Black hat search engine optimization methods boost a website’s search engine ranking by breaking the rules. Some website owners use black hat SEO to quickly bring in more website traffic. Sometimes it results in a higher page rank far faster than if more ethical techniques were used. However, using black hat SEO also increases the risk that your website will eventually be banned from search engines. So there are definitely some SEO tactics to avoid when trying to get ahead with your website.
Black Hat SEO Techniques
Keyword stuffing is an example of a black hat SEO technique. When keyword stuffing, you create a largely nonsensical web copy that is full of common search terms. The content doesn’t offer any real information. It is also not the kind of content that search engines seek for their highest-ranked pages. Sometimes, the keyword stuffing is so blatant that a site has pages of keyword lists and no other text.
Some black hat SEO methods aren’t immediately visible to a casual viewer. Keywords may be hidden in the white spaces of the page where they are only visible to search engines. These search engines will then spider the pages, and present them in search engine results for those keywords.
The problem is that the hidden keywords may have nothing to do with the page. This will increase website traffic but it presents an extremely poor user experience for people searching for those hidden keywords.
The Consequences of Black Hat SEO
When a search engine catches a website engaged in black hat SEO techniques, that search engine will likely ban the site from its index. That makes the website inaccessible by directories most likely to point traffic to it. Without a search engine rank, traffic to the website will drop off sharply, if not end completely.
White Hat SEO
Search engines recommend white hat SEO methods. It creates a better experience for users. White hat SEO includes natural keyword placement, website security, and large, interlinked websites. It also involves plenty of informational content.
Search engines seek to stay in business by providing a good searching experience to its users. So it’s important that they can bring up sites that will inform searchers about exactly what they were looking for. There are plenty of free SEO tools that can help website owners stay on the white hat side of the SEO game.
Some SEO firms offer black hat Search Engine Optimization services as a website optimization tool, promising a quick increase in traffic. When hiring an SEO services company, it’s important to make sure that the website optimization methods used are white hat SEO techniques. This will give the site a long-term increase in website traffic instead of a quick rise and a quicker crash and burn that results from SEO tactics to avoid.