subject: Black Hat Search Engine Optimization-the Pros And Cons Of Black Hat Seo [print this page] Black hat search engine optimization is a using loopholes to "manipulate" the search spiders to rank high in the search results. The thing is that you wont fool search engines for very long, if at all. It's true that you can gain an increase traffic for a short while, but once the search engines figure out what you are doing your page will plummet in the search results and you might even get suspended or even banned for your trouble. Let's take a look at the good and the bad points of black hat search engine optimization.
Pros of Black Hat Search Engine Optimization:
It typically takes a few days before the search spiders catch on to what you are doing
These techniques will generally give you an increase in traffic for a short period of time
You can get more back links quickly and easily, usually for paying a fee
It allows you to complete campaigns more quickly as it provides shortcuts for SEO purposes.
Cons of Black Hat Search Engine Optimization:
Search engines might not notice what you are doing for a short while, but rest assured that they will find out
When they figure out what is happening (maybe not specifically punished, but you will drop significantly in the rankings)
Depending on how "deceptive" the tactic was you may get your account suspended or banned permanently
A majority of the black hat search engine optimization techniques like keyword stuffing wont look good to potential customers, even if the search engines are not aware of it at the time
Your content can suffer as all the emphasis is on appealing to the search spiders.
Did your parents ever tell you "if something sounds too good to be true it probably is"? Well, mom and dad hit the nail on the head again!
Black hat search engine optimization is a short sighted strategy that is not very well planned out. The idea of these methods is to manipulate the search engines and take shortcuts to success.
First you need to understand that you will never trick the search spiders. You may not have your site banned immediately, but they will figure out whats happening. Google in particular really taken a stand against deceptive content that does not deliver as advertised, so be sure that you dont put yourself in a position for search engines to make an example out of you.
Shady black hat tactics will work against you in several ways. Big search engines like Google and Yahoo are forever updating their search spiders to reward good content with higher rankings and to penalize marketers that throw together a site with black hat sites that are high on SEO and low on good content.
As a general rule focus on generating useful content that genuinely helps your readers with their problems or concerns. All the SEO in the world will not get you the #1 ranking in the search results if your content is weak and uninformative.
Black hat search engine optimization swears that you can get to the top of the search results without doing the necessary work. This may sound like like an awesome theory that will shave off hours of work, but it just doesnt pan out in reality. Anything that is truly worth having is worth working for so do not be easily seduced with these false promises of a quick payoff.
