Black Hat versus White Hat Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Across the internet, professionals of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) can choose to either be conventional or unconventional with their methods. To take the lead in the ever-changing race for page ranks means to play by the rules, or to join the dark side. Such is the dichotomy now known as White Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO. Judging from the colors, it’s fairly easy to determine which side is which.

Why White Hat versus Black Hat SEO?

The use of the word “hat” was derived from classic western TV shows and movies, where good and bad cowboys were set apart by the color of their headgear. Back then, TV sets didn’t have colors, so viewers were used to identifying the heroes and villains by these attributes. Besides being two extreme ends of the color spectrum, black and white have been common examples to illustrate the difference between good and evil.
In the same light, there are search engine optimizers and web professionals who differ in the methods they use. Because winning the top most spot in Google takes a lot of time and effort, there are those who choose to find unethical means of deceiving search engine bots and web users. This is where we stand apart from our competition as we chose to strictly use White Hat SEO practices for both our client sites as our own sites.

Black Hat Search Engine Optimization Techniques.

Initially, a good page rank might be achieved when one goes by Black Hat SEO, but chances are it will not be sustained for long.
Here are some common naughty tricks that Black Hat optimizers use on their websites:

Keyword stuffing – Major search engines like Yahoo and Google usually allow a keyword density of less than 5%. Content writers who go Black Hat create text that is chock full of keywords, with little or no relevance to the reader at all.

Hidden text – If they don’t want the highly dense keywords to be seen by readers, then they can hide them behind images, or blend the font color with the background. Only spiders or bots can detect these hidden texts.

Link farming – Because bots and spiders use links on pages to go to the next one to be indexed, it is understood that more links means a better chance of getting noticed by search engines. However, the quality of links is also vital. Link farms are sites that contain nothing but links, often with no relation to each other, only as a means of directing spiders to pages where Black Hat tricksters want them to go.

Gateway pages – There are certain sites among the top 10 in Google, that when the link is clicked, the browser points to a different page. The traffic is purposely driven to a site that is not of interest or use to the web surfer.

Why You Should Say “No” to Black Hat SEO !!!!

Black Hat SEO professionals often walk on thin ice. It is only a matter of time until Google, Yahoo, Bing, Ask and other major search engines discover ways to beat them. Currently they (Google, Yahoo, Bing etc..) have programs and tools on their sites that can detect Black Hat techniques.

If you want to keep your website to be productive and in good standing with all search engines, forget about short cuts and Black Hat tricks. You’ll be glad you stuck with the guidelines. Contact New Wave SEO today for a free business analysis

As you now understand the basics of White Hat against Black Hat SEO, one can debunk that age-old saying “nice guys finish last.” This simply doesn’t apply to the SEO game. It’s better to play by the rules and stay ahead longer, than to cheat your way to the top only to fall even harder.

Oscar Bos
http://www.newwaveseo.net
oscar@newwaveseo.net