Ethics 
I’m writing this hub on Ethics as it relates to Search Engine Optimization because I need my readers to understand MY version of what is right and wrong, or morally acceptable to do business online. I’m also writing this because I was recently in a forum discussion that turned heated when one of the participants continued to suggest that my methods of search engine marketing were unethical because I wouldn’t endorse his suggestion for a community wide code of ethics under threat of losing his respect. I know this sounds very high-schoolish considering I’m in my 40’s and he is in his 60’s but it’s a public forum and I have a reputation I would like to keep intact.
Notice above how I wrote “My version.” I wrote it that way because ethics should be based on the individual’s internal values and not what anyone else thinks. With this in mind it makes it very difficult for me to agree on an arbitrary code of ethics that everyone must abide by. Individuals are different, our values are different as well as our morals. But these differences do not suggest that one person’s values are better than anyone else’s.
There are at least 9 theories on ethics; mine are based on personal values. Other popular theories include the utilitarian theory which suggests that the best action to take is the one that has the best result for the most people. It’s similar to the ethical hierarchy theory which suggests that the best choice is the choice that benefits the greater good. The problem with those theories is that they don’t cover everyone.
Ethics and Search Engine Optimization
When I think about ethics as it relates to search engine optimization my first concern is in providing quality content on the topic I’m writing about. I refuse to produce regurgitated or spun content that provides no value to someone that may be searching for my topic. When I write an article I first do my keyword research and also research my competition. By researching my competition I can discover new and different ways to present the information in my niche. I do this with all of my personal websites.
After I upload my content I promote it. Some people think that self promotion is unethical. They believe that content should stand on its own merit and if it does people will eventually find it over time. Well that may be true to some point especially if you already have a popular website or blog but it is not in an article marketer’s best interest to just let it sit and hope somebody will find it.
Unethical means of promoting would include keyword stuffing, hiding text or links within the copy, using link farms or link exchanges or as Matt Cutts says, anything that is meant to trick the search engines into passing on page rank through backlinks. These are known as “Black Hat” techniques and they provide no long term benefit to online marketers. People that use Black Hat techniques are only in for the short term gain and care little about ethics.
Buying backlinks is a grey area in ethical SEO. Purchased backlinks that pass on page rank is unethical from a business viewpoint because it suggest that the site with the deepest pockets will always be in a position to beat out their competition. According to Matt Cutts, head of Google’s Webspam team, Google is only concerned with backlinks specifically designed to pass on page rank and add no value to searchers that land on sites that have them. Examples of the type of links that are frowned upon can be seen on Matt’s own blog.
Matt says that Google is not at all concerned with affiliate links and not all purchased links are a bad thing. He says, “…if you want to buy links, I’d buy them for users/traffic, not for PageRank/search engines.”
I take that to mean if you want to pay for a service to place backlinks on social bookmarking sights and other social networks then Google is perfectly fine with it. I personally do not purchase backlinks, not because I morally object to them but because I think my self promotion is all that I need to give my content the boost I think they need.
After writing my content, I give it a tweet on Twitter, an RSS feed posts a link on my Facebook page, and I bookmark them to no more than 5 sites. I do not make comments on forums or blogs though I believe this is acceptable so long as they are not spammy in nature. We see spammy links all the time in the comment sections of our posts. Some think it is OK to cloak a link behind a user name when making comments. It is not OK to try and steal some page rank using stealthy measures but if the comments add value to the conversation then some blog owners will allow them to remain.
Conclusion
In my opinion, self promotion is not unethical. As an online marketer posting backlinks, whether purchased or not, is akin to handing out business cards and is a normal function of the Internet economy. Posting links that add value to your own web properties is not a bad thing either. Affiliate marketing is a business and the whole of your web properties is part of that business. Adding links to your properties that add no value to the nature of those sites is frowned upon and fall into that grey area.
What is your definition of ethics as they relate to SEO? Is it similar to mine or do you think I’m just being self serving and not concerned with providing relevant content? Share your opinions below in the comments section.
The hardest part about entering the world of online affiliate marketing is understanding the jargon. When I first started venturing online, I had a problem with the lexicon. I was very interested in the social aspects of the internet and chat rooms but for the life of me I didn’t know then what LOL or ROFL meant. I quickly understood why the use of acronyms was needed to replace often typed words. The same is true now when discussing online affiliate marketing.
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