Organic SEO - More than just free listings

When you think of "organic SEO" (search engine optimization), you probably limit your thoughts to the “free” or unpaid listing on search engine results. However, there are different ways to achieve such listings and for the more credible SEO firms, “organic SEO” also applies to HOW they achieve top results.

Search engine optimization companies can generally be divided into two categories. "White Hat" search engine positioning firms focus primarily on a content-based approach and avoid tactics that undermine or deceive the major search engines. "Black Hat" SEO companies typically rely largely on a technology driven approach, that many times ignore the search engine’s terms of service.

Although both approaches can achieve high rankings, a search engine optimization company that interprets and applies the word "organic" more universally believes that a "Black Hat" tactic is not "organic SEO." They approach search engine optimization similar to how Google grew in popularity, organically, and through providing good content and results (rather than relying on mass media advertising).

The following are just some of the comparison differences between the two approaches taken by SEO firms.

Information vs. Technology Loopholes:

Studies indicate that search engine users primarily seek one thing: credible information. They are not investing online time to be entertained or “wowed” by fancy sites or splash pages. They are not looking for digital art. An “organic” search engine optimization company that is truly practicing "organic SEO" recognizes this and refuses optimization work when prospective clients insist that content addition is not an option. Technology-driven SEO firms will allow a practice to leave its website as it is, even if it offers no substantive information. This is because their work is largely technical and designed to trick the search engines into showing content that it would not otherwise. Although there are acceptable technical aspects that any good search engine optimization firm will use, such as relevant page titles and meta tags, there are many more unacceptable methodologies including cloaking, redirects, multiple sites, keyword phrase stuffing, hidden links, and numerous others. A company practicing "organic SEO" will avoid these.

Building A Resource vs. Chasing SE Algorithms:

For those somewhat familiar with SEO, you may be familiar with the terminology, search engine algorithms, which are used to help engines index their listings. Search engines modify algorithms for two reasons. One is to improve results using their most recent research on users. The other is to remove sites that are ranked artificially high. Such changes raise panic in SEO firms, especially "artificial SEO" firms who discover that their core trick no longer works and even may have gotten their clients websites’ removed all together.The websites that typically remain highly ranked, even through these algorithm updates are sites that have value to their visitors and are seen as a resource for their industry. Organic SEO firms generally do not have go back and redo all their work to react to algorithm changes. Artificial search engine optimization companies scramble, looking for a new technical loophole to re-attain the rankings it lost, while organic SEO firms continue adding valuable information-rich content, increasing your website’s value and solidifying its rankings.

Attracting Good Links vs. Link-building Schemes:

Inbound links are critical to the success of a natural listing campaign. But there are different ways to go about it. Firms that employ "organic SEO" will look at the website and find ways to make it something that other sites would want to link to. Artificial SEO tries to find ways to get links pointing to this site without adding anything of value. The latter usually incorporates reciprocal linking schemes, link farms, purchasing text links, and more.Any decent search engine optimization company should ensure your website is listed in the popular directories, like the Yahoo Directory and the Open Directory Project. An organic SEO firm also continually seeks industry specific directories where your site should be listed. Generally speaking, though, "organic SEO" means your site evolves into something that has real value to your prospects.

Learning from SE Research vs. Exploiting Search Engines:

Search engines continually invest in expensive research on what their users expect to see when they conduct search queries, and no company has a bigger vested interest in giving the results their users want than the engines themselves. An "organic SEO" firm will try to learn the results of this research by continually examining websites that figure prominently on top results over an extended period of time. In doing so, the SEO firm using "organic SEO" not only makes the website better for search engines, it leverages the search engines’ research so that the website offers what their users desire. Artificial optimization firms have no real interest in these studies and prefer finding the next technical loophole to exploit, particularly after recent ones no longer work.This also brings up a point about the experience of the users after they find your listing. Since artificial search engine results only focus on loopholes, they don’t invest in finding out what users want, which defeats the whole purpose. In short, you may get visitors, but they will be brief, short-term visitors that do not find what they are looking for and immediately leave.

"Organic" Growth:

An organic SEO firm also looks at a good website as a growing organism, where an artificial SEO company is ok with things remaining continually static. An organic SEO website builds upon itself and learns how to grow and thrive within its search engine environment.
So if you are wanting to be "organic" in your search engine marketing, think of your website like organic foods. What makes them organic isn't just the end product, but the process it takes to grow it. It may also require more work and attention, but the value of the end product is much higher.

Bill Fukui
Page 1 Solutions