SEO and SEM Ethical and Legal Considerations
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MKT-315 SEO vs. SEM
Discussion Questions:
What are some ways that organizations engage in unethical SEO/SEM tactics? Provide examples from the case you found.
Make a clear distinction between ethical and unethical practices.
What are the benefits of being ethical?
Local Lighthouse Corp, a California SEO company was sued by Google in September 2015 for false advertising and misrepresentation that they were Google contractors or “Google Local Listing Representatives” (Bergen, 2016). An influx of complaints came to Google as they discovered their company name was being used by Local Lighthouse even though they were not officially affiliated with each other. Telemarketing robocalls were distributed to small businesses urgently advising them to take action and update their Google accounts. Due to the increase in unethical SEO tactics, Google created an online safety website to teach and warn consumers and help businesses to protect themselves from these online threats.
The main reason why this is unethical is that it’s not honest, transparent, and misleading to people. Unethical SEO uses “black hat” techniques to gain clicks in a manipulative way due to cutting corners in order to get quick short-term results. Unethical SEO doesn’t focus on quality, but more on quantity.
Some unethical tactics can include:
Text is hidden – e.g.: white text is “hidden” on a white background, text can be “hidden” behind images or a size zero font can be used.Links are hidden or made to appear less obvious so to a website visitor – e.g.: links can be made into the same font colour as the main content.Making use of automated queries without the permission from search engines.A method of “cloaking” is used whereby content is submitted to search engines in such a way that some text is not clearly obvious or apparent to a targeted audience.Too many keywords and hidden text are used on a website. This is known as keyword stuffing. Online users are generally not appreciative of this.Javascript re-directs can be used whereby search engines are directed to a web page that is different from the one that is expected.Using duplicated content.Exploiting security whereby viruses or badware can be installed the moment a website or page is opened by a user.Trading links – many websites have a habit of trading links. This can be very misleading and disruptive to an online user.Creating false doorway passages to direct users to other websites that may contain irrelevant content or a collection of more links.Plagiarising or using auto-generated content with a high keyword density
(OPTIMUS01, n.d)
Ethical SEO on the other hand is all about producing accurate, honest, and quality content and uses ethical marketing tactics at the highest standards. There are no tricks and schemes, messaging is clear and concise, and information is readily and easily available to consumers from the website to social media marketing and offline marketing. If a marketing message is promising a certain result with a business's services or products, it is accurate and doesn’t exaggerate it for money. If there are certain limitations, disclosures are properly communicated so that consumers are well aware of what they are purchasing.
Some examples of ethical SEO practices include:
Different links for separate website pages can be createdKeywords and content that is used is information that is relevant to a website visitorInbound links (links within a website) can be created. These can be useful if advertising through a social media website.Websites can be updated regularly with relevant information. These can take the form of press releases, articles and / or blogs.Keeping up to date with the types of keywords a target audience is consistently using. This way, keywords within content are built to cater for a customer or client, achieving better rankings, as well as giving a website more credibility. Using keywords properly and sufficiently encourages a target audience to regard and remember a website as being reliable for the information that they seek.Links are not exchanged with other websites of a low quality or containing information that is not relevant to a targeted audience.Adding a sitemap to a website can be easily found by search engine spiders and helps to better index the entire site.
(OPTIMUS01, n.d)
The benefits of being ethical online are all positive. Although ethical SEO practices might take longer to create, they foster trust and authority online and with the public. This creates a domino effect, builds trust online and offline, and ranks your website higher on search engines. It also causes happy customers who are willing to write a positive review for the service or product that was purchased or experienced. Sure, it’s easy to write a complaint online, but positive word of mouth is still the number one marketing review that any business would want for their company to succeed and have longevity.
References
Bergen, M. (2015, September 16). Google sues Seo shop for robocalling businesses and pretending to be google. Vox. https://www.vox.com/2015/9/16/11618640/google-sues-seo-shop-for-robocalling-businesses-and-pretending-to-be
Ethical Seo vs. unethical seo | OPTIMUS01. (n.d.). https://www.optimus01.co.za/ethical-seo-vs-unethical-seo/
Liew, R. (2022, May 25). Ethical marketing: Definition, principles, & examples. SEO Blog by Ahrefs. https://ahrefs.com/blog/ethical-marketing/
Tips to stay safe & secure online - google safety center. Tips to Stay Safe & Secure Online - Google Safety Center. (n.d.). https://safety.google/security/security-tips/
