White Hat Versus Black Hat SEO
Search engine optimization or SEO is the act of enhancing the quantity and quality of site visitors to a particular website or a particular web page by search engines. SEO aims at increasing the number of inbound links to a particular website or web page by search engines, and also at improving the position that a particular website or web page is in search engine results for a particular keyword or phrase. Most SEO efforts are aimed at improving rankings and visibility on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
The major categories of search engine optimization include such tactics as directory submission, search engine advertising, ecommerce optimization and web analytics. Directory submissions involve submitting content to web directories in an attempt to attract more visitors. Search engines also look for the number of times a page is displayed in search results, and also for the amount of time that a page is viewed. Some search engines, such as Yahoo!, have developed their own proprietary algorithms for ranking and displaying web pages.
Search engine advertising is a technique of search engine optimization that includes paid search engine optimization (SEO) and organic search engine optimization. The most widely used form of SEO is PPC, or Pay-Per-Click. This method of search engine optimization is based around bidding on certain keywords, which determine the cost per click advertisers will pay. These keywords are chosen based on relevancy, search volume, and competition.
Another form of search engine optimization is white hat seo, which is more commonly referred to as organic SEO. This form of SEO is not driven by keywords, but instead by overall content. White hat seo has the opposite effect of black hat seo. It tends to draw in more visitors because it does not focus so much on keywords or phrases.
The techniques used in SEO vary greatly, but there is one common method, which almost always works. SEO experts believe that the best possible method of search engine optimization is to get as many relevant links as possible pointing toward your website. If your website is well established and you have high traffic volume, you will not have any problems getting a lot of links pointing to your site. This is usually accomplished by submitting articles to article directories, creating forum topics, joining various discussion boards, and posting to blogs related to your industry. By doing this, you build credibility and your reputation as an expert in your field. Gradually, you will begin to appear on the first page or at the top of the search results.
With black hat seo, or spam SEO, the objective is to trick the search engines into thinking your site is relevant and trustworthy. There are several methods, which can be used to do this, but the best known are link farms and link exchanges. Link farms are when you buy links from other sites to help boost your own ranking. These sites often have nothing to do with your industry, so they are easy to fool. However, if done incorrectly it can actually hurt your chances of being found on the first page.
Another method, which can be used to manipulate search engine results, is called link trading. In this case, you would actually give up some control over your website so that the owner can promote your company link to others. Although this method may work to improve your rankings in specific search term phrases, it will most likely come across as spam to the engines and they will drop your site off the rankings or charge you a fee to re-list. Link exchanges are done on a particular search term or for a particular search term. In order to qualify as relevant for this exchange, you must provide quality content that is fresh and not stale.
So whether you choose to go with white hat seo methods or black hat SEO, both have their pros and cons. There is a possibility that your company website could be hurt by either black hat SEO or white hat SEO. It’s up to you to research the topic more fully and decide for yourself which method is best suited for your website. However, it’s important that you understand which methods are which before making your decision.