I read this phrase in an article explaining the basics of SEO for beginners. Here’s the article.
Sometimes, I wish I was in a profession where ‘subterfuge’ meant I was a spy. Specifically, I see myself in a Mata Hari-esque outfit in a glorious ballroom entrancing my date while really attempting to coolly observe the treasonous conversation of Nazi-esque shady characters smoking cigars at the bar behind me.
Luckily for me, that’s not the case. It’s lucky because in the above fantasy scenario, I likely would blow my cover à la Diane Kruger in Inglorious Basterds by losing a shoe which has my spy instructions written on the sole, and then attempt to get out of a trouble à la Sharon Stone in Fatal Attraction. However, due to the fact that I am in no way as sexy as Stone and also because I tend to wear underwear whenever possible, I would probably be tortured LOST style, à la Sayid Jarrah season 2.
By comparison, SEO subterfuge seems relatively boring, but hey- it’s the industry I chose. Basically, this is anytime a website uses less than respectable means to get to the top of the results page, usually through keyword manipulation. This includes putting keywords in white so they are unreadable, hiding keywords behind images, formatting headers to be smaller than your normal font, or my personal favorite, ‘cloaking,’ the process of presenting different content to the search engine than what the user sees. (I like it because it reminds me of Harry Potter.)
So basically, SEO subterfuge = not cool. That’s really all I have to say on this subject.
POSTED: Tuesday, July 13. 2010.
