What is white hat SEO?

In movies with a Wild West setting, actors would wear either black or white hats to give a simple visual cue to the audience as to whether they were playing the good guy or the bad guy. White hats were worn by protagonists, while black hats were usually found on villains.

SEO refers to the practice of “search engine optimization“. Search engines, such as Google, have a very complex algorithm by which they sort the returned results of a given search. How it works exactly is a jealously guarded secret, but we can conclude by inference that it is positively correlated to the number of visits and links to that site.

Since people rarely go past the first page of search results, the intention behind black hat SEO is to artificially inflate the search ranking of a website by using various methods that may or may not make any sense, and thus give the website a higher search result position than it deserves.

As you can imagine, this does not sit well with Google’s engineers. There are reported cases of people who managed to figure out the algorithm and use SEO to “game the system”, causing their website to rise to the first position of Google’s search results undeservedly. When this practice eventually gets discovered, Google has all mention of them stricken from Google’s general search results, which is equivalent to an online death sentence.

To summarize the above, we see why black hat SEO is such a bad practice, and overall a wrong attitude to have. It presumes that there are vulnerabilities in the Google search algorithm; these vulnerabilities can be exploited. However, it’s not a problem if it’s done in a “white hat” manner, which is the correct way to have a website rise the top of the search results.

There is only one way of doing “SEO” and that is to have a website chock full of unique material that people from all over the world genuinely up-vote, like, share, enjoy and recommend to one another. Everything else is a practice doomed to succeed briefly—before failing miserably.

Can I do my own SEO?

The search optimization for a company is a specialized strategy with many intricate aspects. Many business owners feel that they can assign this task to their employees while others feel it easy enough to do themselves. There is, after all, a lot of information on the internet; most of which is free to anyone who is willing to source it.

But can you do your own SEO? Or is there just too much to learn—and do—to make it viable. Should companies rather hire professionals to do their SEO, or is that a waste of money? Let’s explore the options you as a business owner or marketing manager have.

Be honest with yourself. If it were that easy, everyone would be doing it.

The skills that SEO requires

Blogging: So you read somewhere that blogging on a regular basis increases your SEO. Great! But how do you right blogs that actually generate traffic? What most people don’t know is that it takes at least 9 months of studying, and another 6 months of writing experience to actually get good at blogging. It’s a much better option to find a veteran writer who knows how to write compelling copy than trying to waste your own time generating poor results. Decent SEO companies emply such writers and keep them on staff exclusively for this reason.

Link building: You may think that link building is easy enough to understand. You read a few blogs about it and it makes sense. But link building is more than just posting your links on a bunch of websites. Relevance, popularity, trustworthiness and many other factors play a part in making sure search engines pick up your company website.

White Hat SEO: Most of the tips on SEO that are out there are the bottom level basics of optimizing your website. There are actually hundreds of various aspects to SEO that the average person doesn’t even know about. Much of SEO has to do with more than just landing pages and link building. There are designing and web developing aspects to SEO too.

Time constraints

In short, SEO is full of highly specialized strategies that change at a whim. Google is always adapting and implementing new ways to improve their search tactics. Keeping up with these algorithms is a full time job. No business owner could possibly have the time to learn, practice and implement all of the intricate details of SEO. The work that goes into search engine optimization takes more than just a few hours on the weekend, It is an ongoing, strategic battle that is only won by the best in the industry.

 Our advice: Hire a really effective company to handle your online marketing for you.

What Google looks for in search criteria

Companies who make a conscious decision to ignore Google are cutting at least 60% of their potential client base. Just about everybody uses a search engine to search for what they need. Word of mouth and yellow pages are slowly dissipating in the bright glow of internet searching.

So what does this mean for business owners? Adapt or die comes to mind. It’s up to all of us to learn what makes Google tick; and if we don’t, our companies’ bottom lines are sure to suffer.

Take note of some of the important features Google will look for when your industry type is searched for:

Understanding keywords

Many of us already know that having a whole series of keywords and phrases on a website makes it easier for clients to find. But think of a baker who wants to optimize his online presence. He can’t just use the word bakery and baking five or six times on his webpage. Most people don’t think that way. Terms like Buy Chelsea buns online or Custom baked cakes would be a good place to start if you wanted to really zone in on specific needs of customers.

Regular maintenance

Google spiders are constantly on the lookout for sites that change their content around on a regular basis. This includes adding relevant blogs, maintaining landing pages and posting content up that gets people talking. External forums are also part of this process. The more people can be referred to your site, the easier it will be for clients to find you at the top of Google’s search list.

Trustworthy content

If you’re just posting stuff for the sake of posting it, you won’t get anywhere. It’s all about posting content that actually helps people to do something. Believe it or not, companies that offer free advice are often the ones that get the business because clients are more likely to trust them. Trying to monetize every bit of info you put forth will not encourage people back and forth to your site.

Quality control

So now that you’ve got helpful info on your site, you’re okay, right? Well, not exactly. If your content is full of spelling errors, punctuation flaws or grammar mistakes, Google has an algorithm to pick that up too. The constant fixing of these types of problems will keep your website up to scratch and Google spiders will notice the upkeep.

It’s advisable for companies to get hold of a decent SEO copywriter or to hire a professional SEO service to optimize their online marketing. Experts in this field charge small monthly fees to keep your site and online marketing relevant and up to date. This includes social media, blogging, website upkeep and many other valuable services.

How important is blogging to your business?

When blogging first became popular it was more a means to keep a public diary of something you enjoyed doing or admired. However, since the advent of social media, this is less necessary because we make our moods, likes and dislikes known to everyone on a daily basis through forums like Twitter and Facebook.

