Online visibility experts have probably heard of the term known as unscrupulous SEO techniques. Blackhat SEO embraces a collection of strategies utilized to here improve a website's or page's ranking in search engine rankings, but through methods that violate the search engines' terms of service.
Essentially, blackhat SEO is a shortcut that may get your site to the top of search engine rankings quickly. However, these techniques are often seen as unethical, and search engines like Google may severely penalize sites caught using them.
An infamous blackhat technique is overusing keywords. This entails packing a webpage with key terms or numbers to game a site's ranking in Google search rankings. They might be in a list, group, out of context, or hidden in the code.
Creating link farms is another common method. Here, sites are linked together in a circular network to improve the rank of all the pages in the network. However, if a page is linked to from a high number of unrelated sites, it may also be penalized.
Cloaking is an even more extreme blackhat method. This involves different content is presented to search engines than to users, essentially redirecting users to alternate pages aside from their knowledge.
Despite the harsh consequences, why do people use blackhat SEO? The evident answer is: for immediate results. These techniques give websites the pretense of authority, boosting them up the search results quickly.
However, the advantage is fleeting. Search engines now incorporate complex algorithms which identify these deceptive techniques. Once they're identified, penalties may include reduced rankings or even being removed entirely from the search index.
As a consequence, many websites are shifting to white hat SEO strategies. These are techniques that aim to build a website's prominence in legitimate ways. Some methods are creating meaningful content that provides valuable information to the reader, optimizing website tags, or creating a positive user interface.
So, while blackhat SEO may come across as a quick way to improve your site's visibility, it's a perilous game to play. It's more advisable to focus whitehat SEO methods, that improve your website through appropriate means, thus providing sustainable success.