If you have worked in the SEO industry for even just a little bit, you know the reputation that search engine optimization professional have in other industries. Many think of SEO professionals as gamers: a group of folks who spend days and nights figuring out shortcuts to the top of the SERPs. In fact, many SEOs consider themselves to be gamers. But is it really true? Are we all just a bunch of folks who have nothing better to do than figure out what tricks Google in putting us at the top?

For some people the answer is yes. The Blackhats are certainly gamers, and there is no question about that. I don’t care if you are putting hidden text on your pages or you are using color schemes to trick engines, you are gaming the system.

But BlackHat SEOs are not the only ones who are giving us a bad name. Some white hats, especially those who love to buy links and use reciprocal linking aggressively are to blame here as well. I have been in the same room with SEOs who claim that they like to live on “the edge.” These are the people who give us honest whitehats a bad name. When I do SEO for people, I always think about the ways to improve their content and improve ranking positions by implementing the best practices. Not everyone is familiar with the importance of title tags. Not everyone knows who exactly the search engines work. Showing people how to target the right keyword is different than changing your whole content around a couple of keywords and repeating it a million times throughout your content.

So no. SEO is not gaming search engines. It’s about learning the rules and maximizing value to your readers. Nothing more or less.