Black Hat? White Hat?
Black Hat? White Hat?
by Dr Tony Berg
A recent report in the Daily Telegraph (27 June) carried the headline: "If it’s too good to be true, it probably is".
Following the problems last year for BMW Germany, this story once again addressed the issue of 'black hat' search engine optimisation.
In the desire to be listed on page one in Google many search engine optimisation companies are tempted to use dubious techniques to fulfil unrealistic claims they have made about their skills.
The result is a black listed domain that is banned from search engine listings – a costly, even potentially catastrophic mistake.
The fact is that no company can guarantee a page one listing in Google. A White Hat search engine company will explain that to their clients and create a solution that is totally within the guidelines laid down by Google.
Our experience at Realnet is that we are able to position most of our clients on page one by building a well designed and carefully engineered solution that will stay in its top spot for a long time – without breaking any rules.
In more competitive areas extra work (and hence cost) will be involved to achieve top rankings.
Whether they are selling flower bulbs or used VW cars, we have been able to maintain top page one positions for our clients now for several years. The return on investment for these companies has been many multiples of the costs involved.
In the search engine world the old warning Caveat Emptor is still very much current.
Dr Tony Berg
Managing Director - Realnet Ltd
tonyberg@realnet.co.uk
Article originally published in Cambridge Network Connection magazine Issue 20, 01/08/2006.
"I would like to take this opportunity to thank you (Realnet)... for putting together a website for me that has produced the overwhelming majority of business for my company."
Jim Muelchi,
Absolutely Safe Surfaces