If we are to talk about the past few years, then there is an enormous growth observed in the unethical SEO techniques which are more commonly known as Black Hat SEO. It has emerged quickly and is continuously procreating an epoch of web spam. Most of the people recognize the trend but the fact that lies behind it are the practice being entirely unethical. Black Hat is a phrase which was originally coined for a person who violates with the computer vulnerabilities and security for personal interest.
What is Black Hat SEO
When we take the Search Engine Marketing into consideration, then the term Black Hat SEO refers to the tactics and techniques which fall outside the Search engine service guidelines. This can be understood in one simple sentence as White Hat SEO is ethical while Black Hat SEO is unethical.
White Hat vs. Black Hat – Which One’s Better
It is obvious from this very first paragraph that White Hat SEO techniques are much better to be performed than Black Hat SEO techniques. Let us now look in detail as what are the Black Hat SEO techniques which we as SEO professionals should avoid and why is it important to avert the utilization of the unethical search engine optimization.
1. Keyword Stuffing is a Strict No
We all know about the vitality of keywords in enhancing ranking in search engine optimization but overusing keywords in respective content can be a disastrous task. Keyword stuffing has been an effective SEO technique earlier. For instance, the more the keywords in your websites, the more will Google find your website associated with the related search terms. It is one of the common Black Hat SEO techniques and has been used by the Black Hat SEO professionals but after the Google Panda Update, this practice has nearly stopped. Now, Google monitors the keyword density which is why it is essential to scrutinize content and create content that is unique with appropriate keyword density.
2. Prevent Cloaking
If there is one technique that is majorly practised under the Black Hat SEO techniques then that has to be Cloaking. It is a practice which is more or less like deceiving Google or other search engines as in this the content displayed to Google is entirely different from the content on the web page which the link the visitors are visiting. It can be understood by a simple example, suppose your web code makes the search engines think that you are directing the visitors to live cricket match updates wherein your website is actually about garments and accessories. This is what cloaking is and Google has devised an algorithm with which it detects websites which indulge in cloaking. If found, there is a penalty charged on such websites and in some cases, the website is banned from the search engines.
3. Private Blog Networks are Disastrous
A while ago, Google had a major crackdown of this practice and has charged multiple penalties on the websites practising these. A PBN is a group of websites which is owned by a single person in order to generate additional search engine optimization value pointed at the money site of the owner. Basically, a private blog network is like a link pyramid or wheel in which all the websites are linked together to a central website. With this, they can have a control over every single detail. PBN is one of the easiest ways with which any website can be penalized.
4. Paid Links
Every SEO aficionado knows the essentiality of link building and every respectable website owner understands that links aren’t meant for buying or selling. There is one thing which you must know if you are even in the slightest thinking of buying links that these links are of low quality. In most of the cases, these links belong to Private Blog networks or any of the link wheel. It is obvious that you might not want to be a part of any of them!
5. Don’t fall for Link Exchange
For the past sometimes, link exchanging has been recurrently reported. There are many sites which offer links to other sites in exchange of their links they ask for links. This, indeed, is a quicker and easier way of driving traffic to their websites. All this eventually leads to enhanced ranking in the search engine result pages. However, Google has clearly stated that “excessive link exchanges can negatively impact the site’s ranking in the search results”. Even though it was effective and was preferred by most of the SEO experts but after the revised Google algorithms, this is one of the Black Hat SEO techniques.
6. Stay Away from Duplicate Content
Many of the Black Hat SEO techniques are based on the duplicity of content. Duplicate content is in no manner going to attract visitors if they have already read such a piece. Creating original and unique content is an imperative part of White Hat SEO techniques. As Google algorithms are getting revised every now and then, it is important to focus on creating content which is fresh and unique rather just copying and modifying it from source sites.
7. Invisible Text is Lame
Black Hat SEO techniques are full of deceiving methods and Invisible text is one such lame trick that these unethical SEO experts perform. Website owners or the designers use this technique very cleverly by placing the text in the innocuous places of the webpage, mostly in the same colour as the background. The goal might also be to stuff keywords for rank enhancement but now, Google has noticed the level to which these unethical SEO experts are trooping to. This is one of those Black Hat SEO techniques which are considered by most of the professionals but isn’t actually one.
8. Article Spinning is Unethical
This again is related to the content duplicity. Automated content spinning is one of the most common Black Hat SEO techniques and with so many software packages and online tools to spin the articles and blogs, it has become even more convenient. Article spinning has become very common in the recent few years which is why websites with original and fresh content qualify for better ranking than the websites with copied or automatically modified contents.
9. Click Bait Doesn’t Enhance Ranking Anymore
Content marketing is meant entirely for generating traffic and if the website is unable to attract visitors then there is no chance that the website will ever hit the success mark. There will be absolutely zero chances of success and the digital presence of your website is going to be ruined. Most of the websites use the age-old Clickbait method which generally means intentionally promising or representing something in a different way to pull the audience on a specific website. This is one of the worst types of Black Hat SEO techniquesused by the SEO shysters.
10. Doorway Pages
One thing about Doorway Pages is that these are solely created for the money page of the owner. These are not at all beneficial to the audience but only to the site owner. Even though these pages are not at all beneficial to visitors, Google discards their importance and doesn’t allow the existence of these pages when noticed.
11. Over-Optimization is Harmful
Over-optimization is very much similar to another Black hat SEO technique i.e. keyword stuffing. Anchor text optimization can be one of the really useful SEO tools but then, these SEO shysters have their way of getting carried away and performing “over-optimization”. SEO professionals must know the fact that over-optimization of the anchor text can make the entire thing less user-friendly which is certainly not a good thing for your website.
These are some of the most common Black hat SEO techniques which are performed by the unethical SEO professionals. In addition to these, there are multiple other tools and techniques which can be problematic while performing SEO. If you plan on building a long-lasting and successful business, then it is essential to avoid all the above mentioned unethical SEO practices and switch to White Hat SEO techniques. Now, we hope if you were having any doubts regarding Black Hat vs. White hat SEO and which one’s better, you might as well have your answer!