Unethical SEO/SEM Tactics Exposed

When it comes to effective SEO and SEM practices, companies must abide by ethical and professional standards to ensure full legal compliance and maintain their brand reputation. Unfortunately, companies often look for shortcuts and quick solutions that sidestep ethical and legal regulations. While short-term rewards can be lucrative, and organizations may believe they can “skate by,” in the end, many companies have discovered that penalties incurred by breaking the rules may be almost impossible to recover from.

Regarding SEM and SEO, companies often engage in unethical tactics. These methods, if not carefully avoided, can lead to severe consequences. The following are a few of the most notorious tactics that may be seen in today’s global marketplace:

1. Too many keywords are used (a practice known as keyword stuffing) or hidden in content in order to manipulate search engine results artificially.
2. Content is plagiarized or automatically generated with significant keyword density.
3. Website users are deceptively directed to other websites that are irrelevant or contain another grouping of links.
4. Companies trade links without proper disclosure, disrupting the overall user experience.
5. Content is submitted to a search engine in such a way that certain words and text are hidden from the intended audience.
   (Balanco, 2013)

A Case Study: Nestle

(Singh, 2024)

Regrettably, deceptive SEO and SEM marketing can be even more dangerous than the practices outlined here. Nestle has been criticized for years for its dishonest practices, with sometimes rather dire consequences. Nestle has regularly touted the benefits of its infant formula while marketing it strongly to developing countries, such as Pakistan (Singh, 2024). Sometimes, these practices have contributed to the poor health or untimely death of infants.

Nestle was a massive proponent of the health benefits of infant formula, even claiming that it was better for babies than a mother’s breast milk. Here are some of the deceptive practices in which they engaged:

1. The company provided its formula to maternity wards and even pushed for doctors to prescribe only Nestle products for the baby and mother.
2. Medical professionals were encouraged to discourage mothers from breastfeeding and substitute Nestle formula.
3. Medical professionals were incentivized at medical conferences to prescribe Nestle formula even though breastfeeding was proven to be superior.
4. Nestle hosted baby shows where free samples of their formula were handed out to new mothers, claiming the product was healthier and more progressive for the baby.
5. Depending on the country where the formula was being promoted, ingredients were varied to entice mothers to use the formula since it had an ingredient prized within that country for health and desirability.
6. The formula was marketed as “closest to breast milk” than any other formula, violating guidelines outlined explicitly by the WHO.
   (Neslen, 2018; Singh, 2024)

Clear Distinction: Ethical Vs. Unethical Practices

In today’s world, a clear distinction must be drawn between ethical and unethical practices. In simplest terms, ethical practices are focused on providing value to the users while following the rules that are set by search engines, promoting trust between the business and user, and ensuring long-term success and growth (Team EMB, 2024). Ethical SEO/SEM is the gold standard in the world of marketing.

On the other hand, unethical practices focus on deceit, shortcuts, and manipulation (Team EMB, 2024). In the short term, these “black hat” techniques often have quick results that may bring significant results that are appealing to the company. In the long run, unethical SEO/SEM leads to severe consequences that may include penalties, blacklisting, and sometimes irreversible damage to a brand’s reputation. In this case, the “long game” of ethical practices far outweighs any short-term boosts in ranking that may be achieved with unethical practices.

Benefits of Ethical Practices

The benefits of following ethical practices are vast, but they also require patience. Authenticity and transparency will be rewarded, but it will not happen overnight. Regardless, here are several benefits of following ethical practices (WEO Media, n.d.):

• Overall improvement in user experience
• Long-term sustainability and growth
• Trust and credibility built over time with the user and the search engine
• Higher rankings in search engines
• A loyal customer base built on authenticity and transparency
• No lawsuits or criticisms for not following the rules and regulations

All companies must commit to adhering to ethical practices in all SEO/SEM campaigns because, in short, it is not worth it to have short-term spikes in rankings and subsequent revenue only to have that all eradicated when the business is caught by customers and/or the search engines. Coming back from “black hat” techniques may be impossible, depending on the gravity of the infraction. Moreover, trust amongst the users and customers will be built slowly while promoting sustainable rankings and business that will boost brand credibility over the long haul.

References

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