In case you can't see the infograph or want to read a little more detail, here is the text version of the Marketing Naughty and Nice List:
Naughty List
Keyword Stuffing
You might be used to stuffing a christmas stocking with lots of little things, but stuffing your website with keywords that aren't relevant to the content just to draw traffic is bad.
Link Farming
Reindeer live on farms, er... I think they do. But your website links shouldn't. Don't wear a black hat and add your website url to a link farm dedicated to just creating a long list of businesses and links with no other value.
Hiding Text
If you have white text on a white background, you can't see it but the search engines can. The sole purpose of this is to fill your site with misleading or junk content for the sole purpose of building your search engine rankings. That will land you on the naughty list.
Cloaking
A little more complex, and you're clearly deliberately being naughty if you use this technique. The process of cloaking involves showing a search engine spider different content than whats actually on the page and different than what an actual visitor sees.
Doorway Pages
Creating an html page chock full of keywords and content that only search engine spiders can find. The link doesn't exist on your website, and if a person actually lands on it, they will be immediately redirected to the actual page. Remember, make content for people, not search engines.
Email Spam
If someone wants your content, let them opt-in. Trying to force emails on potential customers without their consent is typically a big turn off and will get future emails blocked. Try building an email list through subscription forms, in person contact, and other legitimate opt-in techniques.
Nice List
Relevant and Good Content
Providing content that provides useful information to your visitors is a sure way to build page rank and a strong following. Fofus on content for your visitors, not the search engines.
Link Building
Participate in other blogs, forums, websites and spread the cheer... or useful information... with others. If you participate in a meaningful way you can usually share the link back to your own website.
Keywords
Using relevant keywords that support the content you are writing is a nice way to promote your website through proper SEO.
Structure
Create the proper structure of your website so that it's easy for search engines to crawl and index your site. Use alt tags, title descriptions, meta descriptions, meta keywords, H1 and H2 tags as they relate to the true content on your website. Thats sure to put you on the nice list.
Social Media
Using social media like Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin can all help with building the quality of your website, because interaction and quality is a big asset to have in ranking your website. Building a group of interested people is no easy task, but well worth the effort.
Cross link and Share the Love
Cross linking to other pages within your own website, and linking outside of your website to others are just plain good practice. It builds a strong link structure and helps give back to others by sharing their links as well. Tis the season, and giving back is what it's all about right?
Get on the Marketing Nice List this season, and steer clear of the Marketing Naughty List.