Matt Cutts: SEO Is Not Spam
Posted by Richard Friedkin on Mon, Oct 31, 2011
The best website in the world is of very little use if it can’t be found. This is where Search 
Engine Optimization (SEO) comes into play. The goal of SEO is to have your website be well represented in a search engine when a topic is searched for.
An entire industry has developed around SEO content, to help businesses determine what items, such as key words, should be contained in a website to maximize its potential to be found. As in any competitive environment, practices develop that skirt the line between those that fall naturally into the website and those that are considered spam, or devices placed in websites solely designed for SEO.
All SEO Is Not Created Equal
Some authorities believe that all SEO content is spam. This, however, is not the opinion of Matt Cutts, head of Google’s webspam team. In a recent video, he describes what he believes are the differences between legitimate (or “White Hat”) SEO content and those practices Google tries to eliminate (“Black Hat”).
Cutts says that trying to make sure your website is well represented in search engines is perfectly acceptable and, in fact, encouraged, when “White Hat” means are used. He realizes that website owners need to maximize the returns on their investments. The use of key words, good design, accessibility, ease of use and speed all contribute to a positive website experience for both users and search engines.
Determining which key words will lead a search engine to your site is both art and science. As Cutts points out, search engines are not yet as smart as people, so Google is engaged in studying factors such as vocabulary and synonyms to increase the effectiveness of key word searches. The use of technical jargon makes a website harder to locate and should be avoided.
Cutts has concern when SEO content steps over the line into “Black Hat” practices. In an effort to move up in the search engine hierarchy, some SEO practitioners will plant key words in a website that have little or nothing to do with the site itself, but which they believe are more readily found by search engines. They may hack into other, more legitimate websites, so their websites appear first. Some may plant words in the website that are the same color as the background, so they are seen by search engines even though invisible to people. Search engines constantly strive to discover and remove this spam.
Cutts recommends finding a good SEO content professional whom you can trust, who will explain what they are doing and who will design a website that is optimized for both users and websites without resorting to spam. Google has produced a number of guides to help you learn more about this.