Digital marketing specialists have probably heard of the term known as dubious SEO strategies. Blackhat SEO embraces a collection of strategies deployed to boost a website's or page's ranking in search engine results, but by means that violate the search engines' terms of service.
Essentially, blackhat SEO is a quickfire approach that could get your site to the top of search engine rankings quickly. However, these strategies are usually seen as unethical, and search engines like Google would seriously penalize sites caught using them.
A popular blackhat technique is excessive keyword usage. This means packing a webpage with key terms or numbers to game a site's ranking in Google search results. They might come across in a list, pile, out of context, or overlaid on the background.
Establishing link farms is another common technique. Here, sites are tied together in a circular network to increase the rank of all the websites in the circle. However, if a page is linked to from numerous unrelated websites, it can also be penalized.
Cloaking is an even more extreme blackhat method. This is when different content is presented to search engines than to users, basically redirecting users to different pages without their knowledge.
Despite the risks, why do people use blackhat SEO? The simple answer is: to achieve quick results. These techniques give websites the illusion of popularity, boosting them up the search results quickly.
However, the more info benefit is fleeting. Search engines now incorporate complex algorithms which identify these manipulative techniques. Once they're identified, penalties can include decreased rankings or even being erased entirely from the search index.
As a claim, many websites are shifting to white hat SEO strategies. These are approaches that aim to build a website's prominence in legitimate ways. Some examples are creating meaningful content that provides helpful information to the reader, optimizing website tags, or creating a positive user interface.
So, while blackhat SEO may come across as a fast way to improve your site's visibility, it's a risky game to play. It's smarter to focus whitehat SEO techniques, which improve your website through legitimate means, thus providing long-term success.