The vast number of emails I get from SEO companies promising to get my website on page 1 of Google is quite amazing. These firms must not be doing their homework because my website is already on page 1.

Most often, SEO experts who spam your inbox are snake-oil salesmen reincarnated, using unethical techniques to drive search ranking up. If you’re a novice to search engine optimization, you may be tempted to contact one of these firms – especially those who offer an enticing ploy of not charging until they achieve vague result. The problem is that in search engine optimization there is the right way (“White Hat” methods) to achieve good results, and the wrong way (“Black Hat” methods).

Black Hat Methods Can Get You Blacklisted

SEO firms that employ “black hat” methods such as keyword stuffing, hidden text, cloaked and doorway pages, link farming, and blog spamming, can indeed improve your search rankings short-term, but these techniques violate search engine terms of service, putting your website at risk of being banned. Search algorithms identify SEO trickery and will eventually blacklist your site from future searches, keeping potential customers from being able to find you. It happens every day, and quite often business don’t even realize it until much later.

Costly fees necessary to reinstate your site’s SEO status and integrity

One day your website appears on page 1 of Google and you happily pay the charlatan’s SEO fee; the next day, your website has been “blacklisted” and doesn’t appear on any search engine. Now that great deal is going to cost you more money, time and resources to correct the damage done.

The first clue a SEO firm may be unscrupulous is the fact they promote themselves via unsolicited emails; if they market their own company by using unethical spam techniques, how ethical will they be in their SEO practices to promote your company? Not very, so remain diligent and discerning when choosing a firm to do search engine optimization for your business website.