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What is ethical search marketing? The early days of search engine marketing were a virtual free-for-all for website owners to get their name out and drive traffic to their sites. Because of very simple search engine algorithms and practically no professional code of conduct in a very new field, all sorts of “black hat” marketing techniques cropped up. Basically, these techniques were meant to interject a given site into all manner of searches, related or not, and even trick people into clicking on ads or signing up for e-mail newsletters. As the search engines have evolved to detect and penalize these types of marketers, a new brand of marketers cropped up that rely on spamming, backlink exchanges, deceptive traffic funnels, and other such practices that don’t necessarily offer up the best quality and most relevant content to the consumer. Ethical search marketing, on the other hand, keeps the end consumer in mind and seeks to reach a targeted audience through fair and legitimate means.

Not only are spamming techniques annoying and generally off-topic, they also have a rapidly decreasing success rate as more and more internet users are learning to identify good content and links versus something that’s simply been papered all over the internet. Site owners are beginning to realize how much of a problem black hat marketing continues to be, and are taking greater care to avoid hiring marketers that will employ these techniques to promote their website. Companies that focus on ethical SEO may charge more for a given amount of traffic, links, or content pages, but the value of those units generally far exceeds that which is achieved through deceptive or low-quality practices.

Ethical search marketing focuses on reaching a target market through relevant and accurate search engine optimization (SEO) to increase organic search traffic, links that are placed in legitimate promotional areas or that other site owners choose to put on their site because of the value your site can offer, and other such straightforward means. While it’s okay to pick keywords just because they’re popular, it’s only ethical if you can then provide unique, high-quality content around those keywords that deliver on whatever promises your site made to its visitors. For instance, if the site’s description states that it is a one-stop site for information on hair care, it would be unethical to then direct traffic to a site that has nothing but a few sales links for hair care items.

Put simply, ethical search marketing is a type of marketing that doesn’t invade other people’s sites or e-mail inboxes without permission, and doesn’t rely on deceptive descriptions or anchor text to direct people to that site. More and more site owners are realizing just how important ethical search marketing is for real, profitable results because it offers much higher conversion rates and repeat customers. Just like in any business, the site that gives the best value for its customers is the one that will prevail over time.

Finally, ethical search marketing encourages healthy competition between sites based on value-adding techniques instead of merely tricking the search engines and live customers into visiting. Competition is the lifeblood of any industry because it spurs on innovation, better pricing, and better products. By sticking to practices that accurately portray a site and allowing a competitive atmosphere to develop and thrive, you’re also ensuring your customers that you’ve risen to the top because you really can give them what they want or need, and do it better than your competitors.

Learn more about this author, Rebecca Mikulin.
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