Avoiding Website Pitfalls

Avoiding pitfalls is easier than you think.

Always ask yourself this question - If search engines didn't exist, would you still be doing what you are doing? If not, then don't do it.

There are two camps when it comes to search engine optimisaton. Black hat and white hat. Black hat techniques are crafty, sneaky and attempt to mislead Google into thinking your website is something it is not.

White hat techniques involve following good practice and helping visitors to find and navigate easily around your website. These activities are often encouraged by search engines as it helps them to present relevant information more easily to their own audiences.

White Hat Only

Stay away from black hat optimizing techniques. Black hat optimization consists of using any method to get higher rankings that the search engines would disapprove of, such as keyword stuffing, doorway pages, invisible text, cloaking and more.

Stick to white hat methods for long-term success. People who use black hat optimization are usually there for the short-term, such as in porn, gambling, and Viagra markets (just look at your email spam for more black hat markets). These black hat industry sites are usually around just long enough to make a quick buck.

Top Tip: Don't be one of these unethical sites!