When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), search engines such as Google and Yahoo! distinguish between so-called “white hat” and “black hat” tactics. As the terms imply, white hat tactics are those that are above reproach and approved by the search engines whereas black hat tactics are underhanded and deceptive.
Once upon a time, in the early days of SEO, black hat tactics could be used to convince search engines to give your site greater prominence than it deserved while posing little danger of any consequence. Such techniques could be used because there was nothing to lose and lots to gain.
Today, though, search engines have advanced to the point that using black hat tactics can have an adverse impact on your site’s position on the search engine results pages (SERPs). They can even result in your website being banned from the search results altogether.
Because the success of websites depend on how search engine treat them, it is imperative that webmasters understand the difference between the two approaches to SEO. Examples of white hat tactics include:
* Using relevant keywords in your content. Search engines encourage the use of keywords (and keyword phrases), as long as they fit the context and allow the content to flow naturally. Keywords can be appropriately used within your site’s text, image descriptions, titles, and meta tags.
* Building credible links. Submit your URL to relevant directories, incorporate your address in comments on blogs and message boards, and encourage users to link to your site from their sites. These are all legitimate ways to build links and positively influence your site’s performance on the SERPs.
* Adding new seo content on a regular basis. Search engines will reward you for frequently updating your site with content that is useful to your visitors. The more current the content, the better your site will perform.
Employing any or all of the above white hat practices will have a positive impact on SERPs. In contrast, the harmful black hat alternatives to these approved practices include:
* Keyword stuffing. Needlessly repeating keywords, hiding keywords in invisible text, and forcing keywords into your content in such a way that it becomes nonsensical may have achieved the desired results in the past, but those days are over. Nowadays, your keywords should fit the content and be limited to 2 to 5 per cent density.
* Exchanging links with (or buying links from) link farms. While it is important to SEO for your website to acquire links from external sites, it is essential that those links come from credible sites. Links to your site from websites known to be link farms will not help your site’s ranking in the SERPs, but it could harm it. If you reciprocate by using your site to link to link farms, the results can be devastating.
* Posting duplicate, near-duplicate, or “spun” content. If search engines find the same or almost the same content on your site as elsewhere on the web, it can adversely impact your position in search results. The content that will most benefit your SEO will be unique, whether you create it yourself or hire article writers to create it for you.
If you hope to achieve SERP success and draw traffic to your website, avoid black hat tactics in favor of white hat ones. It is simply not worth the risks to employ techniques that the search engines have expressly forbidden. Instead, play within the rules and use them to your advantage.