Semalt Expert Speaks On Black And White Hat SEO
The race for positions in the Google search engines continues. Positioners resort to a variety of methods to jump several positions up. Sometimes it even resembles a dead body road and we are not joking. Today Semalt is going to talk about good and bad SEO practices.
SEO (Search Engines Optimization), known as a set of techniques and strategies to improve the positioning of a website based on natural results, has as its main objective to generate qualified traffic in line with the available content. Nowadays, these techniques are not only considered synonymous with good positioning, but also a complex methodology that includes strategies inside and outside the site.
Awesome is this the best website (or company) in the world if no one sees it? Is this really the best site in the world? Are you really the "best" if no one knows for you or for your business? These are all legitimate questions that every business owner should ask himself these days. The Internet has invaded the world and you must either keep up with the place or stay behind! Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the future of marketing and you have to get on the train now if you want your business to prosper.
SEO - the search engines killer
Search Engines Optimization (SEO for short) is all the methods that make a given page to appear higher in the search engines. To do this, you can operate inside the site as well as externally. A high position in Google consists of many issues that build the website's rank. Technical preparation itself is very important at the stage of its creation, in accordance with the standards, as well as taking actions aimed at activating users and increasing their involvement from outside of the website. The main and same goal for everyone remains - to be in the TOP 10, i.e. on the first page in search results. And that is not simple, because of the frequent changes in Google's algorithms.
A secret kept under lock and key
When you enter a query in the search engines, a list of pages appears, i.e. index. The creation of this ranking is influenced by many issues closely guarded by Google, which wants to be as objective as possible in constructing the index. Specialists are working on the algorithm on an ongoing basis so that it excludes factors that are misused by positioners to artificially jump over positions. There are also guidelines published by Google that contain prohibited technics.
White and black
Every movie has a good hero and a bad one. It is similar in the world of the Internet and SEO. Here, too, we divide practices into good and bad. White Hat SEO, as you probably already guessed, are technics that follow the guidelines of search engines developers. The opposite is the case with Black Hat SEO, which violates Google's rules. The villain is mainly used to quickly achieve a result. But nothing could be further from the truth, not only does it expose the website owner to penalties, but the effect is also short-lived. You will spend much more time on White Hat SEO, but you will enjoy the achieved effect for longer.
White Hat SEO - a white cowboy hat
The concept refers to the white hats worn by good movie characters. It is true that every positioning is considered unfair by Google, but the actions referred to as White Hat do not harm Internet users. SEOs, using white SEO, focus on giving internet users high-quality content, answering their questions, all in a friendly form. "Good" SEO doesn't break Google's rules and doesn't mislead users knowingly.
How can you work in White SEO?
First, the site treatments. Belong to them:
- taking care of a structured website structure,
- posting valuable content,
- taking care of the responsive website,
- use of the so-called friendly links,
- securing the website with an SSL certificate,
- catchy graphics,
- organizing the HTML code,
- correct redirects.
The activities on the website are a good foundation that is worth spending some time on.
Second, you can also operate off-site. Nobody forbids it, as long as it has arms and legs, especially when linking. Acquiring valuable links, i.e. sponsored articles, blog entries or real recommendation comments are activities that can help in positioning without endangering Google. Linking in White Hat SEO is also about refining the anchors, replacing links pointing to non-existent pages with properly functioning websites. A good option will be to try to get links on friendly websites, on partner websites or in valuable catalogues. You will definitely get great results if you approach it all wisely.
Black Hat SEO - definitely the black horse of positioning
The dark side of positioning, that is, a selfish approach to the subject. Black Hat SEO is all activities that focus on high positions and nothing else. This is against the policy of the search engines, which strongly focuses on the user and his needs. Using dark star techniques can do a lot of harm. If we are exposed to Google, we will most likely be imprisoned in the last places in the ranking or a website banned.
How does Black Hat SEO work?
Here, too, we can act on two fronts: within the website and beyond. If any of you want quick results and are not afraid of risk, there are several options:
Hidden content
Activities on the site consisting in hiding a large number of keywords. Internet users cannot see it (e.g. the color of a keyword is the same as the background of the website), but robots do. It is very possible that Google will pay attention to this as well. Sorry, but surely your site won't get any awards straight from Googleplex in Mountain View. However, you have a good chance of banning the positioned page for pushy keyword stuffing. It's always a distinction.
