If you are an Australian business that is looking for an SEO company, one of the first things you absolutely must do is determine what type of SEO services they offer. Not just whether or not they have a package plan or a customized plan for your business (tip: custom plans are always better than “on size fits all” plans), you have to find out if they use techniques considered white hat, black hat, or grey hat.

What exactly are hats in SEO?

The vast majority of searches happen on Google. That is probably how you landed on this page today—with a simple Google search. Because Google has such a large market share in terms of finding information through a search engine, when most SEO services say they are optimizing for search engines, what they really mean is that they are optimizing your website to rank in Google. What you have to know, though, is that Google sets a wide number of rules and policies that affect how websites are allowed to rank.

That’s where the hats come in. Hats are simply a way to categorize search engine optimization providers based on how closely (or loosely, if at all) an SEO company follows the rules and policies laid down by Google. Here is a bit more information regarding each hat and why the team at DPS is able to provide quality SEO in Sydney by sticking to a very specific “hat”.

White Hat SEO

Remember the rules we mentioned earlier? White hat search engine marketers follow those exactly. There is no deviation from those rules at all so it is for all intents and purposes the “purest” form of search engine optimization. By never deviating from the rules, there is zero chance that a site can ever be penalized.

For that reason, if you are looking for SEO in Sydney, you should always choose a white hat SEO company. Not because there is a moral obligation to not break the rules of Google but because there is no risk of a penalty ever happening.

The reason that is so important is because in terms of SEO Sydney businesses want to stay on top of the search engines for as long as possible. Your company is not looking for a few quick sales; you need to remain as high as possible in the search engines for as long as possible without having to worry about Google updates such as Penguin, Panda, or Hummingbird.

Grey Hat

SEO services that use grey hat techniques try to skate around the rules. They do not necessarily break the rules on purpose, but they are not afraid to bend the rules if they believe that they can get away with it. The reason they do this is because sometimes grey hat techniques can cause sites to rank faster and never be caught by Google.

The problem is that there is a very real chance that an SEO company using grey hat techniques will be caught. If you are looking for SEO in Sydney it is very important that you avoid these type of businesses because it is you who will suffer the consequences in the end. If you hire an SEO company, you are going to pay them a monthly fee to have you rank. You may rank high fairly quickly, but after a few months you may be given a penalty and knocked down a few places.

If the company that is running the SEO campaign is eventually caught breaking a rule instead of bending one (something that is very common with grey hat SEO in Sydney) the results could be absolutely devastating, but they will largely affect you, the business owner, more than the SEO company themselves.

Are you willing to risk your entire company’s online presence just to have someone attempt to bend the rules so you might rank faster? Probably not.

Black Hat SEO

Completely opposite of white hat SEO sits black hat. If grey hat SEO in Sydney was about bending the rules slightly to try and fool the search engines, black hat is about breaking the rules entirely and simply throwing them out the window.

Google is not perfect with their algorithm (though they are constantly improving it) and there are exploits and loopholes that are sometimes found that can make manipulating the search engine a lot easier.

In the past one of the most popular black hat techniques was to send thousands of backlinks pointing toward a single domain with automated software. While it might result in a quick jump in traffic from SEO, Sydney business owners need to realize that the reward is never as high as the risk.

When a website gets caught using black hat SEO techniques, it is often penalized so heavily that it can never recover or it is simply removed from the search engines all together.

The most important thing to remember, though, is that black hat marketers are almost always caught which means eventually you could have your site completely de-indexed from Google, effectively resulting in a ban. The question that businesses in Sydney have to ask is simple: would you trust your company to someone who breaks the rules of Google on purpose?

Conclusion

Ultimately, in terms of long term value and return on investment, it is always better to go with a White hat marketing company such as Digital Presence Solutions. The reason is simple: black hat marketers are always going to be caught which means you put your business at risk. Grey hat marketers may not be caught, but there is a much greater chance that they do.

White hat strategies, on the other hand, are designed to ensure long term growth and sustainable results. If you are looking for SEO, Sydney companies should consider working with Digital PS. We only operate with white hat SEO to ensure that your business is never put at risk. For SEO in Sydney that you know you can count on, visit our site today and get in contact with us.

The importance of achieving high ranks in search engines is more important than ever before. When it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO), though, many of the steps that are taken are actually specifically made for Google. While there are other popular search engines like Bing and Yahoo, in Australia, 87% of all searches are done via Google. In terms of SEO Sydney businesses simply have to make sure their sites are able to rank in Google search results.
Because Google is so popular in the country, every single change that Google makes to modify how their search works can have a huge impact on how users find your website online and over the past few years, Google is making more changes to regulate search than ever before. Some of the ways the company does this include:

Policy Changes

Policy changes can have an impact on SEO in Sydney, but they have a huge impact on how Google displays information overall, even including paid search like AdWords. For example, just a few months ago Google made a policy change that restricted the promotion of alcoholic beverages to a policy that restricted the promotion of alcoholic beverages and drinks that resemble an alcoholic beverage.

That simple policy change had a huge impact on search and, if you were promoting in this market, you would quickly find that your ads may not run and your search traffic essentially gone. The same can happen for SEO as well. Policy changes regarding the type of content that displays in Google can mean that practically overnight your content can be completely indexed if it does not meet the policy requirements of Google. With almost 9 out of 10 searches happening on Google, this can be devastating.

Algorithm Updates

It is not just policy changes that can have a massive impact on your search results. To decide where your site ranks every time a search takes place, it is calculated by advanced programs known as the Google search algorithm. This algorithm contains over 200 search “signals”, also known as search factors” that are assigned a certain weight and used to calculate your ranking. Some of these include the number of backlinks pointing to your site, how fast your site loads, and the quality of your content. Others include social signals (how many shares or likes a page may have), and meta tags.

