If you already managed to give birth to some online project, you might probably know that there are several possible promotion strategies to help grow your cherished baby-project.

Lots is read about promotion methods and strategies, even more is written, nothing is going to be recited. Classifications are different but I always have my own one.

Black

Doorways, spamming, hacking, cloaking , etc. Can be really effective if you know how to. Short term success - always. No long term perspectives - only recurring actions. Build a doorway, promote, get high SERP position, get banned, build another doorway … Circle of life.

WARNING! Even if later you become white and successful your black past is going to emerge sooner or later - law of life. When your black past emerges, it usually does it in the ugliest possible manner and the consequences are catastrophic - God’s Law is never abolished.

Remember, Dark Side of Force is extremely addictive: every time one calls on its power, one becomes more attached to it.[?]

White

Doesn’t exist or is extinct due to ineffectiveness. Kidding. But don’t forget, many a true word is spoken in jest. At least from the point of view of SEO white methods (or White Hat) are aimed at long-term results. The only exclusion is when you combine white methods with green ones.

White promotion includes link building (i.e. link exchange, link baiting), website content and usability optimization etc.

Grey

Is believed to be a mixture of Black and White. Or an effectively disguised Black. Don’t forget that half of the progress (not only SEO) comes from Black Side - science is rocketed by militarists, best SEO practices invented by Black Hats and adult webmasters.

Green

You have loads of green rectangular banknotes which you exchange for loads of PPC traffic

OR

you don’t have loads of green rectangular banknotes which you exchange for loads of PPC traffic

but

you manage to find ‘green angel’ - venture capitalist or angel investor who gives you loads of green rectangular banknotes which you exchange for loads of PPC traffic.

In other words, Green Promotion Strategy means you simply buy your way through to the tops … or bankruptcy.

You have a choice. Every breath is a choice. Every minute is a choice.

Each strategy has it’s adepts. You can choose any. You can combine.

What we choose? Not Green - at least at the beginning, as we do not have much of working capital and we invite no angels into our company. Not Black - we care about our reputation.

We wish to use White methods. (No kind of ‘wish we used’ conditional mood - we definitely wish to).

We do not say ‘No‘ to Grey - as we do believe the world isn’t Black and White, and our aim is to grow a popular online project rather than reserve a place in webmasters’ heaven. Though I doubt that average webmaster’s vision of heaven coincides with the Christian one.

What’s your way and where does it lead you?