On Wednesday, an article at Search Engine Land detailed an ongoing legal battle between Google and e-Ventures Worldwide, emphasizing how it has increased anxiety regarding the acceptability of search engine optimization. Google is defending itself against allegations that it unfairly harmed the plaintiff by removing several sites from its results pages over what Google called “search engine manipulation.”
The vague wording of Google’s defense has left some people wondering whether SEO could be grouped with actual spam as examples of such “manipulation.” Search Engine Land makes a thorough argument that this is not the case, and I encourage you to read it if you need reassurance.
On the other hand, if you aren’t part of a Los Angeles SEO company and you have no comparable expertise, I would also warn you against feeling too reassured. The e-Ventures serves to reiterate that although SEO itself will not get you into trouble, it’s crucially important that you maintain best practices and stay within Google’s guidelines.
In other words, efforts to boost your search rankings on your own, without the professional assistance of a local SEO company, can be dangerous. So when you’re trying to move toward the top of relevant Google results, make sure you consult with a vetted local SEO company and avoid the risk of getting shut out by the search engine and being forced to start over from scratch.
