Chapter 1 - Search Engine Optimization—Black and White Hat Approaches
Introduction
The past few years have seen a tremendous growth in the area of search engine marketing (SEM). SEM includes paid search engine advertising and search engine optimization (SEO). According to the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO), search engine marketers spent over $13.4 billion in 2008. In addition, this figure is expected to grow to over $26 billion by 2013. Of the $13.4 billion spent on SEM, about 10% ($1.4 billion) was spent on SEO [1].
Paid advertising are the small, usually text-based, ads that appear alongside the query results on search engine sites (see Fig. 1). Paid search engine advertising usually works on a pay-per-click (PPC) basis. SEO is a process that seeks to achieve a high ranking in the search engine results for certain search words or phrases. The main difference between SEO and PPC is that with PPC, the merchant pays for every click. With SEO each click is free (but the Web site owner may pay a considerable amount to achieve the high ranking). In addition, recent research has shown that users trust the SEO (called organic) results and are more likely to purchase from them [2].
Industry research indicates that most search engine users only clicked on sites that appeared on the first page of the search results—basically the top 10 results. Very few users clicked beyond the third page of search results [3]. These results confirm the research conducted by Granka et al. [4], in which they found that almost 80% of the clicks on a search engine results page came went to those sites listed in the first three spots.
SEO has become a very big business. Some of the top optimizers and SEO firms regularly charge $20,000 or more per month for ongoing optimization. It is not uncommon for firms with large clients to charge them $150,000 or more on a monthly basis [5].
Because of the importance of high search engine rankings and the profits involved, search engine optimizers look for tools, methods, and techniques that will help them achieve their goals. Some focus their efforts on methods aimed at fooling the search engines. These optimizers are considered “black hat,” while those that closely follow the search engine guidelines would be considered “white hat.” There are two main reasons why it is important to understand the methods employed by black hat optimizers. First, some black hats have proven successful in achieving high rankings. When these rankings are achieved, it means that white hat sites are pushed lower in the search results. However, in some cases these rankings might prove fleeting and there are mechanisms in place to report such sites to the search engines. Second, some of the tools and methods used by black hat optimizers can actually be used by white hat optimizers. In many cases, it is just a matter of scope and scale that separates black and white hat.
While there are some studies dealing with SEO, notably 6, 7, 8, 9, academic research in the area of SEO has been relatively scant given its importance in the online marketing field. This chapter combines the academic work with the extensive practitioner information. Much of that information comes in the form of blogs, forum discussions, anecdotes, and Web sites.
The remainder of this chapter proceeds as follows. Section 2 provides a background on search engines in general and basic SEO concepts. After that a detailed discussion on the SEO process including keyword research, indexing, on-site factors, and linking ensues. The section that follows focuses on black hat SEO techniques. Legal and ethical implications of SEO are then discussed. Finally, implications for management, conclusions, and future research directions are detailed.
Section snippets
Background
A search engine is simply a database of Web pages, a method for finding Web pages and indexing them, and a way to search the database. Search engines rely on spiders—software that followed hyperlinks—to find new Web pages to index and insure that pages that have already been indexed are kept up to date.
Although more complex searches are possible, most Web users conduct simple searches on a keyword or key phrase. Search engines return the results of a search based on a number of factors. All of
The SEO Process
In general, the process of SEO can be broken into four main steps: (1) keyword research, (2) indexing, (3) on-site optimization, and (4) off-site optimization.
Black Hat SEO
Some of the basic tenants of black hat SEO include automated site creation by using existing content and automated link building. While there is nothing wrong with automation in general, black hat SEOs typically employ techniques which violate the search engines Webmaster guidelines.
For example, both Google and Yahoo provide some guidance for Webmasters. Since Google is the most widely used search engine and their guidance is the most detailed we will discuss their policies.
Google's Webmaster
Legal and Ethical Considerations
Obviously, the field of SEO raises important legal and ethical considerations. The main legal concern is copyright infringement. Ethical considerations are more complex as there are currently no standards or guidelines in the industry.
Conclusions
The growth in the number of Web searches, along with more online purchases, and the ability to precisely track what site visitors are doing (and where they have come from) has led to explosive growth in the SEM industry. This growth is expected to continue at around a 13% annual rate over the next few years, this is opposed to a 4% growth rate for offline advertising [34]. Given this growth and the profit incentives involved it is no wonder that some people and companies are looking for tools
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