Search Engine Optimization News Blog

A poll was started a few weeks ago by the Search Engine Round Table to see how people felt about reporting competitors for ‘black hat’ SEO tactics or spam.

The results, released late Friday, were surprising.

70% of those polled said they would NOT report shady tactics if they saw competitors using them. Among the reasons cited was a general consensus of an unwillingness to get involved, a reluctance to judge, and even a grudging admiration of SEOs who are willing to ‘black hat’ their way to the top.

The discussion was continued at Sphinn over the weekend, with numerous comments being made that generally verified the poll results.

Basically, people said either that they did business in the gray area themselves and feared retaliation, that they would rather steal a competitor’s tricks than report them, or that they just wished they had the guts to try out some of the schemes they’ve seen.

However, a poll earlier in the month run by the Search Engine Journal yielded a much different response, with SEOs and private website owners alike stating that they would indeed report spam or clearly unethical behavior, particularly if it was impacting one of their personal sites.

Perhaps the earlier poll, far preceding the latest SEO scandal of the fake story about the 13 year old’s credit card scam, simply hit at the right time as Google was in an uproar over penalties and Page Rank modifications.

Certainly the latest numbers include those who admiringly shook their heads at the sheer audacity of Lyndon Antcliff’s stunt, which racked up 1500 links for his client in less than a week.

Is it an ‘if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em world?’ Are our only options to run and tattle and get labeled a snitch, to shrug and look the other way, or to wish we’d thought of it first and set to duplicating as fast as possible?

Google seems disinclined to tolerate such behavior - and really, folks, black hat only gets you so far before Google wises up and sends you packing- but now we hear the snippy discussion as to whether Google even has the right to regulate honesty.

Guess what? If you come play poker at my house, you get thrown out for cheating - and it’s my house so I get to decide what constitutes cheating. Google gets to set the limits in their search engine game.

What it all boils down to is what it always boils down to: keep your own nose clean. Don’t engage in any behavior that could be construed as manipulating, and concentrate on building your site with honest, organic linking and strong, user friendly content.

As for reporting, that’s your own personal call; I for one will report blatant spamming and unethical tactics without a hint of hesitation. As long as I have nothing to be ashamed of, I refuse to be taken advantage of by those who do.