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Black Hat vs White Hat SEO: What's the Difference?

Jan 29, 2021

Written by Casey Bjorkdahl

Profile Picture Casey Bjorkdahl of https://www.vazoola.com

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.

Black Hat vs White Hat SEO: What's the Difference?

The way in which a company utilizes search engine optimization (SEO) matters. There are various methods and strategies to consider, but it often comes down to black hat vs white hat SEO. These terms describe bad and good strategies for building links, using keywords, and using other strategies to increase a website's ranking in search engines.

By far, black hat SEO techniques are not recommended and may hurt your company’s ability to rank well. If you’ve been using blackhat marketing or blackhat links, we encourage you to learn a bit more about the proper methods for ranking and why they work.

When it comes to blackhat vs whitehat, our linking service is here to help you make the right decision or your website to get the type and amount of growth you want and need.

What Is Black Hat SEO?

Black hat SEO or black hat marketing is a method of SEO use that involves the use of tactics often seen as trying to manipulate outcomes. The goal of all quality marketing is to provide value to the reader of the content. In black hat SEO, that tends to not be the focus.

Some of the key elements that make black hat SEO problematic include:

  • Violations of search engine guidelines noted tactics that are specifically stated as things that should not be done
  • Manipulative tactics such as trying to influence search engine rankings in a deceptive manner
  • Looking for quick solutions to rank for SEO when they are not effective in the long term

Sometimes, these methods may 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 is possible to have a site blacklisted as a result.

What Is SEO White Hat?

White hat SEO is the opposite. It is the process of following recommended and legitimate strategies to help encourage organic and effective results. It is ethical, and the correct way of optimizing your website to get the results you want. There are a few key things that play a role in what true white hat strategies offer:

  • Search Engine Guidelines Are in Place: At the heart of the process is following the search engines' guidelines. Since this is what you want to achieve, it’s best to follow the strategies they require. This often means simply not trying to game the system but following white hat linking strategies and keyword usage.
  • 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 with most search engines is providing the best experience for the reader. That means helping them find exactly what they are looking for in content when they search for it. Everything done should be for the reader.
  • The Long Focus: Finally, white hat SEO also focuses on 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.

How to Incorporate White Hat SEO Into Your Website

It’s never ideal to use black hat SEO tactics since they are not going to produce real results. Black hat SEO examples such as keyword stuffing and trying to buy rankings do not work.

What is white hat SEO able to do for you? Instead of unethical approaches, work on implementing white hat SEO techniques. That includes using high-quality content on your website and gaining backlinks to your site in an ethical way. Research and incorporate keywords in content, but be selective and choose those that are best suited for the products and services you offer. It’s also important to consider backlink strategies such as finding authentically good quality websites to have your links placed for guest posting.

Let a White Hat SEO Agency Do the Work

When it comes to investing in what hat SEO techniques, there is a lot you can do on your own. It’s possible to invest that time into building a website that offers outstanding content and results for the reader. Yet, it is 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 the white hat method is the best route to take.

Ready to Work with a White Hat SEO Service? 

White hat SEO techniques can change the way your website ranks in the search engine. When choosing the right white label SEO service, let us show you what we can do to give you the results you desire. Not all companies are the same, but our team is dedicated to providing a high-quality service designed to offer authentic results that last for years to come. Reach out to us to learn how we do it.

See Similar Articles:  SEO Strategy

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Using LSI keywords in an SEO strategy

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Your Guide to Thriving With Schema Markup

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