If you have been in the SEO game for any amount of time, you have almost certainly succumbed to the temptation to take short cuts at some point in your experience. I have been there as well.
Businesses Want Results
Many business decision makers don’t care to hear about how “white hat SEO takes time”, especially when they are being outranked by competitors, affiliate marketers, and spammers. SEO performance is typically under a focused microscope from the start.
There have been multiple cases where I experimented with gray hat and even minor black hat tactics. And sure, they may deliver a short bump up in traffic. In the end, the brief burst of traffic and risk of getting slapped in a new algorithm update from Google are simply not worth it.
This is why I preach White Hat SEO and will push back on clients who ask me to accelerate performance artificially. Ethical SEO takes time, so there is no option but to have patience. Put in the work, pay the dues, and show Google that you are playing on the same field as everyone else who follows the rules.
Infographic: SEO Recidivism
This week, the following Infographic came to my attention. It well articulates the quandary that SEOs around the globe face on a regular basis.
Have You Been There?
Like I said, I had moments of weakness and dabbled in Gray Hat and Black Hat SEO during my earlier days of search engine optimization work. Have you too? How did it go? Did you have to swing back away from the dark side to fix a mess? Please share in the comments. We can all learn from each other.
Related Content from Return On Now: White Hat vs. Black Hat SEO
Tommy Landry
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