I’ve been called a lot of things in my day. When I began wearing the hat of an SEO specialist at Metzger, that list grew longer— some for the better, some for the not so better.
Say what you want about PR professionals (no, don’t. Jill Thompson scares me.), but my approach to SEO has more to do with science than spin. Matt Cutts, principal engineer and all-around great person at Google, recently set the record straight about the relationship between search engines, spam and SEO:
Cutts makes a very important distinction between what we call “white hat” and “black hat” SEO tactics. If your SEO firm employs any black hat tactics, fire them immediately and be sure to call them a few nasty names on their way out. But don’t lump us all in one bad bunch together. There are really great SEOs out there who can help you achieve any number of your business goals through fair-and-square white hat tactics that won’t get your site blacklisted or leave your visitors with that uneasy feeling in their stomach when they land on your page. SEO doesn’t have to be a dirty word. Just ask Google.
