Everyone approaches online marketing differently based on what suits their website and brand the best. The line between experimenting with practical strategies for your website and tricking search engine algorithms into boosting your ranks is thin, though.
Black Hat and White Hat SEO describe ethical and unethical SEO methods. In this article we’ll discuss the differences.
What is White Hat SEO?
User content comes first in White Hat SEO over and above search engine optimization solely designed to try to rank higher. Its main goal is to make things easy and convenient for the website visitor.
White Hat SEO ensures that all information indexed by search engines is similar to what a human user sees, in addition to following all SEO principles. It places a strong emphasis on content relevancy, readability, and well-written, well-structured content that will be helpful to readers.
It also emphasizes creating pertinent inbound links from reliable sources and cross-linking pages inside a website (interlinking). As long as you keep your site’s users in mind and make improvements to improve their browsing experience, you’ll generally be safe that your SEO strategy complies with Google’s recommendations.
Here are the criteria for White Hat SEO:
1. Value Users
You’re in the right place if your content is for users, not for search engines. Search engine crawlers are now focused on user satisfaction. Specific algorithm-focused strategies may get users to your page, but your bounce rate will be high if your content isn’t relevant or good. Long-term, this hurts your SERP rankings, so focus on meeting user needs.
2. Quality over Quantity
Focusing on content quality helps SEO. Adding dates, sources, and new content will keep your audience interested. White Hat SEO is a process, not a checklist you can check off once and be done. Instead of stuffing your pages with irrelevant links, keywords, and pictures to please search engines, focus on engaging your audience with quality content.
3. Take Long-Term Approach
White Hat methods that follow Google’s guidelines and offer a positive user experience take more time and are more labor-intensive than Black Hat strategies.. The desired outcomes will take longer but your rankings will be safe from any Google penalties once they are achieved.
What is Black Hat SEO?
Black hat SEO describes methods and tactics for search engine optimization against Google’s search engine policies. Unethical techniques for improving search engine rankings. It emphasizes “quick wins.”
Here are Black Hat SEO’s criteria:
1. Keyword Stuffing
Black Hat SEOs try to improve rankings by employing their primary goal keywords unnaturally and out-of-context. When keyword stuffing happens, the writing is not on-topic and nor easy to read aloud. This outdated strategy won’t function with Google and Bing’s current algorithms and will likely result in a penalty. (Lowering your rankings or even removing them completely!_
2. Hidden Text
Hidden Text is text colored to match a web page’s background, so it’s not visible. Black Hat SEOs often use hidden text to add extra text or keywords to a page for search engines. Sometimes the font size is zero. Advanced search engine crawlers will catch this trick and lower your rankins.
3. Manipulative Links
Link schemes are a common Black Hat SEO tactic. Mutual backlinking is when Black Hat SEOs hide links on their sites, in blog comments, or physically (font size zero or matching the webpage’s background color). Black Hat SEOs pack links into their sites to rank higher, even when they add no value. Search engines will likely shut down this malicious strategy quickly.
Conclusion
Understanding the difference between White Hat and Black Hat SEO techniques is essential.
White Hat SEO uses optimization strategies, techniques, and tactics that focus on a human audience instead of search engines and completely follow search engine rules and policies.
Black hat SEO, on the other hand, refers to the use of aggressive SEO strategies, techniques, and tactics that focus only on search engines and do not follow any rules or policies.
If you’re looking for an SEO company in Folsom to help you with your SEO strategy, Champion Online Marketing is here to help you! We are experts at getting you noticed on the internet, so you get more customers! Contact us now!
