Black hat SEO techniques are SEO strategies that try to trick search engines into awarding higher rankings. Search engines like Google typically punish sites that do this with either lower rankings or, if the offenses are bad enough, blacklisting. These are some techniques that you should avoid in your SEO strategy.

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is the practice of inserting your target keyword into your content as many times as possible. Imagine trying to read something that reused the same words over and over again in close succession. It just doesn’t read well and isn’t enjoyable for readers. On top of that, how useful could the content be when it packs the same word into each paragraph without actually providing any new information?

 

Buying Backlinks

Backlinks play a major role in SEO strategies because they’re a signal to Google that your website is considered trustworthy by others. However, if you’re getting those links back to your site by buying them, that’s not a good strategy. Not only is it a black hat technique, but it doesn’t really work to boost your SEO. This is because sites that are willing to sell backlinks aren’t the most reputable, which actually damages your reputation with Google instead of boosting it.

 

Spamming Comments Sections

Participating in comments sections is a way to build relationships with others in your industry, which can help in getting backlinks. However, there’s a line between leaving comments and spamming. Anyone who spends any time on social media has certainly seen spam comments that are basically just there to link to someone’s site and aren’t relevant to the post or to the conversation that’s going on. This is considered a black hat SEO technique and can get you blocked by users.

 

Hidden Content

Hidden content is anything on a web page that is colored the same as the background. Hidden content is how people try to hide black hat SEO techniques that are designed to trick the search engines so that it doesn’t create a bad user experience. However, Google can still see the hidden content even if users can’t. Plus, Google can see the hidden tag and will recognize it as being hidden, which will result in a lower ranking.

 

SEO has changed a lot since Google was first started in 1998. Early Internet searches weren’t easy. The websites that ranked the highest often got there because of shady SEO tactics like keyword stuffing. White hat SEO means optimizing with the goal of helping users find what they’re looking for rather than to game the system with the search engines.

Why Is White Hat SEO So Important?

Keeping your SEO tactics completely white hat is important because Google takes measures to discourage black hat techniques. Every update that Google has implemented has been to improve search results and experience for users online. With that goal in mind, these updates have also implemented ways to decrease the rankings of pages that engage in black hat techniques.

What Is Black Hat SEO?

Black hat SEO is a set of SEO techniques that seek to trick search engines into ranking better than they should. As Google has implemented updates, exactly what techniques are considered black hat have changed. Those who engage in black hat SEO techniques stop using what Google is now punishing in the rankings and find other ways to try to game the system instead.

The following are considered black hat SEO techniques:

• Private link networks
• Keyword stuffing
• Cloaking
• Buying links
• Offering free products in exchange for links
• Hidden links
• And more

If Black Hat SEO Techniques Work, Why Should You Use White Hat SEO?

Black hat SEO techniques are considered unethical and are also typically against the terms of service of the search engine. Google and other search engines try to eliminate the use of these techniques and therefore if one works, it likely won’t be for long. Google regularly issues updates that render black hat techniques quickly non-viable. Therefore, you should focus on white hat SEO techniques because any success with black hat techniques is likely short-lived.

Does Using White Hat SEO Future-Proof SEO Strategies?

Because SEO does change thanks to regular updates, many wonder how to future-proof their SEO strategies so that they don’t have to change them with each update. The best way to do that is to focus on using white hat SEO techniques. Keep in mind that Google and other search engines want to match users with the highest possible quality content that answers in the best possible way their search query. If you focus on providing users with helpful content and use your SEO techniques as a way to help Google match searchers with your content in the results, then that’s a good way to future-proof your SEO.

What Is a White Label SEO Company?

If you’re hiring an external company like BrainVine to handle your SEO, it’s important to look for one that uses only white hat SEO techniques. Such companies can be described as white-label SEO companies. Other verbiage, like UX-based SEO, is also a sign that a company uses white label techniques. White label SEO focuses on the users while black hate SEO focuses instead on the search engines.