| Move to the top of the search results pages, increase | | | | appear on search engine results page ever again. One |
| your visibility, drive traffic to your site-with these | | | | example is the case of RICOH Germany. The |
| promises, it is easy to understand why many | | | | German web site of the Japanese office-products |
| companies are tempted to avail of the services of a | | | | manufacturer was "de-listed" by Google after the |
| search engine marketing company that use | | | | search engine discovered the site using spam |
| optimization techniques search engines like Google and | | | | techniques to bolster its rankings (the site has been |
| Yahoo! consider illegal. | | | | re-listed after the company apologized and its |
| Known as Black Hat SEO, these methods include | | | | webmaster made the modifications Google |
| adding hidden texts, creating doorway pages (or, as | | | | demanded). |
| Google defined them "pages created just for search | | | | If you're really unlucky, aside from getting your site |
| engines"), key word stuffing (i.e., bombarding your | | | | removed from the list, you might also suffer from the |
| content with too much keywords and phrases), using | | | | same embarrassing fate of BMW.de. While the |
| popular but irrelevant keywords and participating in link | | | | banning of web sites are never really announced |
| farms. | | | | (even to the company that owns it), Google's engineer |
| Despite the potential benefits they can provide you, | | | | Mike Cutts announced on his blog the removal of |
| however, Black Hat SEO should be avoided like a | | | | BMW.de's site from the search engine's index and |
| plague. | | | | even detailed the violations the web site committed. |
| First of all, the search engines could drop your rankings | | | | According to Mr. Cutts, the web site was banned |
| so low that even the most diligent of searchers would | | | | because it used "doorway pages". Reprimanding the |
| have a hard time finding your site. And a lowered | | | | site, he wrote, "That's a violation of our webmaster |
| ranking, as any business whose web site has been | | | | quality guidelines, specifically the principle of 'Don't |
| penalized can tell you, is never a good thing. | | | | deceive your users or present different content to |
| Kinderstart, a parenting web site for example, | | | | search engines than you display to users'." |
| experienced a 70% decline in traffic and 80% revenue | | | | To avoid getting penalized or banned, hire a reputable |
| decrease after Google penalized the site in March | | | | search engine optimization company and ensure that |
| 2005 for allegedly using Black Hat SEO techniques. | | | | only white-hat SEO tactics will be used. Remember, as |
| And if you think getting your ranks lowered is bad | | | | great as the promise of improved ranking may sound, |
| enough, then read this: in some cases, the search | | | | the penalties the search engines could impose upon |
| engines even ban sites and remove them from their | | | | your site once you've been discovered to be |
| index list-this means that, unless you're able to | | | | employing the unscrupulous techniques are even |
| successfully appeal your case, your site will never | | | | greater. |