Ethical SEO must be more than following search engine guidelines if we want to take ethics seriously. In recent weeks and months I have been approached by numerous potential clients I was not quite happy to work with. Thy were not the usual online poker or escorts type of businesses that approach me quite frequently. The cases were a little more complicated.

I can’t retell the stories of all of them but I derived some of the 7 rules of ethical SEO you ignore probably as a white hat from them. Other list items consist of tactics that are perfectly OK with Google but are non-ethical nonetheless.

1. Don’t work for people who harm others like weapons manufacturers and those who work together with them
2. Don’t work for people who compete with your existing or former clients (or at least not shortly after)