Six former Google employees recently founded the Search Quality Alliance to promote the value of white hat SEO in marketing.

Six former Google employees recently launched the Search Quality Alliance, an organization aimed at guiding best practices for search and enterprise SEO techniques.

The alliance will focus on Google search for the time being, due to both their familiarity with the company and Google’s dominance in the current search market.

As search has become more valuable to businesses as a marketing channel, many have attempted to circumvent search quality standards with black hat tactics. Google’s adjustments to its algorithms promote businesses engaging in white hat SEO, and the Search Quality Alliance will work with marketing organizations and businesses to further promote white hate SEO tactics.

For marketers looking into search, there are several options available. Among the fastest growing is content marketing, which calls for the production of original, keyword-rich articles focused on products or an industry rather than the company itself.

Brafton has reported that engaging original content devoid of overt promotions is more valuable to an SEO campaign than producing volumes of low-quality articles. Google, itself, has encouraged marketers to focus on their content to improve SEO.

Another element of content marketing plans that can boost SERP standing is treating prospects like people, the Content Marketing Institute reported. Rather than producing articles with no clear audience in mind, defining an editorial brief that prescribes a certain tone and voice with an audience in mind can help avoid the problems caused by low-quality content.

Joe Meloni is Brafton's former Executive News and Content Writer. He studied journalism at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and has written for a number of print and web-based publications.