Apr 22, 2025
Casey Bjorkdahl is one of the pioneering thought leaders in the SEO community. In 2010, Casey co-founded Vazoola after working for a Digital Marketing Agency for five years in New York City. Vazoola is now one of the fastest growing and most widely recognized SEO marketing firms in the country.
Search engine optimization is still a vital element of digital marketing, but not all methods are created equal. Some companies get it right the first time with an ethical, long-term approach. But others try to manipulate search rankings for overnight results.
Those two strategies define white hat and black hat SEO.
Knowing the difference between white hat SEO and black hat SEO is important for anyone who wants to increase their online visibility without the fear of penalties.
After all, search engines are constantly evolving to reward quality content and penalize deceptive tactics. Sure, black hat techniques can be plenty tempting, but they also carry significant risks.
White hat SEO, on the other hand, is all about long-term growth obtained by delivering value to users and adhering to search engine guidelines.
To give you a head start on your own strategy, we've put together the key differences between the different types of SEO tactics, examples of each, and actionable steps that will help you implement ethical SEO strategies that drive lasting success.
Key Takeaways About White Hat vs Black Hat SEO
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White hat SEO follows search engine guidelines. It focuses on quality content, ethical link-building, and long-term success.
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Black hat SEO manipulates rankings through deceptive tactics, which can lead to penalties or even search engine blacklisting.
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Gray hat SEO combines elements of both. It uses riskier methods that may not be explicitly banned but still carry potential penalties.
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The best SEO strategy prioritizes sustainable growth through legitimate optimization techniques that enhance user experience.
Table of Contents
What Is Black Hat SEO?
Black hat SEO or black hat marketing is any practice that tries to manipulate outcomes. The goal of all quality marketing is to provide value to the reader of the content. But in black hat SEO, that tends not to be the focus.
It’s never ideal to use black hat SEO tactics since they are not going to produce real results. Black hat SEO examples like keyword stuffing and trying to buy rankings do not work… and they could backfire.
Key Elements of Black Hat SEO
So, if you’re supposed to avoid black hat SEO, what exactly does that encompass? It’s never a good idea to engage in:
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Violations of search engine guidelines. Google’s guidelines, for example, specifically list certain tactics that should not be done.
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Manipulative tactics like trying to influence search engine rankings in a deceptive manner.
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Quick solutions to rank for SEO that are not effective in the long term.
Sometimes, these methods can produce some initial boost to traffic, but they rarely last. Once the search engines determine that these tactics are being used, it’s less likely that rankings will remain. And, it’s even possible to have a site blacklisted as a result.
Examples of Black Hat SEO
Common – albeit il-advised – black hat SEO techniques include:
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Cloaking – Showing different content to search engines than what users see.
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Hidden Text and Links – Using text or links in the same color as the background to manipulate rankings. These are considered black hat links.
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Keyword Stuffing – Overloading pages with keywords to manipulate rankings.
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Link Farms – Creating artificial backlinks from low-quality sites to boost authority.
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Sneaky Redirects – Sending users to a different page than what was originally indexed.
Shift focus from matching keywords exactly to building topical authority around entities. Incorporate semantically related terms and develop content clusters that reinforce your expertise within a subject area.
What Is White Hat SEO?
What is white hat link building and SEO, anyway?
White hat SEO is the opposite, as its name would imply. It’s the process of following recommended and legitimate strategies to encourage organic and effective results. It is ethical, and the correct way to optimize your website and get the results you want.
Key elements of White Hat SEO
There are a few key things that play a role in what true white hat strategies offer:
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Following the search engines' guidelines. Since this is what you want to achieve, it’s best to follow the strategies they require.
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Aiming for quality human results. Instead of writing for the search engine bot, write content that delivers what a real person wants and needs to read. A big focus for most search engines is providing the best experience for the reader.
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Focusing on your long game. White hat SEO’s goal is long-term growth and development rather than quick fixes. That means it lasts longer, and it creates improvement in search engine rankings over the long term.
Examples of White Hat Methods in SEO
If you’re trying to think of your own white hat SEO strategies, consider the following examples:
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High-Quality Content – Developing valuable, informative content for users.
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Ethical Backlinks – Earning white hat SEO backlinks naturally from reputable sources.
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Targeted Keywords – Researching and integrating keywords without overuse.
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Optimized Website Performance – Improving site speed, mobile-friendliness, and security.