But where does that leave the blogging arena? The fact is people still like reading about things they are interested in as well as things that pertain to their industry. Blogging is a great way to inform your audience about relevant factors in your business. Not only that, but if your company isn’t blogging, chances are Google won’t find you easily.

Blogging as part of SEO

Blogging is an important part of Search Engine Optimization (SEO). If your company is committed to adhering to all of Goggle’s search criteria, then you had better be sure to add blogging to your list. Having various blogs inside and outside of your website serves to make it easier for search engines to find your company through link building and keyword relevance.

The penguin, the panda and the hummingbird

Read about Google’s Panda update that was implemented in Feb 2011:  http://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-guide/google-penguin-panda-hummingbird/ According to Google, search engines now look for websites that regularly maintain the content on their website. Constantly changing and adding relevant, keyword rich content will boost your search criteria and make it easier for your clients to find you online.

Building links and piling up keywords

External blogs are just as important as internal ones. The more external sites that link to your webpage, the more relevant Google consider you to be. When these articles are interesting and packed with helpful information, they are more likely to be read by people who find your topic relevant. In addition, because your blogs are filled with keywords that pertain to your industry, they will heighten your Google search score significantly.

Know what you are talking about

Besides all of this, blogging creates a culture around what you do and how well you do it. By writing articles about interesting and informative topics, clients feel more likely to trust you with their business because of your apparent expertise.

If your company keeps its blogging up, it will maintain online relevance in many different ways. If you don’t have an in-house writer, these tasks can be easily outsourced to companies who provide this valuable service.

What colours your emotion?

You can never overestimate the importance of your company’s logo. The colour and shape it holds says more about your organization than you think. The fact that people’s emotions are inescapably triggered when they view colours, says a lot more about branding than what a lot of us realize.

But which colours invoke which emotions? More importantly, what is YOUR brand saying to customers about your business? Following trends from various popular brands, let’s explore the vivid messages that are conveyed by brand colour.

Red

When you see Coco-Cola, Lays and Wimpy brands, you immediately associate them with trendy. It’s all about what’s young and happening. Red conveys a message that speaks boldly to those who are attracted to strong, vibrant messages.

Green

Did you just made your logo green because you liked the colour? Think again. Green speaks of health, nature and calmness. BP successfully gives us the impression that their fuel is more eco-friendly than their competitors’.

Companies who want to blast out a strong, loud message should stay away from this one. However, if your brand intends on depicting an organic lifestyle or healthy living, then it’s the perfect colour to represent you.

Blue

If you want to convey a message of reliability and strength, you logo should incorporate lots of blue in it. Blue is also often used for social media brands as it delivers a feeling of the trust that’s associated with social interaction. If you are an open communicator and want to put this across to clients, then blue is perfect for your brand.

Orange

Orange is all about fun and friends. Your surf shop or party planning business would benefit from a nice orange logo. Think of Fanta, Nickelodeon and Harley Davidson. These are all about recreation and good times.

Purple

Pink, purple and magenta convey creative vision and inventiveness. If you want your clients to see that your company is proficient in coming up with great ideas that can benefit them, your logo should be crafted out of this colour.

Barbie’s logo may be pink because it’s feminine, but this brand is also well known for its diverse selections in creativity and style.

Yellow

Warm and positive, if your logo is yellow, your clients will get a sense of honesty from dealing with you. Clients who are careful to search out the best deal will gravitate to this colour because they feel that you are open and clear in your communication. Tyre companies, photography brands and couriers prefer yellow for their logos.

Grey

Black, white, grey and silver are neutral colours that send out a neutral message. If you want to come across as balanced, serene and composed, your line of clients may appreciate you for it. The objectivity of these colours will say that you know what you’re doing, and plenty of options are not necessitated by your clients.

Diversity

SA television giant Multichoice boasts most of the colours we’ve mentioned here. This is because they offer diversity. A multicoloured logo—like Google or Ebay—show clients that they have multiple options when dealing with this company.

How to write a compelling ‘About Us’ page

Clients who opt to visit your website will doubtlessly check your ‘About Us’ page first if they’ve never used you before. This page will hold a general body of information that gives your potential client a general overview of what you do and how proficient you are in doing it.

Getting a good idea of what information forms a compelling ‘About Us’ page is essential in drawing in customers to use your services and shun your competition. Here are some basic principles when endeavouring to write this descriptive page.

Answer the frequently asked questions

It helps to chat to your sales people and those in your customer service section. Ask them to list the ten most asked questions they receive from clients. Keep these on a notepad when you write your ‘About Us’ page and state the answers to these questions (without actually writing down the question itself).

Clients will appreciate the openness of information and gravitate towards your company because you’ve told them something that they wanted to know.

List your services

Certain clients won’t want to read your whole description but rather scan through it briefly. For this type of person, you will need to include a short list of your main services and/or products. Write this in bullet point form so that a rushed person can spot it when glancing over your page.

Be conversational

But for the person who wants to discover a more in-depth summary of your company, you’ll need some nice, readable content for this page. Be conversational in your approach and avoid the following styles when writing your ‘About Us’ page:

–          Being too ‘salesy’ – This will likely put the reader off instantly because no none likes having something hard-sold to them.

–          Too formal – Customers respond better to a page that’s casual in style as this generates trust.

–          Too braggy – Don’t blow your own trumpet too much. Rather adopt a style of professionalism that points out your strong points without getting too uppity about it.

Get an SEO expert

SEO writers who understand landing page and key word setups will be able to assist you with the content of your website. The ‘About Us’ page should be full of relevant information for the customer, but also for the  search engine that will bring the customer to your site in the first place.

The ‘About Us’ page is more important than you think, so don’t neglect it. Many a sale has been performed by this vital page before the client even got to the sales desk, so make it a good one!

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