In terms of search marketing, there are typically two approaches: white-hat SEO and black-hat SEO. The term “white hat SEO” refers to online marketers who follow the “rules” of the industry by implementing best practices. Marketers who manipulate best practices in order to essentially “cheat” the system are known as “black hat SEO” practitioners.
What is Black SEO?
In order to manipulate SERP (search engine results pages) for better rankings, black hat SEO involves going against search engine policies.
Google processes more than 5 billion searches every day, making search one of the most popular ways for people to find and learn about the goods and services they require in their daily lives. Since the majority of traffic goes to the top-ranking websites in search results, search engine optimization is a potent tool that businesses can use to drive more people to their websites.
Some businesses don’t want to wait a long time to see their websites on the first page of search engine results pages, even though it takes time for a website to rank highly on SERPs organically. They choose to use black hat SEO techniques to increase their ranking by using unethical means because they want quick results from their SEO efforts.
The rules that one must abide by to improve their ranking have been established by search engines. Black hat SEO makes an effort to get around these rules by manipulating the system to increase search visibility through dishonest methods. Marketers who are discovered to be using black hat SEO techniques risk penalties from Google, deletion from search engine results, or a complete decline in metrics.
Black SEO Hat Techniques
Giving users the best results for their searches is the entire point of search engine algorithms. Marketers who employ black hat SEO tactics effectively take higher SERP positions away from those who utilize well-known and natural white hat techniques. Here are a few typical black hat SEO tactics:
- Keyword stuffing
The term “keyword stuffing” refers to the act of stuffing keywords into your content. Google defines keyword stuffing as:
- phone numbers listed without any additional value
- text blocks that list the cities and places that a website is attempting to rank for.
- utilizing the same words or phrases so frequently that it becomes jarring.
- Low-quality content
An existing article that has been paraphrased by a writer or computer could be considered low-quality content. These articles are frequently written in a hurry and used in outreach or link-building campaigns. This kind of content serves no purpose other than link building, which we will discuss later, and provides no value to the reader.
- Paying for links
Google policy prohibits buying links. Although it was already mentioned, buying links is just another way to trick search engines. The more paid links a site receives, the more backlinks it has, and as a result, the higher it is and the pages it links to appear in search engine results pages (SERPs). Even though this content might not be good or relevant for the user’s search intent, it will still rank highly because of the backlinks.
How to avoid Black hat SEO?
It is undeniable that using black hat SEO techniques is risky and should not be done. A good company like an SEO company from Washington DC will be able to tell you the dangers of black hat SEO and develop a more safe marketing strategy for you. Here are a few of the best things you can do to stay away from black hat SEO:
- Make sure you treat search engines and their users fairly. Avoid leading search engines to other pages in an attempt to trick or trick them. It is always recommended to concentrate on taking actions that contribute to a better user experience.
- Make sure to concentrate on creating original, high-quality content free of any keyword stuffing. Never duplicate content because it violates Google’s guidelines for content.
- Don’t exchange links for purchases or sales. It is a significant black-hat SEO strategy.
- Make sure you are up to date on the webmaster guidelines so you can stay clear of the black hat SEO techniques that the search engine has outlawed.
There’s no denying that many SEO experts still employ black hat tactics, but you need to understand that the benefits are transient. They can make using the internet worse in addition to being unethical. Therefore, it is always advised to choose the white hat SEO technique rather than the black hat component if you want to improve your ranking.
