by Corey Morris – emfluence SEO Expert, emfluence.com
Google monitors search engine optimization tactics for websites of all sizes, including major brands like JCPenney. The company’s SEO vendor had the entire JCPenney product line averaging a rank of 1.3 – page 1 results, between 1st and 2nd place out of hundreds of thousands!
Unfortunately for the JCPenney brand, the methods used by the SEO vendor fell under the umbrella of what Google calls “black hat” tactics, a term used to describe any search optimization activity that unfairly pushes a site’s content higher up the search results than that content deserves. The vendor was immediately terminated.
The lesson here is to thoroughly vet your search vendor’s tactics and practice, and to monitor the results of their efforts periodically so you don’t get caught off guard. As a result of this incident, JCPenney’s average rank fell from 1.3 to 52. For searchers, that’s page six, which basically means the JCPenney product line is invisible to users of Google search.
emfluence uses all “white hat” best practices to drive client’s search results closer to the top. Contact an emfluence SEO expert at [email protected] for a review of your search settings.