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SEO (Search Engine Optimization) refers to a set of techniques that are performed on a website with the intention of increasing its search engine rankings. SEO can be performed during the programming stages, while planning and producing content, and by exchanging links or by building one-way links.

Now SEO is big business because if performed well it has the potential to catapult a website to the top of the search engine rankings. Getting on top of search engine rankings is like getting free front-page exposure in an oracle that caters to a billion Dollar market. Naturally, websites are keen to make it to the top and this has generated a massive demand for SEO firms.

Well, there are two types of SEO techniques – Ethical, also known as White Hat SEO and Unethical, also called Black Hat SEO. The lure of getting prime exposure has brought to the surface many firms and individuals who try to adopt unscrupulous SEO techniques to fool the search engines into giving a website top exposure. Of course, there are those too who work by the book – this is how both these techniques work:

WHITE HAT SEO TECHNIQUES

White hat SEO techniques are solid, credible, quality techniques that ensure that a website gets to the top and stays there. Here are some of the popular ones:

1. Great Content: For SEO purposes content is not just king – it is the emperor. If you upload quality content that is well written, informative and entertaining, then search engines will fall in love with your website. Of course, you must ensure that keywords relevant to your website’s theme are built into your content. Search engine algorithms are always on the lookout for websites that provide quality content that is of use to their surfers – so, well, content rules.

2. Programming techniques: SEO while programming a website involves placing search-engine-friendly text in the meta tags, building a clear and concise website structure that can bring up the searched-for content in a jiffy, using structural mark-ups, and building in tags in the title, subtitles and the footers of every content page.

3. Solid keyword research and use: Before developing content, you must figure out the most popular keywords relevant for your website’s theme. To do this you will have to conduct a thorough research using keyword tools provided by major search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Some SEO firms also use third-party software such as WordTracker for keyword analysis. Once SEO firms get their finger on the most expensive and effective keywords, they skillfully build them into the content.

4. Link building: SEO firms trade links with other reputed websites. When a website’s links spread, its search engine rankings automatically go up. Nowadays, may website owners get articles written and submit them to reprint directories, where other websites who need content can pick them up. Of course, the trick in article submission lies in including a resource box at the end of the article that points back to your website.

BLACK HAT SEO TECHNIQUES

Unscrupulous SEO firms use black hat SEO techniques to fool the search engines. These techniques are shortcuts that can take you here and there, but ultimately lead to a dead end. Here are some of the common black hat SEO techniques:

1. Veiled content: The website is stuffed with popular keywords that form part of the background color scheme, and hence are not visible to a surfer. The idea is to trick the search engine into picking up the hidden content.

2. Keyword-spammed content: There are SEO firms who do not get quality content written – instead, they plug in all blah-blah content that is spammed with keywords. The idea is the same – to trick the search engines.

3. Redirecting: Many unscrupulous SEO firms own a bunch of websites that have already been indexed by search engines. When you approach them for SEO, they may plant a code on their existing websites redirecting their links back to your website.

4. Cloaking: Using this technique, SEO firms direct specified content towards search engine spiders but do not hoist it on the website, because it is useless.

5. Tag spam: Meta-tags and other tags of a website, which are used by search engine spiders to quick-reference or index a website are spammed with keywords using this technique.

6. Links from link farms: Link farms represent a humungous amount of useless, content-less websites. Unscrupulous SEO firms use these link farms for building backlinks.

Black Hat SEO can finish a website

Remember that if you use black hat SEO tricks on your website, you might as well write it off. That is because search engine algorithms are getting smarter by the day and now can sniff out useless content, hidden text, redirections and other foul SEO methods. Once search engines figure out that a website is up to mischief then they blacklist it – and once blacklisted, a website is suspended from the search engine’s index and is not picked up until and unless all the black hat SEO is removed. Plus, when a website’s visitors come to know that it is using black hat techniques they will get put off and stay away from it.

To sum up, black hat SEO techniques can destroy a website or business opportunity, while white hat SEO techniques can make it flourish in the long run. Go ahead, make your choice!

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