Principled Profit
Marketing that puts people first

I've borrowed the headline from another Web site, principledprofits.com, but I don't think they'll mind because they are on a crusade to get 25,000 businesses to pledge to a standard code of ethics. Part of my signing that pledge was to agree to share this information with others and I am more than happy to do so because my business, Internet marketing, is filled with unscrupulous souls looking to make a quick buck and it hurts our industry.

The Internet marketing industry does not have a "standard code of ethics" but everyone knows that taking money and offering false promises is fraud. No one, I reiterate here, NO ONE can promise to guarantee your site top 10 ranking positions without buying paid placement ads. I'm going to repeat that line one more time in case you didn't quite catch it: NO ONE can promise to GUARANTEE your site top 10 ranking positions without buying paid placement ads!

The promise for top ranking positions is like the quick weight-loss promises you see everywhere. First of all, the seller can't guarantee that you'll follow the plan exactly, take the pills according to directions or even begin to know your lifestyle. How can they promise guaranteed weight loss? The same for search engine marketing. No one except the search engine knows what the algorithms are or will be tomorrow. No one has an "inside track" to Google, MSN or Yahoo to get their clients' sites bolstered. The only thing an Internet marketing company or search engine optimization firm can promise is that they will use their knowledge and experience of what has worked for them in the past and apply it to your site.

Often, as we are attempting to apply search engine optimization to a site, we find ourselves in a tug-of-war with the client. The client wants flash, graphics, frames, and numerous other eye-candy that we know poses problems for search engine indexing. With our hands tied we will apply as much optimization as possible. This same client will complain months later that their ranking position has fallen. That's the nature of our business. It's like the woman who wants to lose weight but won't give up the cakes and candy and can't understand why she's not getting results. You must trust the expertise of your search engine optimization firm, or why did you hire them?.

We love our job at Web-Kare, we welcome the challenges and we refuse to use unethical methods to get a client's site ranking high for a short time only to have them banned completely. Our clients trust us, we work hard for them and we are willing to document everything we've done on their behalf.

This is the pledge that we have signed:

I pledge allegiance, in my heart and soul, to the concepts of honesty, integrity, and quality in business. I recognize that the cornerstone of success is treating all stakeholders fairly, with compassion, and with a commitment to service. Working from abundance, I recognize that even my competitors can become important allies. I will not tolerate crooked practices in my business, from coworkers, direct or indirect reports, supervisors, managers, suppliers, or anyone else — and if I encounter such practices, I will refuse to go along with them and report them to appropriate authorities within and outside the company. I pledge to support the "triple bottom line" of environmental, social, and financial responsibility. And I pledge to participate in a serious effort to focus the business community on these principles, by sharing this message with at least 100 other business leaders.

If you agree with this pledge and would like to sign it too, click here.