First of all, what is automated SEO software and what does it do?
As the name suggests, automated SEO software takes the human element out of SEO (some SEO anyway), and works on boosting the search engine rankings of a site without the website owner having to do much (or anything) themselves. The actual ‘work’ done is almost always off site, without any improvements being made to the website itself.
How does SEO software work?
Different automated SEO programs run in different ways, but essentially the main task they are created for is to place links across the web pointing to your website. They usually create free mini sites, blogs, forum accounts etc, and place links within these as well as scanning forums and websites where users can comment and place links here too. Some software is quite advanced and can even solve captchas, or create email addresses in order to register for blog accounts or free websites.
Why is it bad?
Linking is one of the most important factors in how a search engine evaluates the quality of a website, and by creating thousands of links is regarded as manipulating search engine results. Once upon a time it was a case of ‘the more links the better’, but as more people have swayed results by using such programs in the past, the value of high quality links has continued to grow, while bulk linking has not only diminished in value but is actually now being penalised. Google classify techniques such as this as a ‘Black Hat’, and the time has come where Google can detect websites that have used these tactics, and many have seen a drop in ranks since the Penguin update earlier this year. To make things worse, unlike any on page factors which may harm your search engine results, such as duplicate content, the damage done by automated SEO software can be VERY difficult to undo. Some website owners have found themselves having to manually make their way through the long list of locations where their software placed links to their site, and remove them one by one. A task which could take months and is rarely 100% successful.
What is the alternative?
Links are an integral part of SEO and the best way to go about it is first of all having them created by a real person. By employing a digital marketing agency such as Quantum for your link building you can rest assured your website will have quality links pointing to it. It’s important to take great care with link building, and Quantum will do just that. We spend time with each website we work on first ensuring the site itself is optimised and search engine friendly, before combining this with external SEO such as links. And most importantly, the SEO we do is with your end user in mind. Good SEO is not just about making your site look good for Google, it’s about bringing good quality elements to your site that will help meaningfully connect your website visitors with your product or service, and turn them into customers. This is an often a forgotten element as people forget their customer in their quest to please Google. Call us today on 1300 3888 11 to find out what we can do for your business.
