SEO TIPS: White Robe Wizardry Only, Please!

Black hat tricks aren’t the best way to optimize your site; they don’t last and they could get you in more trouble than it’s worth to indulge in them.

Grey hat is.. Well, a grey area. Usually grey hat is tricks that aren’t exactly banned by search engines like Google and aren’t really bad when done in the correct way and without intent to deceive, defraud or otherwise cause the search results to be unfairly skewed.

The main pitfall with grey hat is the potential for abuse, so caution should be used when considering any tactics that fall under that aegis. Just follow the ‘Don’t be evil’ rule, and you should have a pretty good notion of what constitutes a bad idea!

White hat is squeaky clean, pure as the driven snow, transparent, goody two shoes- OK, you get the idea. White hat SEO is what we all should be focusing on. It’s the one way to ensure lasting results, and it won’t ever get you in a pickle.

So what is White hat SEO? Just what this blog has been covering since day one. Approaching the internet world with the idea of building a successful website honestly, to attract real customers who want real information.

Step one: build a site! Make it simple. Make it easy to use. Make it interesting! You can work on inviting guests after you have a home to entertain in.

Step two: Decorate. Good content is your wallpaper, your carpet, the couch and chairs and coffee table. Without it all you have is an empty building – not very inviting!

Step three: Power it up. No good if nobody sees you, right? Build links carefully and diligently, watching out for traps like empty link exchanges that cause a PageRank drain, and try to hook into one or two main sources.

Step four: Send out invites for your open house. Advertise, campaign, and shout it from the roof – “The Party is Here!!” Use press releases, a Google ad campaign, blogging and whatever methods you can think of drive traffic to your door.

Step five: Offer refreshments, and ask them to sign the guest book. Make your guests want to stay, to look around, to come back and visit again. Give them a present; a widget or a tool, and offer them a freebie like an ebook if they take a minute to join the subscription list.

Step six: Promote, provide, protect. Promote your website by having the correct buttons available to be Dugg or otherwise voted for in the multiple social networkls across the net. Provide an easy way for your visitors to return in the form of an RSS feed or a reminder to add you to their favorites list. Lastly, make sure you protect all of their information, whether personal or financial – trust is the linchpin of internet commerce!

Once you have finished your SEO, you can take off your Gandalf hat and relax, content in the fact that white wizards only do good and not evil!