do people still adopt black-hat SEO strategies? The reasons are many. With millions of Web sites competing on the Internet, getting a decent page ranking is extremely difficult. It requires a systematic and meticulous approach, and it may take time. Those who do not have the patience or intelligence to wait for the normal SEO adopt the black SEO practices.

Another important reason is the lack of awareness about the consequences of this practice. Many SEO services promise magical results to their clients and lure them to adopt spamming and other unethical practices. As long as the clients see their Web sites on the first page of the search engine page result (SERP), they are happy. After a few days, when they experience an unusual 'traffic jam', the SEO agents re-appear with different claims and they look for new strategies to exploit their clients!

If you want to get good page ranking for your Web site, the first thing you must do is to get educated about various SEO practices. How will you judge a SEO services provider if you are not aware of what is acceptable in the industry? Google provides a lot of information about acceptable SEO practices to educate its users and encourage the practice of organic SEO. If you are looking for SEO outsourcing and want more guidance about good SEO practices, you may approach a reputed SEO services company in India.

The proverb 'Slow and Steady Wins the Race' is aptly made for SEO practices. Don’t expect magic from a SEO services provider. Ideally it takes about 3-4 months to start seeing the results of your SEO efforts for an existing site and up to 9 months for a new domain.

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