You’ve got a website and now it’s time to fill it with content and attract visitors. This means you’ll have to invest in an SEO campaign.
But should you take your time and stick with white hat SEO or can you use a few black hat SEO shortcuts? Do you understand the differences and what each method could bring to the table?
Let’s clear things out and dive right into their differences, benefits, and examples. Read on below to discover more:
General Concept of SEO
Before we dive into the differences of white hat SEO and black hat SEO, let’s define what SEO is in general.
Search Engine Optimization refers to a series of techniques meant to help web pages rank higher on search result pages, particularly for Google. This is because the results that get listed up top and on the first page are the ones that see the most traffic. People assume these pages contain the most relevant information in relation to their queries.
However, gaining traffic isn’t the end-all-be-all goal of SEO. There’s no point in seeing thousands of people visit your website if they don’t conduct some form of profitable action. The real goal is to make your site the go-to authority for a certain niche, meaning more people will shop and subscribe there.
Let’s dive into their respective techniques below to know the difference between these marketing tactics:
White Hat SEO
All right, the whole point of SEO is to make Google and other search engines rank a business’ pages higher than the competition. White hat SEO refers to specific techniques that fall under the official Webmaster Guidelines set by Google. These are techniques that Google deems fair and ensure people get quality results.
The goal of white hat marketing is to provide relevant information to the user. If someone searches for “best pizza restaurant in Chicago” then the top searches should include the highest-rated pizzerias in Chicago, nothing else.
White Hat Techniques
What counts as white hat techniques? Here’s a quick look into some of the best methods you should start investing in:
- Keyword research
- Writing relevant content
- Attracting high-value backlinks
- Easy to navigate web design
- Responsive web design
- Speedy loading time
- Guest posting
At first glance, all of these look like you could do them affordably and without a team. However, that is not true.
Keyword research alone can take up time and then you’ll need to hire writers to use those keywords and create informative and entertaining content people will want to read, link to, and share.
White hat SEO isn’t only about writing good, keyword-optimized blog posts. It also permeates into your website’s design and code. You’ll need to make sure you optimize images so that pages load quickly, you’ll need to make sure every page and meta description contains the right keywords too.
Does your site feature a responsive design?
Remember that over 2 billion people worldwide surf the Internet using nothing but their phones. Gone are the days where desktop computers and laptops were the reigning devices so your site has to adjust to these changes. Even Google recognizes this and their algorithm now prioritizes mobile-friendly websites.
At the end of the day, the point of white hat SEO is to create content for people. You should design your website and post content that people will want to keep coming back to.
Black Hat SEO
If white hat SEO is all about content for people, black hat SEO refers to techniques that cater solely to the search engine algorithm. It’s all about shortcuts and manipulating the system to see immediate, short-term results.
People who use black hat techniques don’t care about entertaining or informing people. They prioritize tricking the algorithm to instantly bump their pages to the top of the search results page, regardless of the quality of their content.
Black Hat Techniques
Why write a 1,000-word blog post about the best places to visit in New York when you can cloak the same keyword a few dozen times on the web page? Simply hide it by using font color similar to the page’s background. No one will see these words but search engines will.
Another example of black hat SEO is keyword stuffing. This is when you repeat the same keywords over and over, even when it ruins the flow of the blog post. You’re not writing to entertain or inform someone anymore and instead focusing on pumping up keyword density rates.
Other black hat methods include:
- Duplicating content
- Redirecting users to unrelated pages
- Invisible text
- Linking to and from unrelated sites
- Link buying
- Automated comment spamming
- Content/RSS feed scraping
White Hat vs Black Hat SEO
When it comes to white hat SEO vs black hat SEO, which should you turn to? The obvious choice is to stick with white hat SEO.
Follow the guidelines and wait for long-term results. Build a loyal following and establish trust in your brand. Become the authority for your specific niche.
Yes, it takes a while, but you’ll get the guarantee that every visitor to your site can trust what you offer. You’ll see happy customers and entertained visitors.
Black hat SEO puts you on top of the search results but the glory won’t last long. People visiting your site won’t come back when they realize there’s no stamp of quality. Moreover, Google’s algorithm will eventually catch on and you’ll get de-ranked or even banned.
Think Before Executing!
Stick with white hat SEO and you’ll see long-term benefits. It’s the tried and tested system that continues to evolve. Google can be quite strict with companies that try to manipulate people or break the rules so don’t attempt black hat SEO to cut costs or get quick results.
Of course, SEO is only part of the equation. You also need to consider a PPC campaign and other digital marketing tactics. Fortunately, you can continue learning more tips and tricks right here by checking out our other guides today!
