What is whitehat vs blackhat SEO? Which one is better? Should both approaches be considered?
If you have questions like these, you’re in luck. We have the answers you’ve been looking for right here.
We’ll tell you the differences between whitehat and blackhat SEO and offer you some examples of each. Through this, you’ll learn why you should never use blackhat techniques. Plus, we’ll tell you specifically how to avoid blackhat SEO.
Read on to learn all about it.
What is Whitehat vs Blackhat SEO?
The terms whitehat and blackhat refer to how well an SEO strategy adheres to proper SEO etiquette. You see, the point of your SEO strategy is to promote your website and help it get seen in search results. But the point of a search engine is to help its own users find the most helpful answers to their queries.
Thus, there are two ways to approach SEO. You can improve your search rank by actually providing the most relevant content. Or you can try to trick the search engine and its users into thinking that your content is the best.
Blackhat SEO
Obviously, the latter strategy is dishonest and, therefore, frowned upon by search engines. That’s “blackhat SEO.”
Search engines strive to discourage blackhat SEO as it makes their own services less reliable. So, they employ counter-measures against blackhat strategies to penalize any site that’s using such techniques. In the end, blackhat SEO will lower your search rank rather than improving it.
Whitehat SEO
Whitehat SEO is SEO that doesn’t disobey search engine guidelines, nor is it dishonest in any way. Instead, this approach means that you recognize the type of content that search engines award with high ranks. Then, you strive to provide this content by following the rules and focusing on quality.
Blackhat SEO Techniques
Here are some common blackhat techniques, most of which are now penalized:
- Articles stuffed with lots of keywords but with no real value or relevance
- Automatically generated content
- Articles used as bait to infect visitors with malware
- Plagiarized content
- Content duplicated across several websites
- False advertising in the meta description (bait and switch)
- Misleading links and other link schemes
Still, when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it all, it’s hard to provide a solid definition of blackhat vs whitehat SEO. Each search engine has its own guidelines and algorithms.
Besides, it’s not about the rules. It’s about intent.
You may get away with a dishonest tactic for now. But soon, an algorithm update will notice these schemes and blacklist your site. It’s best to think about it generally and just run your website with integrity.
Whitehat SEO Techniques
Common examples of acceptable, whitehat SEO techniques are:
- Creating well-written, helpful content that’s relevant to your keywords
- Describing content accurately in the meta description
- Including only helpful, relevant links
- Partnering with influencers
Basically, whitehat SEO means focusing on your audience and providing the content, services, and features they want most. Do your research and be honest and accurate.
It also helps to recruit qualified SEO professionals, like this local SEO service. SEO agencies are very trustworthy. Specifically, they would go out of business if they used blackhat techniques.
Whitehat vs Blackhat SEO: Make the Right Choice
When it comes to whitehat vs blackhat SEO, you now know what to do. Always practice whitehat SEO to improve your search rank and avoid penalties.
Next, do you want to learn how to optimize your startup with mobile app development? Or, would you like to know what factors to look for when hiring IT services? Find these and other excellent posts on our Tech News blog.
