Comments on: Is Blackhat SEO Unethical?

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:25:43 +0000

Hi Markus,
Glad I could help you!

By: markus

markus — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:47:35 +0000

Great posting – i did not know the term blackhat seo – so you got me reading .. and then a found a refreshing article .. well done..
Will use this term in my consulting …like the work ..

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:28:26 +0000

Hi Andy,
Very true and funny point about the eBay PDF about SEO, do people actually still buy those?

By: Andy @ iNET SEO

Andy @ iNET SEO — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:01:50 +0000

I think these thoughts have been echoed above but if you know what you are doing, then there is no point in looking at any ‘black hat’ techniques. I have always found that these techniques have normally been performed by people who don’t know what they are doing and will use the e-bay-bought PDF guide as their bible!

At some point, it will all come unstuck if you try to cheat!

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 23:58:42 +0000

Hi Spiney,
Good comment and being honest is great advice!

By: Spiney

Spiney — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:44:10 +0000

the boundaries between black & white (hat/shoes/coat) are becoming grey , if polarity or balance is necessarily ‘light & shade’ complimentary opposites, DUALITY sometimes its worth arguing the opposite of what it is you want
maybe this ‘philosophy’ doesn’t translate directly into SEO, but if the truth could be known, it would always need the untruth to substantiate… be honest (to a point) but dont downplay all your best assests, which ultimately (of course) are originality & quality – whatever it is you do

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:51:34 +0000

Hi Lorraine,
Well put, I agree that blackhat SEO is dumb and being in it for the long haul is always the right approach!

By: Lorraine Grula

Lorraine Grula — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:50:36 +0000

Hi Nick.
After reading the article and all the comments, it seems like black hat is not necessarily unethical, but it is kind of DUMB. Well, let me call it short sighted instead. I personally do not want to risk it since I am in this for the long haul.
Thanks!
Lorraine

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:19:20 +0000

Hi Cincinnati Web Design,
Thanks for the kind words and for reading. You are correct, as long as there is not any misrepresentation, then you should be fine…

By: Cincinnati Web Design

Cincinnati Web Design — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:44:26 +0000

Great article. I’ve been doing SEO for a little over a year now and it seems that the line between whitehat and blackhat seems to be getting grayer and grayer. What is a small company to do that sells the same thing as a huge company? If they aren’t misrepresenting what they are selling is it blackhat? Yea the debate rages but in time I think as long as your honestly representing yourself, products, and business you will be OK.

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:53:04 +0000

Hi MasterLinker – Good point, my thought has always been is to not take the risk as I have personally seen sites get penalized and I personally think that is it not worth it…but since it is a free country (and web) then people can do as they please

Hi Michael – Excellent point, profitability is what it all comes down to! Thanks for the comment!

By: Emma Haller

Emma Haller — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:52:19 +0000

I personally believe that a site well optimised for accessibility (w3c.org) normally gives you a great grounding for starting external SEO techniques.
Blackhat SEO is wrong (in my opinion) but it does get quick results, however, the results are not long lasting.
If those links are removed from your site or the sites linking to you then your ranking will drop Plus if you are discovered by Google (not likely from what i have seen) then you will be heavily penalised.
A well optimised site has the advantage of being indexed thoroughly by search engines such as google and therefore being listed organically with the help of a strong whitehat SEO link building campaign.

By: Michael Martine

Michael Martine — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:25:33 +0000

Google is fond of saying it’s their index, and they can do whatever they want with it. And we can do whatever we want with our sites. Pitting those two things against each other isn’t unethical at all. Whether it’s profitable or not is a different matter altogether.

By: MasterLinker

MasterLinker — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:18:59 +0000

Just because something is against Google’s guidelines DOES NOT make it unethical. There is absolutely nothing illegal or unethical about not following Google’s subjective guidelines. You are simply not following Google’s rules for being included in their index. That’s all.

However, the goal of most people’s SEO efforts is to rank higher in Google. Therefore, by not following Google’s guidelines you give Google the right to punish you with respect to your rankings in their index. It’s Google’s game and if you are going to play it, you have to play by Google’s rules in order to win.

So while not playing by Google’s rules doesn’t mean you are unethical, it does open up the possibility that Google will punish you in their SERPs.

By: Nick Stamoulis

Nick Stamoulis — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 10:09:04 +0000

Hi Tanmay – Very good points, it is a choice for sure…much like breaking the law…thanks for reading!