Vazoola employs ethical SEO strategies to drive sustainable growth while adhering to search engine guidelines. Our white hat backlinks service secures high-quality, relevant backlinks through outreach and partnerships.
Our content marketing services focus on creating optimized, engaging content that ranks well. Plus, our niche edits strategically place white hat links in existing, high-ranking content to boost relevance and authority.
These white hat techniques ensure long-term search success without risking penalties.
Support high-authority backlinks by building second-tier links that drive authority to those target pages. Use guest posts, social shares, and contextual internal links to boost the impact of your primary backlinks.
What is Gray Hat SEO?
Gray hat SEO falls between white hat and black hat techniques. It uses strategies that are not explicitly prohibited, but they might still carry risks. These tactics can sometimes provide short-term benefits, but search engines may penalize them over time.
Key Elements of Gray Hat SEO
What makes an SEO strategy an example of gray hat? If it’s not white hat or black hat SEO, what is it?
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Not strictly forbidden, but still risky. Gray hat SEO uses methods that could be flagged as manipulative in the future.
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Short-term gains, potential long-term risks. The tactics can work initially but may be penalized later.
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Attempts to balance ethics with faster results. Gray hat strategies seek advantages without directly violating rules.
Use scroll depth, session duration, and interaction tracking to assess whether users are engaging with your content as intended. Adjust design and copy based on intent categories—informational, navigational, or transactional—to reduce bounce and increase conversions.
Examples of Gray Hat SEO
Need further illustration of gray hat SEO? Here are some examples:
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Buying Expired Domains – Redirecting old domains with existing authority to new sites.
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Paying for Reviews – Using incentives for reviews to manipulate trust signals.
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Using Clickbait Titles – Crafting misleading titles to increase click-through rates.
How to Incorporate White Hat SEO Into Your Website
What can white hat SEO do for you?
Instead of unethical approaches, why not work on implementing white hat SEO techniques? That can include adding high-quality content to your website and gaining a white hat backlink to your site in an ethical way.
Implementing white hat SEO techniques ensures your website remains in good standing with search engines. Follow these steps to optimize your site for search using white hat SEO:
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Publish High-Quality Content – Create informative, engaging, and valuable content for users.
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Use Ethical Link-Building Strategies – Earn backlinks through guest posts, industry citations, and partnerships.
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Optimize for Mobile and Speed – Improve load times and ensure a seamless mobile experience.
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Target Keywords Naturally – Conduct keyword research and integrate terms organically into your content. Just be selective and choose keywords that are best suited for the products and services you offer.
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Improve User Experience – Enhance website navigation, security, and design.
What’s the moral of this story? Don’t game Google. It won’t pay off in the long run, and it could cost you plenty – far more than the monetary white hat link building cost.
Go beyond standard site audits by reviewing server log files to identify crawl waste, priority URL groups, and indexation issues. This allows fine-tuning of internal linking, page depth, and robots.txt configurations.
Let a White Hat SEO Agency Do the Work
When it comes to investing in white hat SEO techniques, there is a lot you can do on your own. It’s certainly possible to invest your time into building a website that offers outstanding content and results for the reader, then using white hat SEO tools to optimize it.
Yet, it’s a lot of work, and it can be hard to stay up to date on the ever-changing rules.
That’s why working with a professional organization that specializes in white hat SEO methods is the best route to take.
Indeed, managing SEO in-house can be overwhelming. A professional white hat SEO agency and white hat link-building company like Vazoola can:
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Stay Updated on Algorithm Changes – Keep strategies aligned with the latest search engine updates.
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Provide Expert White Hat Link-Building Services – Build high-quality backlinks from reputable sources.
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Create and Optimize Content – Develop well-researched, engaging material that ranks well.
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Monitor and Improve Rankings – Track performance like Google ranking and site visitors, then make data-driven adjustments.
Working with experts ensures your website remains compliant with search engine guidelines while achieving long-term SEO success. Investing in white hat SEO not only protects your rankings but also builds a strong, authoritative online presence.
Want to boost your website’s rank with tried and true white hat SEO strategies? Contact Vazoola today and find out how our white label link building and white hat SEO service can give you the results you seek. Ask about a white hat link building package that scales with your business!
Structure content to target specific SERP features like featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, and image packs. Use concise answers, schema markup, and well-formatted headings to increase the chances of owning these high-visibility placements.