New York web development and Internet marketing firm says that there are a number of techniques that should be avoided or else a small business website will be penalized.

According to Peter Crisafi, Vice President of dzine it, Inc., a leading New York website design and website development firm that specializes in website development and Internet marketing for clients throughout the United States, over the past several months industry news stories have shown several high-profile examples of search engine optimization (SEO) techniques that should be avoided by every small business.

“First, stories about JC Penney duping Google through black hat SEO techniques emerged, followed by stories about Overstock.com using black hat practices to trick Google,” says Crisafi. “This certainly isn’t the first time that a business has been penalized by Google, but they should serve as a reminder to the rest of us that, when it comes to SEO, there is a right way to do things and a wrong way.”

Crisafi says that if a small business wants to improve its website's search rankings; it should avoid the following dirty SEO tricks:

Cloaked Content The most offending SEO technique is commonly called cloaking, which refers to designing a website so that search engines see one thing while human visitors see another. This dirty trick got BMW booted from the Google index back in 2006.

Paid Links JC Penney just got busted for paying a link broker to increase its rank. Paying for links or participating in exchanges, whereby links are placed on non-relevant websites, is a direct violation of Google's Webmaster Guidelines, and it can get you severely punished, as JC Penney learned.

Duplicate Content When the same content is presented on multiple pages, sub-domains, and/or domains, it can result in higher rankings, but it can get you kicked out of Google’s index.

Keyword Stuffing A website’s keywords can be a major factor in that page's ranking, but it's wrong to use them indiscriminately or deceptively.

“There are many dirty SEO tricks out there, but these are some of the worst,” says Crisafi. “If you handle your company's SEO campaign, don't be tempted by these dangerous practices. If someone else handles your SEO for you, manage them carefully and make sure they don’t use any of these practices.”

Established in 2003, dzine it, inc. is a leader in Custom web development, programming and design solutions for small and large business, agencies. The company offers a wide range of business-centered visual communication solutions, including web-based content management, web design, graphic design, custom web software applications, ethical white hat search engine optimization (Organic SEO), Video Encoding, and print media solutions. For more information, call 718.336.2660 or visit www.dzineit.net.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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In order to run a successful, ongoing search engine optimization campaign, businesses must adapt their strategies to stay ahead of the changing search engine landscape, both effectively and ethically. The recent evolution of Google’s search engine policies now reflects the growing concern over companies manipulating their way to a top rank and businesses need to be aware or suffer the consequences.

While some past SEO practices weren’t typically frowned upon by Google and other major search engines, over time, they have become a concern. For example, buying links was a common practice a few years ago and it was sometimes very effective.

Google has since learned that this merely paying for quality links can artificially inflate link value by, and they are now penalizing companies for using this practice. This discussion has become the buzz in the industry as news continues to break about Google’s crackdown on black-hat SEO tactics.

Recently, Overstock.com was penalized by Google for using black hat tactics and retailer JC Penney website was also flagged for using disreputable techniques.

Some of the tactics employed by JC Penney and Overstock.com aren’t as malicious as one might think, particularly when you understand that these practices were once accepted. This sort of link building is a great example and the truth is that as Google began to penalize for these tactics, companies simply failed to adapt their SEO strategy to stay ahead.

This isn’t the first time that Google has updated its search algorithm and penalized websites for various tactics that, in the past, may have been tolerated. It will likely not be the last time either.

I am sure that there will be a large-scale Google update in the near future. I expect that it will focus on improving search results from a user’s perspective and eliminating more search spam. Staying one step ahead of the curve by taking regular SEO classes is the best way to make sure your strategy continues to be successful.

Copyright 2011 dzine it, inc. website marketing All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.