As with any industry as large as SEO, you’ll come across many different opinions about the most effective ways to approach site optimization.
So in this article, we’ll get into the differences between white hat and black hat and grey hat SEO, as well as the strategies involved in each.
So if you want to know more, keep reading to learn about these different approaches to search engine optimization — and how to create a strategy that won’t put your business at risk.
Black hats and white hats were used all the way back in the 1920s in Western films. They were an easy way for the audience to tell the difference between the hero and the villain.
- The hero wore a white hat.
- The villain wore a black hat.
The terminology has been adopted in various industries through the years, notably security.
The SEO industry has adopted the same phrasing in relation to SEO activity.
- White hat SEO.
- Black hat SEO.
White Hat SEO
White hat SEO thrives in creative, social content. These tactics usually Include content marketing, genuine connections with other site owners, and a proactive and engaging relationship with your audience and customer base through social media. White hat SEO also involves technical aspects of your website such as accurate metadata, link building, and tags.
white hat practices:
Original content creation
Linking to relevant sites
Referencing information
Standard and compliant site code
Unique and relevant page titles
Opposite to black hat SEO, white hat SEO follows the rules and guidelines set to help boost visibility and online presence. White hat SEO requires time and patience, but it is certainly the safest and most effective strategy.
Black Hat SEO
While Google’s recommendations for the types of strategies you should be using are a bit general and refer to the “spirit” behind the changes, they’re much more straightforward about the tactics you shouldn’t be using.
black hat SEO practices:
Automatically generated content
Participating in link schemes
Creating pages with little or no original content
Cloaking
Sneaky redirects
Hidden text or links
Doorway pages
Scraped content
Participating in affiliate programs without adding sufficient value
Loading pages with irrelevant keywords
Creating pages with malicious behavior, such as phishing or installing viruses, trojans, or other badware
Abusing rich snippets markup
Sending automated queries to Google
If you’re using any of these tactics, you’re doing black hat SEO.
That being said, it’s important to note that this isn’t a comprehensive list. So just because a tactic isn’t listed here doesn’t mean it’s safe to use.
Gray Hat SEO
As with a lot of SEO, there are differing opinions on what gray hat SEO is.
Take the first page of Google’s results on “what is gray hat SEO” and you’ll see articles with a mixture of definitions, broadly falling into the categories of:
- It’s a mixture of white hat and black hat techniques.
- It’s a tactic that is currently either white or black hat but with changes to the ways search engines work could become the opposite in the future.
Both of these definitions have a commonality.
Gray hat SEO is neither black hat nor white hat, but something in the middle.
It’s a blurred line. Not something that you would willingly inform Google you are doing. Not something you should automatically be penalized for.
It’s not necessarily a bad practice, but it is being done with the intention to get ahead in the rankings.
Gray hat SEO is a concept in which over-optimization or accidental duplication can occur. Gray hat SEO isn’t necessarily frowned upon, but it also isn’t praised. Think of gray hat as the neutral area where you can gain a presence fairly quickly with a potential risk of being penalized.
gray hat practices:
Cloaking
Purchasing
Old domains
Links
Followers
Social media automation
soliciting guest posts
rehashing old blogs or information.
Results can vary and be careful not to plunge into the dark side of SEO.
Conclusion
Search engines are always looking for the best information for millions of questions. You can help them by optimizing your website and content. Implementation of SEO tactics can vary depending on your strategy. White hat SEO may take patience and long-term commitment, but the results are quality and you avoid any penalization that comes from black hat tactics.
For professional SEO assistance, learn more about Boostability’s SEO services and how our white hat services can help improve your business.
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