SEO Techniques We Refuse to Use

At CaptureHits, we rely on our extensive experience in online marketing to help our clients achieve the best possible rankings in the search engines. Unlike many other "optimization" firms, we don’t rely on archaic optimization methods to temporarily increase a website’s ranking in the search engines.

We don’t make promises we can’t keep. And, we never employ questionable optimization techniques which can result in your site being banned or penalized by the search engines.

Instead, we ensure your optimization efforts are cutting edge by observing and researching the trends, mergers and technology enhancements used by the search engines. The end result—your site is properly optimized and you receive the online recognition you deserve without the fear of consequences of improper optimization.

Likely you’re wondering what constitutes improper optimization, right? At CaptureHits, we define risky optimization practices as “any technique which places a website in jeopardy of being banned or penalized; tricks the search engines into believing that a site has been properly optimized; and/or is unable to sustain a high ranking long-term without excessive updates or revisions.”

Optimization techniques used by our “competitors” which we do not use or endorse are the use of…

Cloaking Technology
Gateway/Doorway Pages
Stealth key phrases
Multiple Keyword Meta Tags
Bait & Switch
Spamdexing
Misuse of Content Pages
Text in a certain color or font size
Word Scrambling
Free-for-All (FFA) link or banner exchanges
Traffic Exchange Services
PageJacking

1) Cloaking Technology
Using some system to hide code or content from a user, and deliver custom content to a search engine spider. Cloaking efforts offered by many self-professed “optimization” firms may employ a new technique called “mouse-over cloaking. ”

Mouse-over cloaking works by creating a webpage, technically using a word scrambling technique (see below). When a visitor clicks on a site after performing a search query in the search engines, they are directed to a website or web page which is gibberish, but the search engines have indexed it highly. With just the slightest jostle of their mouse (common among all Internet users), the visitor is quickly re-directed to the site which has allegedly been “optimized.”

2) Gateway/Doorway Pages
A page designed as an entrance to a website. Many doorway pages are specifically created to rank high on a particular search engine. Sometimes referred to as a Gateway Page or a Welcome Mat Page.

3) Stealth key phrases
The process of tricking the search engine to read key phrases which do not actually exist. Stealth keywords are keywords that are generated by a CGI program when a search engine spider has been detected.

4) Multiple Keyword Meta Tags
Using two or three keyword META tags to increase the relevancy of a page. This technique is considered spam by most search engines and should be avoided.

5) Bait & Switch
The act of submitting one page to a search engine, waiting for the search engine to spider it, then replacing the page with another.

6) Spamdexing
The submission of pages that are intended to rank artificially high by various unethical techniques. These can include submitting hundreds of slightly different pages designed to rank high, small invisible text, or word scrambled pages.

7) Misuse of Content Pages
Different than building true content pages, these additional pages are created by performing a search in a search engine for a key phrase which is to be optimized on a given website. The results of the search query are then pasted into a new page within the website attempting to be optimized.

8) Text in a certain color or font size
This technique is used to fool the search engines by inflating the value of text (e.g. such as text in larger fonts, such as what would ordinarily be used as a headline), or using text in a very small font, matching the background color of the site. A variation of this is when a meaningless image is placed in the background of the website and white text placed over that background to trick the search engines.

9) Word Scrambling
Randomly sorting the words on a page is called word scrambling. A word scrambled page can be submitted to search engines for high ranking, yet the page will be unreadable by a human. By using cloaking, stealth, or other techniques, a web master can hide the scrambled page from all but the search engine spider.

10) Free-for-All (FFA) link or banner exchanges
These are places that allow anyone to add a link or banner, whether or not the subject or theme is relevant to the site. While they do not trick the search engines, it is a questionable technique because many search engines like to see links within a particular site be relevant to the site’s overall subject theme. (e.g. a sports related site should have links on sports—not on flowers, financial services or MLM opportunities.)

11) Traffic Exchange Services
Similar to FFA exchanges, traffic exchange services work by driving unqualified (junk) traffic to your site. For each visitor who generates a popunder, or who clicks on a banner or text link on your site, you are credited with traffic back to your website. Typically, exchanges work off a 2:1 ratio, which means for every two exchange visitors you create, you get one back on the network. Like it’s FFA cousin, this technique may work short-term, but long term your site will lose credibility in the search engines. (Incidentally, your visitor retention rate will decline as most visitors will rarely match your target audience.)

12) PageJacking
The process of duplicating a high ranking competitor’s page, but the page is redirected to your site. Many search engines, upon seeing a duplicate page will delete the competitor’s site from the directory leaving the fake page in its place.

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