Duplication
Which is something that often results from a lack of commitment or willingness. In short, it is a practice of copying content and transferring it to several different pages and services. Making copies on subdomains or specially purchased pages will not bring your website to the top of the results. Small modifications to the text will not change anything either. For Google, this is still duplicating content. Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V shortcuts can sink your website in some cases - it's better to remember that.
Special version for robots, that in the cloaking
What works for Google bots does not necessarily appeal to Internet users. Sometimes too long text can scare users, but Google bots consider it as advantages. What happens in this case? Black SEO enthusiasts use practices consisting in cheating the search engines algorithms, i.e. presenting a different version of the page as soon as the presence of a robot is noticed on the site. This is an indirect way to please everyone, but unfortunately it is not necessarily fair.
Spamming with data Structured
Structured data, because we are talking about, it was added to subpages in order to describe in more details what it's dealt with. For example, they may contain ratings from other users or product prices. Regardless of what form it takes, saturating the content of tags with keywords can have a negative effect on the site, i.e. lowering the position.
Low-quality links
This is the first method of off-site activities and the most commonly used. It focuses on getting links from spammy sites that operate on the basis of selling links. These types of links are often placed on unrelated forums or threads, completely unrelated to the activity of a given page. What's more, you can find many offers on the web that offer the sale of artificial links. Many people still don't realize that a link to a link is not equal. Using links with the keyword so-called exact-match also carries risks. The robots pay attention to large numbers of carefully crafted links and consider it like a deliberate action. Google bots are not that stupid and cannot be underestimated.
Doorway pages, i.e. pages that redirect to other websites. This practice misleads Internet users who expect a page that matches the search, and by clicking on the corresponding link, they end up in a completely different place. Obviously unrelated to their query.
No fair game
To put it simply, it is an action to the detriment of parties that threaten our position or compete with us. Such practices include low-value linking to a competitor's website. For those who still have too little experience, it remains to hack a rival's website and infect it with a virus. Then Google will definitely take it off the results. Less it happens, we do not encourage such activities. They are not at all ethical or in line with good positioning practices. Why disgrace yourself? Let's act fair!
Black Hat SEO Threats
Positioning in a manner inconsistent with Google's rules can be a lot of trouble. A website may not only significantly lower its position in the search network, but may also be excluded from the index. In fact, it happens that a site that is positioned unethically may be completely removed from the search results.
Is it possible to get rid of the ban?
It is not mission impossible, but it may require a lot of effort. First of all, you need to fix the cause that Google didn't like, and then apply to be re-indexed.
White vs. Black
If you are wondering which solution is better, it's time for a short summary. If you want to be fair, Semalt offers you absolutely to choose White Hat SEO. It is an ethical solution, but you also have to take into account that you will have a lot of time and work to do. Then you can entrust this to a specialist who will give you better results. Those results will surely appear and will be more durable, but that will take some time.
However, when using Black Hat SEO, the effects will appear very quickly, which is an attractive option, but carries a lot of risks and in addition, the results are short-lived. Additionally, Google continues to improve the algorithms by rewarding the good and punishing the bad, so it's worth working with it and just wait a while.
Gray Hat SEO
Not always everything is just white or only black. We all know well from the times of kindergarten that if we combine white with black, we will get gray. It's the same with SEO. Some of the white technics are considered harmful by Google and some of the blacks do not harm users at all. Sometimes the methods get intertwined, achieving faster results than using only White Hat SEO, and not harming users as much as with Black Hat itself. So is Gray Hat SEO the golden mean for success? I leave this question to you.
What can you do against negative SEO?
Initially, you need to understand that anything you do against the search engines to get a result - constitutes a danger to your site. So, if you consider your site to be a valuable thing, you need to give to it the best care. This will allow you to have a long-term benefit.
In this case, you ask yourself: "Do I need to hire any Search Engines Optimization company or specialist (SEO) to promote my business?". We have provided you with an outline of each option so that you can choose what is best for your business.
Find out the differences between recruiting an SEO agency and recruiting your own SEO specialist. Why can an SEO company be your best choice? You will generally pay less and get more results when you hire a search engine optimization company.