Ethical SEO (search engine optimisation) refers to optimising a website within the guidelines provided by search engines. Ethical SEO techniques are also referred to as ‘white hat SEO’. Any techniques used to optimise a website outside of these guidelines is seen as ‘unethical’ or ‘black hat SEO’. These techniques can lead to your site being penalised by Google, or in the worst case scenario your site can be completely removed from the index altogether!
So if this is the case, why do people use black hat techniques?
Black hat techniques are used to increase your site traffic in a very short amount of time, and normally involve trying to trick a search engine. Google however will normally realise fairly quickly if this is the case, and the Google algorithms are constantly being updated to spot new techniques. Companies should beware of any company that promises or guarantees results, especially in a short amount of time. They are making promises that they cannot possibly keep, as they have no control over the search engines an no-one knows exactly how the search engine algorithms work except the engineers that develop them.
Ultimately SEO is about following best practices within the search engine guidelines. Using unethical techniques can result in a lack of trust and credibility from both your search engine and the end user, which will prevent you from ever ranking well.