The ultimate goal for Google is to provide answers to the questions and queries people make on their search engine. To give the best results possible, Google is constantly updating their algorithm. This may include adding new search signals, eliminating the importance of other search signals, or changing the importance of a particular search factor.

For example, just a few years ago one of the main search factors was the number of backlinks that a site had pointing to it. It did not matter what type of backlink it was, as long as a website had a lot of backlinks, Google’s search engine assumed it must be a popular site. As a result, though, enterprising marketers tried to rely on this loophole by spamming thousands (or millions) of backlinks to their website to manipulate the rankings. In response, Google changed the algorithm and sites with spammy backlinks were instantly sent down in the rankings.

What That Means For You

In terms of search, Google almost has a monopoly and the way they regulate search is something that you simply must comply with. If you do not pay attention to these results, the implications can be huge, and negative. So what exactly does Google’s regulation of search mean for you as a business? Everything.

Google is the leader in search which means paid campaigns, organic SEO, and anything else related to search is done through their search engine. Their policy updates can result in your sites being de-indexed, dropping in rankings, or even being disallowed from paid search campaigns.

In essence, the regulations that Google imposes on search have a direct impact on your business. By not paying attention to the way Google makes changes to their search policies and algorithms, you run the risk of:

• Losing rankings in organic search.
• Having your website removed from Google search results entirely (de-indexed).
• Less traffic generated through SEO.
• And much more…

What You Should Do About It

Google dominates the search market to the point that considering not worrying about Google would effectively cripple any of your marketing campaigns. Because Google has such a strong foothold in search, understanding policy changes, staying on top of algorithm updates, and being proactive is crucial.

At Digital Presence Solutions, that is exactly what we do. If you wait until your search traffic volume plummets to start fixing the problem, it could be too late to ever fully recover. That is why we not only comply with any current Google standards, all of the SEO work we do focus on providing the best user experience possible—something that Google will always greatly reward—without focusing on loopholes or fads that could be patched in the future.

Our proactive approach to search is what allows us to not only achieve higher ranks for our clients, but keep them there as well and that is why when it comes to SEO, Sydney business owners choose us for long-lasting results. By constantly keeping track of upcoming policy changes and potential algorithm changes in addition to creating safe, white hat campaigns that deliver quality, engaging content for your users we are able to stay ahead of any potential policy changes and avoid the negatives associated with updates such as “Panda”, “Penguin”, or “Hummingbird”. If you need SEO in Sydney, get in touch with us today.

You have heard about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and just how important it is for your business. The concept of ranking higher in the search engines has been around for a long time, but the simple truth is that many business owners—even internet marketers—do not understand it completely. With so many varying sources and misinformation around the internet, there are many misconceptions about how SEO works and how you can rank higher in GoogleTM, BingTM, and other search engines.

MYTH: High rankings can be achieved quickly if you pay enough.

As a business owner it is easy to have the mindset that if you simply pay more for a service you can expect quicker, better results. What many internet marketers and business owners do not realize is that search engine optimization takes time. There is no magic system you can use to instantly skyrocket your rankings to the top of the search engines and expect to stay there.

An interesting blog post by SitePoint highlights this fact and emphasizes realistic goal setting when hiring any type of SEO consultant. If you believe that simply hiring someone to do SEO for you is going to result in instant rankings at the top of the search engine result pages, you are going to be let down in the end. With hundreds of search factors and thousands of competing businesses, SEO is a very dynamic process.

Truth: There is no one size fits all in SEO.  A separate strategy has to be well thought through and planned out for each individual campaign.  Following-through the strategies laid out is crucial to achieve the best results .

MYTH: If you pay for SEO services once, you are finished.

Another common mistake business owners make is to assume that if they pay for search engine optimization services one time, they are finished. In reality, the opposite is true. In such a dynamic field like search engine optimization, algorithms by search engines are constantly being changed and updated. Here is a great post by HubSpot product marketer Meghan Keaney Anderson on the dynamics of search engines. As a result, you need to constantly be improving and maintaining your rankings.

Even if you see significant improvements after a single SEO campaign, those results are not guaranteed to stick. As your competitors continue to take advantage of SEO and search engines add new updates to their algorithm, maintenance is crucial.

Truth:  Instead of thinking of Search Engine Optimization as a single process that can be done overnight, SEO needs to be thought of as a constant necessity to increase and hold rankings in the search engines.

MYTH: Using a guaranteed service is the best way to achieve rankings or you should get your money back.

Guarantees in search engine optimization are always a very important thing to look at. SEO is constantly changing and rankings fluctuate on a constant basis. The harsh reality is that there is simply no way any SEO service provider can guarantee top rankings within a specific time frame. If a company says they will get you to rank 1 in 30 days or your money back – stay away.

The way SEO works means constant additions and changes to your website need to be done. From concrete variables such as high quality content creation and copywriting to link building and submission to the intangible things like keyword research, on-site optimization, and competitor analysis a lot of work goes into ranking a website at the top of the search engines. By thinking you should be ranking in a certain position within a certain timeframe or you deserve your money back, you discount the work that must be done to catalyze ranking increase. In fact, giving up on an SEO campaign too soon and demanding a refund can leave the campaign in shambles and actually hurt your rankings later on down the line.

Sticking with a qualified, professional SEO provider until you get the results you are looking for takes patience and an understanding of how SEO works. Giving up too soon can lead to a lot of problems.

Truth: Top ranking guarantee within a specific time frame is not possible in SEO and ceasing without giving the campaign ample time can ultimately leave you worse in the rankings.  However, sticking with the right SEO provider will certainly improve website visibility and traffic over time.