Search Engine Marketing Scams and You

An Informational Series for the Curious- part 1

The Internet is a vast place full of information, resources and, sadly, scams. Search engine optimization is a valid, useful tool to help boost rankings of legitimate companies and businesses. However, some companies are deceitful in their tactics. They can lead to loss of site credibility, loss of site aesthetics, and most of the strategies can leave your website banned from the search engines.

In this short series, “Search Engine Marketing Scams and You,” many deceiving tactics will be revealed and alternatives suggested. In order to make the World Wide Web a more reliable source of good, relevant information, Search Engines have started banning such activities as:

Hidden Text

Some SEO companies try to manipulate results by hiding text for the search engine spiders to read. They believe this action will increase their key word density and bolster their rankings on the search engines. Designers can hide text by changing the color to match the background of the site, so it is not readable by the public, but is by the search engine spiders. The trick to finding hidden text is to highlight blank areas of the page and if hidden text is present, it will be exposed when highlighted.

Most importantly to note, the search engines have adapted to this sketchy technique and will penalize entire websites because of it. When searching out an internet marketing firm, ask them if they use hidden text. Ask them if they have references for you to talk to, and lastly make sure you feel comfortable contracting with them. Ultimately, scams, including hidden text are out there and you have to be careful. Hidden text is a tacky, unscrupulous way to try to achieve good website positioning and the risks most certainly outweigh the potential benefits.

Noël Otten
Account Manager
Page1Solutions