Throughout search engine forums and newsletters all over the world, there’s plenty information about unethical companies who spam the search engines. Unethical search engine optimization will be likely to negatively influence a site’s reputation; this is why it’s so important hiring ethical SEO consultants and marketers. Granted, that’s a relevant discussion; but we should keep focus on the underlying motivations of SEO professionals. This is true in every industry, not just SEO. If the people in our industry can remember this when trying to create a SEO Company (and there are many factions trying to do this), it will go a lot smoother.
How should we handle clients who suppose they know what’s best for them, after reading about sleazy SEO tricks and shortcuts on the Internet. Suppose such clients will require something like a set of 10 doorway sites linking their domain. The thing is they refuse your advices of optimizing the actual website; they just want to expand their network with fringe hollow domains.
You know how it goes… search engines will only find such pages because you’d add a discrete link in the homepage pointing towards a sitemap of the doorway pages. Naturally, such pages serve only as bait; from the users standpoint they’re a nuisance, since it requires additional clicks to get to the actual site they wanted to see in the first place. In such a scenario, what should you decide: indulging the customer’s request, or take a stand concerning your favored views of website optimization? Once you think about it, creating those pages in such circumstance wouldn’t necessarily be regarded as immoral. What if the actual website the customer is trying to promote actually featured tons of pages with great content? By complying with the customers request, not only would you overlook that the task he requested would not positively support his strategy; you’d fail to point out the optimal solution that could be achieve by tweaking their actual website with proper search keywords.
Myself, I wouldn’t hesitate to encourage the customer to check after a less scrupulous SEO consultant that wouldn’t mind helping implement techniques which definitely wouldn’t bring a positive result. Certainly it can be hard turning a job that could bring in a decent amount of cash. I mean, besides the fact you could use a Page Generator to meet the client’s specific requirement…and you’d just be giving the customer exactly what he asked for? True, it would be absolutely easy figuring out ways to self-justify taking that easy cash. But the bottom line is that it’s your job as a professional SEO to do what you know in your heart is right. If it means you don’t get that particular job, then so be it.
If you keep your focus on preserving your expertise, there will be customers who appreciate that. Don’t think twice about losing a little bit of money when it will make up for much more profit, down the road. Take my word!
