subject: 5 Things That Define Black Hat SEO [print this page] SEO or search engine optimization has come a long way down from the old days of directory submissions and article link building techniques. Today SEO is not an exclusive word anymore, and does not even define a single activity or a stream of activities. SEO has become a world in its own, with its intricate guidelines, policing, success secrets and innuendos.
However, parallel to the ethical search engine marketing, another technique has reared its ugly head and is currently challenging the ethical practices and results. And like any other malpractice in any other domain, Black Hat SEO (unethical SEO as you must have assumed by now) has a lot of takers both intentional as well as unintentional. A lot of firms pay huge money for deals that use Black Hat SEO and get duped, while the best of firms are up offering affordable SEO packages for you to climb the SERPs permanently!
You might be one of those who are under the veil of misconception that Black Hat SEO will help create wonders. Or you may have been unwittingly taken into the trap of overnight results and fabulous rankings. We have identified 5 factors that define black Hat SEO and can help you choose between the ethical and the black! -
1. Keyword Spamming Keyword density, in ideal terms, has to be within 2%-4%. However, many SEO firms stuff the content with excessive keywords. This makes the content lucrative to search engines, but makes the same seem gibberish to the reader. However, this technique is being monitored by the main search engines, and most of the sites that use this are either sandboxed or penalized heavily.
2. Link Farms Many websites build web pages and websites solely for the purpose of link building. This is again discounted as a valued SEO technique as most search engines have deprecated the value of links coming in from potential link farms. And again black hat SEO fails the test of sailing through on a long-term basis.
3. Hidden Textual Blocks Many firms that need to have spare content (such as photography sites, video portals etc) try and use blocks of text that are filled with keywords, but are of no use from the readers' point of view. Till only recently, this Black Hat SEO technique passed off as good but today search engines can monitor and skim you off the SERPs with the slightest hint of such tactics.
4. Cloaking of Text Another way of keyword stuffing textual blocks without having it on the reader-oriented content on the site. The webmasters therefore conceal hidden blocks of text which are stuffed with the targeted keywords, making them identifiable by the search engines, but not by the user. This can help you rank quickly with in the SERPs, but when detected (trust us, you will soon be) you will be banned for life.
5. Doorways Using different but incomplete web pages to help create faster and more frequent indexing of the site but only redirect a stranded user to the real site.
Remember, no matter how priced a SEO deal is, if it entails the usage of Black Hat SEO techniques, avoid it. Affordable SEO packages will suit you better, because most of them use ethical SEO techniques! For you will be better off. Because with SEO, perseverance pays temporary results don't!
