Battle on vs shady web tactics
THE INTERNET has become a huge marketplace where brands struggle mightily for the attention of online-savvy consumers.
But the tough rivalry between companies sometimes leads to desperate and shady marketing tactics online.
Amid such white-hot competition in the digital marketing sector, six-year-old search engine optimization (SEO) and internet marketing services firm SEO Hacker seeks to take the lead in achieving its clients’ business goals through ethical use of the internet in marketing.
“Unethical Internet marketing hurts our industry. And we in SEO Hacker have chosen to be ethical since we started operating,” SEO Hacker founder and chief execu- tive officer (CEO) Sean Patrick Si tells the INQUIRER.
Ethical marketing
Ethical internet marketing, Si says, means adhering to online marketing etiquette while pushing one’s marketing goals.
This also means that SEO Hacker’s services employ neither trickery nor demoli-
tion jobs in reinforcing a brand’s image and standing in the market, he adds.
For a business which began as a startup in 2010, with only P1,300 initial funding, it has been a tough challenge for the company to be selective with its clients.
Si, 28, even recalls the time when he had to turn down an expensive offer from a local politician in exchange for the company’s services.
This politician who was allegedly involved in corruption a few years ago, wanted SEO Hacker to clean his name over the Internet, particularly on search engines.
One way for it to be done is through reverse SEO.
This simple online marketing tactic decreases the rank of negative search engine results about a company or personality while optimizing positive ones.
So when people search for a particular brand in search engines, such as Google, top results that will show up are links to blogs, websites and news that contain positive remarks on the company or individual.
“But I refused the offer because it’s against our principle to promote someone who is involved in any wrongdoing,” he says.
The company also declines clients who want to employ trolls and craft fake online product reviews in its marketing campaign.
Some desperate businesses who want to easily reach their target market, he says, even resort to the buying and selling of customer directories.
These directories contain all the information that every customer provides to a company, of which he or she is a member or subscriber.
That’s why the validation of a client’s research processes is also part of SEO Hacker’s standard operating procedures.
“When a client gives us a list of the target market’s contact information, we make sure that they got those details religiously. We also guarantee the confidentiality of those information,” he says.
Online presence
According to Si, businesses today need not just an engaging business website but a strong presence across digital platforms.
This is why SEO Hacker, Si says, promises to provide a company with strong branding, increased analytics and improved “searchability” online.
“Nowadays, having a website is not enough. Your company shall not only be searchable in Google but it must be placed on the first page of the search engine. Your site must also be easy to use, mobile-responsive, and can keep up with the latest digital trend,” he says.
SEO Hacker primarily provides SEO services. But it also offers various online marketing services such as social media marketing, online reputation management, website speed and security optimization, email marketing and site design revamp.
One of its most successful campaigns was for a local man- ufacturing company which had only a thousand website traffic in December 2010.
But after the company sought help from SEO Hacker, the number of visitors and pages visited in the company’s website rapidly increased to 64,000 in March 2015.
SEO Hacker currently services at least 20 local and foreign companies.
It also welcomes bloggers and personal website owners who need assistance in optimizing their presence online.
Some of its largest clients over the years were local pharmaceutical company The Generics Pharmacy, broadcast network TV5, a business unit of SM malls, foams and mattresses company Uratex, and automotive manufacturer Toyota.