Certain industries spring up as companions to large corporations or lifestyles. With the advent of the internet, first there were websites, then came search engines, and finally came companies and individuals with all the secrets to making the websites rank highly in the search engines. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has been around almost as long as search engines, although when the first search engine was introduced, there was not a great need for SEO. The overall number of websites was very small and almost all websites were of a certain quality.

Currently, however, the internet has boomed and there are millions of websites created and operational all over the world. One would wish that all of those websites were perfectly relevant and offered quality information to potential visitors, but that is no longer the case. As with anything in life, one must take the good with the bad.

SEO

Regardless of a particular website’s quality, there are certain methods and criteria known for helping a website place highly in the search engines. These methods are referred to as search engine practices or SEO techniques. Again, there are good and bad techniques, but good and bad were not enough for the dry humor of the online community. Good techniques got the label, “White Hat SEO,” much like the moral, upright character in an old western movie.

The bad guys, of course, are the “Black Hat SEO” techniques. These methods are considered less than reputable and can have some rather nasty consequences for those who try them…and get caught. Unfortunately, most of the internet does not appear in pure black and white or good and evil. Some individuals and even SEO companies use a mix of techniques, but most stay much closer to borderline Black Hat SEO than the full-fledged, potentially deceptive varieties.

White Hat SEO

White Hat SEO practices simply mean a company or individual is following the rules or guidelines of a search engine. A quality SEO company or firm will know these guidelines and be able to stay well within their parameters. There is no deception with White Hat methods. The search engines “see” exactly what visitors will see, and there are no ethical liabilities on the page. The website is honest.

Black Hat SEO

On the other hand, Black Hat methods involve a great deal of deception and even lying. Some of the most common forms of Black Hat SEO are to hide keyword data or redirect visitors from one site to another. Search engines see and rank one web page while visitors see another upon clicking. To hide a page behind another, more search engine friendly page, is called cloaking and it is heavily frowned upon by search engines. In fact, websites can be completely removed from search engines for using deceptive tactics. It is always a good idea to steer clear of these methods, although many will argue that they are still fair game for dealing with search engines.

Quality SEO Firms

Much like good and bad websites, there are good and bad companies looking to help those websites gain the right exposure. A search engine optimization firm or company specializes in helping websites gain high listings in respective search engines. A quality firm will have a great deal of experience in promoting websites and will also be able to show evidence of past successes.

Of course, the rules of search engine algorithms and programs are not known, so a high quality search engine must have a great deal of experience with promoting previous websites. To understand the search engines, it simply is a matter of a great deal of research and trial and error. The more work a firm has done previously, the more effective they will be with any new websites. Quality SEO firms also avoid Black Hat practices as they can get a client banned from search engines. If a SEO firm fails to deliver on a promise by a certain amount of time, it is always a good idea to get a second opinion and perhaps try another firm.

The Future of SEO

So long as there are search engines, there will be SEO. There is a constant power struggle behind the scenes of the internet as search engines seek out the best, most relevant content and webmasters do what they can to “encourage” the search engines to rank their websites well regardless of content. It is a struggle that will continue indefinitely.