Search Engine Optimization:Black Hat SEO vs White Hat SEO Techniques
Posted by Jody Raines
Coming up at the top of the search engines for specific keywords is the goal for a search engine optimization program. When working on optimizing a website, there are 'tricks' to achieving rank quickly that in the long run will harm your site's ranking. These 'tricks' are called "Black Hat SEO".
If you think of the tortoise and the hare, that's probably the best analogy I can think of when I try to explain the difference between black hat seo and white hat seo. Tricks to beat the system are black hat. Will they get results? Typically they do, but the reality is that these results may be short lived. Once the algorthim catches up with the tactics, the site will plummet. Another clue to black hat techniques is a site that seems to have a lot of traffic, but there are no conversions or results.
In working with clients, and also on my own website, I periodically notice a competitor that suddenly has a burst in position. As a analytic being, I'm always curious how they ranked for keywords so quickly, and typically an investigation will reveal something that isn't quite kosher.
Recently, I was asked to evaluate a site that is struggling with "SEO". They are paying someone to optimize their site, and unfortunately, even with an ongoing expense, the owner laments that he is not getting conversions.
An evaluation of the site reveals some pretty scary stuff. A sudden burst of "inbound links" and traffic within a very short period of time aroused my suspicion. The SEO is giving topline summaries from Google Analytics are glowing. Most people don't dig into the numbers - either because they don't like doing this, or the numbers don't speak to them. I'm one of those odd ducks who really enjoys looking at this stuff. It's like a puzzle where the pieces start coming together and tell a story.
The hypothesis that I have is that the "SEO" is paying for links. This is one of those practices that I would call "black hat". One of the things that search engines use to evaluate rank is the number and quality of inbound links. Link farms are a way to generate a lot of inbound links quickly, but again, this is kind of like cheating. Most links evolve organically if you have great content and people like what they see - they want to link to your posts and material because they feel it's valuable. Buying inbound links is spammy - it's frowned upon by Google and can ultimately hurt your ranking if discovered.
Recent Panda updates to the Google algorithm have penalized duplicate content (stealing content from someone else's website) and have penalized these link building black hat practices.
If you are working on internet marketing, SEO has got to be part of the equation, but utilizing those black hat techniques will only show short term boosts. In the long run, slow and steady wins the race.
Here's a few white hat SEO tips to get started on the right path:
- Do your keyword research. Find good strong keywords that your customers may use to find companies that do what you do.
- Avoid industry jargon. Your customers are unlikely to use the same terminology that you do within your profession. Use words your customers use, and try different combinations of words.
- Post great content. Having a blog on your website gives you a wonderful opportunity to express opinion and share ideas. The better your content, the more people are going to want to refer to it, and link to it.
- Be consistent. Posting once a week is the minimum you should consider posting to your blog. If you can post more frequently, you'll develop a following more quickly.
- Follow and comment on others. If you read a post that you like, be sure to comment. Look for articles on topics that you are also interested in and form relationships.
Meeting the standard of white hat search engine optimization or building an organic optimization will pay off in the long run. Understanding that paying someone to 'optimize' your site is not always the best approach. Having a lot of traffic to your site does not guarantee that your site will effectively support conversions - it's having the right traffic of true customers that is important!
WebMarCom is an Internet strategy and Web Marketing Communications Agency based in South Jersey and Philadelphia.