SEO Blog

There’s sometimes an assumption that Black Hat SEO is dead and buried. The techniques have been ousted by the search engines and rendered useless. However, that doesn’t mean that people don’t keep trying.

Unscrupulous types will use Black Hat SEO to get quick gains. For example, if you have signed up to a dodgy SEO service that promises top Google rankings within a month, they might well deliver. But they will do so by damaging your site.

One technique is to build a link farm inter-connecting hundreds of unsuspecting sites. This will give you hundreds of new links, some of which might be reasonably strong, helping you leap up the rankings. Unfortunately this is against Google’s rules.
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There’s an old adage that you get what you pay for.  So if you pay top dollar, you can expect the very best, whilst of course the opposite is true of anything that costs next to nothing. However, is it really possible to get cheap SEO without sacrificing quality?

There are pros and cons when you look to cut corners, that’s inevitable. So here are a few things to look out for when it comes to saving a few pounds on cheap SEO:

1. Don’t believe unrealistic promises

If somebody is offering cheap SEO, don’t get lured in by the promise of untold fortunes and a guaranteed top ranking in Google. Search engine optimisation, when done properly, will take time. If they are providing an ethically run service, then they will struggle to achieve such lofty positions in a short period of time.
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SEO is far from black and white. There are so many nuances and subtle tweaks that can make all the difference. There are also those techniques that are slightly risqué; not black hat, but certainly not white hat either. In short, there is a lot to learn about SEO other than what is immediately on the surface.

Let’s look at reciprocal linking. It is frowned upon by search engines, especially when it is done with the passing of money or other benefits. A site owner with numerous domains should certainly think twice about linking them all together, especially if they are hosted on the same server, under the same name. Search engines aren’t stupid and this kind of activity will lead to penalties.

But what about where it is a little less cut and dry? Is it possible to gain from reciprocal linking? Well, as we know, links are the lifeblood of search engines. They need them to navigate the maze of websites and to effectively index each page they encounter. So we know that having a strong link from a relevant source will bring authority with it.
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Search engine optimisation is by definition a series of processes designed to make a website stronger and improve its chances of gaining an improved ranking within SERPs for a range of key terms. When everything is done properly, this is exactly what you should achieve; however, there are a few pitfalls that you need to be aware of.

Whilst SEO is something that all websites need to do, it isn’t looked upon too kindly by the search engines. Their algorithms have become increasingly complex to rid the internet of some of the more damaging SEO techniques (known as black hat SEO) that were so virulent many moons ago. This all means that you have to be really clever and make sure that you are always adhering to the search engines codes and statutes.
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If you have added toxic links to your site, deliberately or inadvertently, the consequences can be dire. Search engines may dock you numerous rankings across the board and could even have you removed entirely; this is the very definition of an SEO disaster.

So if you have these links coming into your site and it is suffering as a consequence, what can you do? Well, first of all, get rid of the link and any others that may be devaluing your linking strategy. Whilst a good number of links is key to improving the strength of a site, they have to be the right kind and can’t be ill-gotten.

A toxic link is essentially anything coming from a website that is considered disreputable; perhaps they are known to sell links (often known as a link farm), have a reputation for spreading malware or have been found to be spamming Google – none  good news for you. Don’t pay for links from questionable sources and always keep an eye on who exactly is linking in at all times.

The recovery of search engine rankings can take time. Although after your pages have been re-indexed and the linking process evaluated again, you should begin to notice a few upward arrows. Essentially you’ll be starting again, although with the significant advantage of already having your content and other SEO work already intact.

Essentially, when you upset Google its best not to try and fight it. If there is something on your site that shouldn’t be there, whether or not it is there by your own hand or not, get rid of it. If you can’t immediately find the offending toxic link in your midst, then I’m afraid you’ll have to go through and remove any links that you can’t knowingly trust. This is the only sure-fire way to ensure that you get the offending article and make your peace with Google, Bing et al.

If you are suddenly plummeting down through the rankings, then you should try to contact Google directly. Their advisors will be able to let you know if there are any reasons, beyond simple algorithmic changes, that you should be aware of. This is often the only way that you can find out if the issue lies with toxic links or elsewhere in your optimisation attempts.

Fundamentally though the best advice is to not get involved with anything online that you don’t fully understand. If you’re paying money for links, make sure that it is from a legitimate source or don’t bother – you’ll just end up wasting your time and money. Don’t do anything that contravenes search engine rules – which basically means using your common sense.

It’s hard to believe that keyword stuffing was ever acceptable and that it did in fact help many sites to rank higher in the search engines. Today this is no longer the case. The likes of Google have cottoned on to these sites that used keywords at a density of up to (and often beyond) 20%, adjusting algorithms to ensure that they can no longer fool the system.

Keyword stuffing was, as the name suggests, all about getting as many keywords on a page as possible. This in turn was supposed to result in higher rankings on the major search engines and therefore drive more traffic to a site. Thankfully this practice has now been outmoded and all but eradicated. However, that doesn’t mean that some website owners aren’t still tempted to give it a go.
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