Search Engine Optimisation

Ten-Commandments-SEO-52x200Search Engine Optimisation, or in short SEO, has become an established industry which is designed to help websites become more attractive to search engines, resulting in higher ranks in a specific industry related and relevant search result.
YHP have been in the search engine industry since the prominent days of AOL. If you used AOL yourself then you would remember how primitive search used to be in 1996. In principal the core foundation of search has not changed. The result delivered must be the most relevant to what the user has searched for.
Unlike the AOL days the internet today is flooded with information (cluster data), making search such as the one used by AOL redundant. User behaviour, and the amount of data available, demands a smarter search engine that can “read your mind”. Google for example has hundreds of formulas that apply when hundreds of others take place making search engine technology a science. User expectations show no mercy when a search engine can’t deliver the correct result quickly!
With this level of technology, there is clearly a required (to some extent demanded) standard that websites need to meet, helping search engines read > process > save > deliver results to the end-user. This is what we call in the industry “spider food”. Spiders in this instance are search engines and the food is what we give them to eat (read). If the food is unique and there is much of it the spider will come back for more and stick around much longer making you a priority over others.

SEO STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

Is your SEO guy qualified? The most probable answer to this question is no. SEO has been an ever-growing industry and is now at a point that requires an individual to be qualified. One can study online marketing but to study SEO would mean to know each search engines formula which is simply not possible. It’s for the same reason Coca Cola don’t publish their Coke taste formula. That leaves individuals with the option to experiment with onsite meta and settings or offsite backlinks, blogs and social media (there are thousands of settings that must be balanced). Over the years hundreds of different methods have developed, promising the website owner great search results, which in most cases is very short lived. What does that leave you with? You can get plenty of information from Google about SEO methods that are NOT approved. On Google forums you can also read about many APPROVED methods. What you won’t find is “the method” that gets you to #1.  Currently the only safe way to know for sure whether your SEO guy is up to date with ethical SEO methods is to ensure he is a Google partner.

YHP have been in the SEO business for over 15 years, having also developed an in-house search engine (SEONATOR). With the amount of research we have done and in-house software we have created, your results can be pre-calculated to give your website the advantage it needs to leave your competitors behind. We have provided plenty of information on our website that will reinforce our experience and hopefully give you the confidence that YHP is the right partner in search engine optimisation and online marketing.

WHITEHAT VS BLACKHAT SEO

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There is a lot of controversy online about what is considered to be Whitehat and Blackhat SEO. You will find hundreds of forums and information around both subjects but for the sake of simplicity I will explain it as follows: Blackhat SEO > To intentionally manipulate a search engine to rank one website over the another. This would require the “Blackhatist” to know a significant part of the search engine’s formula and trick it to think one thing when in fact something completely different applies. One example is “keyword stuffing (onsite SEO) or the purchasing of “backlinks” (offsite SEO). Whitehat SEO> No intentional involvement around the off-site SEO plus ensuring the website design including content is as per the search engines guidelines. This will ultimately lead to organic growth and reputation, which if not done correctly could take years or not happen at all!

Today’s search engines (especially Google) have become much smarter and can quickly identify Blackhat SEO, resulting in search penalisation (dropping out of the ranks) and sometimes complete blacklisting of the URL. The next logical question is “Why create Blackhat SEO when Whitehat can get you there as well?” The quick answer is TIME AND MONEY. Sometimes Blackhat SEO will get you there quickly and the reward might possibly outweigh the risk. In some industries, such as the sex and medical industry, the Blackhatist knows the site will be penalized and
drop out of the search once the search engine identifies the trick, but the profit made in such a short period
of time would be worth it. Hence, a new site is created and Blackhated to the top several times a month if
required, in most cases such industries also resort to heavy spamming just to generate a quick but effective
profit.

NEW GENERATION AND OLD GENERATION SEO

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Up until 2011, some basic Blackhat SEO tricks worked very well for a very long time. (to view Google upgrade dates have a look here >> http://moz.com/google-algorithm-change). Just around that time, Google introduce new and effective filters (Panda, Penguin and co.) also called algorithms. These new formulas have been a game changer for many SEO companies and site owners that have been using very common
Blackhat practices to rank their websites. Today there is a very fine line between Blackhat and Whitehat
SEO, a fine line that requires regular and constant adjusting with the acceptable range of popular search
engines.

If someone says “I can guarantee #1 Google results”, be very cautious, do your research first and get another opinion. For more information on Google algorithms and calculations please follow my blog.

 

DO YOU NEED HELP RECOVERING FROM UNTHICAL SEO PRACTICES?

 YHP specialize and can help with the following website conditions:

  • Your site lost ranks because of prior SEO methods
  • Backlink removal services and regaining ranks
  • Improving onsite SEOs
  • Restructuring of offsite link neighbourhoods

 

Simply submit your details below and get your ranks back as quickly as within 3 weeks!