Goodbye and Good Riddance
First, by definition, black hat SEO is attempting to fool Google – or other search engines – algorithm by using bought or unconnected links and keyword overloading – among other tools – to give your website a better rating during keyword searches.
It was incredibly popular among spam sites, and to a degree it still is, but as search engine algorithm tools become more sophisticated, the black hat SEO tools have become less effective. In fact, if Google algorithm crawlers discover black hat SEO on your website you can enjoy watching its popularity take a steep nose dive into the nether regions of search popularity.
Types of Black Hat SEO
We have two different types of Black Hat SEO: on-page and off-site. On-page Black Hat SEO usually begins with adding too many irrelevant internal links on the main page. Like internal links, other links opening a new page with a different domain usually contain irrelevant information. On the other hand, off-page Black Hat SEO contains methods that will help a website gain numerous links to the original site through paid third sources.
Keyword Crowding
A lot of people choose the strategy of implementing too many keywords to manipulate rankings. Keyword stuffing is a black hat SEO technique that will only damage a website’s reputation and rankings whilst killing your blog’s readership in the process. Google’s all about relevance and user experience, so it’s no surprise that they cracked down on it. Using unrelated keywords or too many keywords will probably result in content downgrading.
Article Spinning
One of the most efficient ways of building a high number of backlinks is article marketing. Article spinners rarely use spun content on their blogs. Instead, they use it to create “unique” guest posts to publish on multiple sites and build backlinks. But, content spinning is a black hat SEO tactic that rarely results in engaging content, but rather in low-quality backlinks. If not avoided, it can seriously hurt your website’s search rankings and authority.
Paid Links
Every attempt to boost search engine ranking and backlinks artificially, for instance through paid links, is considered a black hat SEO scheme. Paying other websites for backlinks has a page of its own in Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and can lead to a Google penalty.
Cloaking and Sneaky Redirects
Cloaking is used to show one thing to website visitors and another to search engine crawlers. This is a deceptive approach that aims to act as a disguise and leads to a different URL or content which provides irrelevant results in many different ways.
Google Penalties
Google regularly checks the websites to confirm that they act according to Google’s rules to keep the user experience stable. As a result of the controls, if Google algorithms or employees detect a website with content or structure that misleads both the user and Google bots, the website gets penalised automatically or manually. While you can find experts to deal with Google Penalty Removal, we still advise you not to resort to black hat SEO so you don’t have to waste time finding your way back to Google’s “good” side.
Ranking Decline
Regardless of how seriously you violated the SEO rules, you may go down from the top results on the SERP page after Google detects your rule violation. Sometimes you may lose a few rankings, while you can become a website page shown on the 2nd and 3rd pages.
Think White Hat SEO
Contrary to black hat SEO, white hat SEO consists of actions that can improve your search rankings on SERP in the long run, while keeping the image and the reputation of your business intact. As a white-hat, full-service SEO agency, we know how important it is to use tactics on the lighter spectrum. Not only do they keep you in good standing with the search engines, but they’re also the only tactics that work consistently well over time and build trustworthiness among your readers. Don’t let the black hat tactics fool you into failure. In 2022, make sure you use these white hat alternatives instead:
Create Comprehensive Content
Instead of keyword stuffing, go with clear, comprehensive content with naturally implemented keywords. Create in-depth content that covers a topic meticulously and naturally includes long-tail keywords people use to discuss the topic. These tactics can help you rank higher.
Write Unique Guest Posts
Create unique variations of a guest post from different perspectives. It will be more time-consuming and entail more effort than article spinning but it’s less work than writing guest posts on entirely unrelated topics. Even better, changing the perspective helps you to get backlinks from a wider variety of websites.
Build Quality Link Outreach
Instead of buying links, build a link campaign that is based on creating high-quality content that will be linked to naturally, because it provides value and can be used as a reference. Create a valuable resource, then reach out to the owner of a website you want a link from and give them a compelling reason to link to it. Contact GWM for more information about our link-building services that will help your website rank higher in Google’s search results without damaging the site’s reputation.
Ranking by the Rules
In SEO, using “black hat” SEO tactics will pay for it in the end. Black hat tactics might give quick results, but it’s more likely to have the opposite effect over time, tanking your rankings, and reputation, and getting you blacklisted from search results altogether.
White Hat SEO With Green Web Marketing
For business owners the meaning is clear. Avoid black hat SEO like a visit from the tax collector. If your SEO team starts talking about new black hat techniques and how they will help your business, it’s time to find a new SEO team. Although your website might profit in the short run, the long-term effects can be unacceptable for your business and, especially, your brand.
Google, for one, is constantly watching for the newest tricks and gimmicks to create unsupported search engine optimization. As a general rule, once discovered, it is only effective until the next update. During 2016, Google had ten major updates and 500 – 600 minor updates. For websites using black hat SEO that’s like playing Russian roulette with six bullets in your revolver. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact our SEO specialists today.
