Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is a relatively new concept and has grown from
the massive amount of traffic that websites such as Yahoo and Google can drive
to your website. Literally, being in the first 10 results of Google can
make or break a business and so the efforts that some companies will go to are
in many cases substantial.
However, there are a number of risks involved with SEO and failing to be aware of
them or choosing to ignore them could result in your website disappearing from
search results and a substantial amount of your turnover as well.
Google is the number one search engine and therefore the search engine that
everyone will target. It keeps its ranking algorithm for search results a
closely guarded secret and so no one can promise to get a website to the number
1 spot (or even on page 1). What works for one website may not work for
another and a technique that works one day may not work another day. It's
estimated that Google uses over 100 items of criteria when it comes to ranking,
but of course, no one knows what they all are.
However, there are a some universally agreed things that can be done to increase
your rating and most SEO companies will utilise a mixture of these methods when
working for you. The problem arises when these methods are abused by
unreputable SEO companies. Keyword spamming and link farming are two of
the most common methods of getting a website to the number one spot but they are
also the two most methods likely to get you banned from Google.
The thing you will notice is that it's the SEO companies' clients that are
punished - the SEO company doesn't suffer.
The key thing to understand is that SEO companies are unregulated and therefore
you must choose carefully.
Mass Media Design is an ethical SEO company. We do not do any keyword
spamming and nor do we carrying out any link farming. We keep abreast of
what is considered fair by Google and what is considered to be dubious. We
always err on the side of caution because we understand the importance of a
website to a business and we understand the impact of getting banned from Google
would have on a business.