What is Black Hat SEO? Why You Should Avoid These Search Marketing Tricks
Here at Rosie’s Creative, we understand the vital importance of search marketing to businesses and nonprofits today. And in this space, we make every effort to keep you informed of current trends and top strategies in SEO and SEM.
But, just as it’s important to have a handle on the right search marketing techniques to boost your visibility and grow your brand, it’s also critical to understand which techniques you shouldn’t use. So, let’s take just a minute to talk about black hat SEO – what it is, how it can tarnish your brand, and why you definitely want to avoid it as you build your search marketing strategy.
The term “black hat SEO” is used to describe a range of tactics aimed at boosting a site’s search ranking not by providing users with valuable content, but by manipulating or deceiving search engine algorithms. Some examples of black hat SEO include…
Keyword stuffing: The practice of repeating a targeted keyword excessively and unnaturally within page content, purely to boost search ranking for that keyword.
Hidden text: A type of “stealth” keyword stuffing that involves hiding text by positioning it offscreen, making it the same color as the background, or setting the font size to zero, so that the chosen keywords will be detected by search engines while remaining invisible to users.
Cloaking: A technique intended to manipulate search ranking by showing one piece of content to users while showing something different to search engines.
Link schemes and paid links: Strategies focused on abusing backlinks, such as excessive or spammy link exchanges; using automated programs to generate backlinks; or paying for links without using the proper meta tags to designate them as paid ads.
Blog spam: Another manipulative strategy aimed at gaming backlinks, in this case by spamming blogs, forums, or comment sections with links to your website.
Black hat strategies gained popularity in the web’s early days, as marketers found ways to game the system by tailoring content to search algorithms rather than web users. The result? Plenty of websites with spammy, inorganic content that enjoyed a lofty position in search results nonetheless – leading to a subpar experience for users, and something of a checkered reputation for SEO as a whole.
Today, search algorithms are a lot more sophisticated, blunting the effectiveness of black hat SEO. And today’s search engines are more committed to providing relevant results and a great user experience – and won’t hesitate to penalize websites that continue to use these shady tactics, by suppressing their search ranking or, in some cases, even banning sites from appearing in search results altogether.
The bottom line? Black hat SEO may seem like a shortcut to search ranking success, but in the long run, it can do real damage to your brand. So, if you’re using any of these black hat strategies, our advice is simple – stop! And if any marketing pro suggests you use black hat SEO to boost your brand, that’s a huge red flag that they are not a trustworthy partner.
At Rosie’s Creative, we know search marketing inside and out – and we’ll never jeopardize your brand’s credibility with dishonest, spammy, and outdated “black hat” tricks. So if you’re looking for a signal boost on the web, contact us today, and let’s get started! Remember, with Rosie’s Creative, your first consultation is always free!