What is Black Hat and White SEO and White Hat vs Black Hat Seo Technique

White Hat vs Black Hat Seo Techniques

As with any industry as large as SEO, you’ll come across many different opinions about the most effective ways to approach site optimization.

And though many of these tactics can work, and the idea of which is “best” is largely subjective, there’s one distinction you need to be aware of: White hat vs. black hat SEO.

While some SEOs might paint these as two different schools of thought, they’re not so much equal categorizations as a right and a wrong way to do SEO.

So on this page, we’ll get into the differences between white hat and black hat SEO, as well as the strategies involved in each, and a few white hat SEO examples.

We’ll also discuss a less common middle category, and answer the question, “what is grey hat SEO?”

So if you want to know more, keep reading to learn about these different approaches to search engine optimization — and how to create a strategy that won’t put your business at risk.

What Is Black Hat SEO? A Definition

Black hat SEO refers to a set of practices that are used to increases a site or page’s rank in search engines through means that violate the search engine’s terms of service. The term “black hat” originated in Western movies to distinguish the “bad guys” from the “good guys,” who wore white hats (see white hat SEO). Recently, it’s been used more commonly to describe computer hackers, virus creators, and those who perform unethical actions with computers.

If a tactic meets the following criteria, it can be classified as a black hat.

1. It violates search engine guidelines
Black hat tactics violate Google’s guidelines, and in many cases, are directly referenced in these guidelines as practices you shouldn’t use.

2. It relies on manipulative tactics
While white hat SEO involves looking for ways to improve user experience, black hat SEO relies on manipulating Google’s algorithm to improve rankings.

To put it simply, if a tactic is designed to make Google think that a site provides more value to users than it really does, it’s deceptive — and it’s black hat SEO.

3. It focuses on “quick wins”
Many of the strategies involved in black hat SEO are focused on exploiting loopholes in Google’s algorithm that can lead to improvements in rankings without much work.

And while some of these tactics can produce results, they’re almost always short-lived.

That’s because Google is constantly improving its algorithm to provide the best results to searchers, and to prevent site owners who don’t provide a great site experience from ranking well.

This means that sites using black hat strategies are at risk of losing their rankings every time there’s a new algorithm update — making this a much more short-term approach than white hat SEO.

What Is White Hat SEO?

The term “white hat SEO” refers to SEO tactics that are in line with the terms and conditions of the major search engines, including Google.

White hat SEO is the opposite of Black Hat SEO. Generally, white hat SEO refers to any practice that improves your search rankings on a search engine results page (SERP) while maintaining the integrity of your website and staying within the search engines’ terms of service. These tactics stay within the bounds as defined by Google. Examples of white hat SEO include:

1. Offering quality content and services
2. Fast site loading times and mobile-friendliness
3. Using descriptive, keyword-rich meta tags
4. Making your site easy to navigate

Examples of black hat SEO, by contrast, include purchasing links or using deceptive cloaking techniques. Any tactics that are considered deceitful or harmful for consumers would qualify as a black hat. Black hat tactics are extremely risky and, as Google’s algorithms evolve, less and less likely to work.

But to give you a more concrete idea of what means, a white hat strategy meets the following three criteria.

1. It follows search engine guidelines
The most widely accepted definition of white hat SEO is that it follows Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.

These are the rules that Google has laid out to define the proper way to optimize a site.

And while they go into a bit of detail as to what an “ethical” SEO strategy looks like, they can essentially be summed up with one simple idea: Don’t be manipulative.

So, in general, if you’re not attempting to manipulate rankings or otherwise deceive Google’s algorithm, you’re likely following their guidelines and using white hat SEO.

2. It focuses on a human audience
White hat SEO involves making changes that are beneficial to a site’s visitors.

And when you consider that Google’s top priority is to provide their users with the best possible results, it makes sense that this is an essential component of the “right” way to do SEO.

Fortunately, many of the most effective SEO strategies already involve taking steps that improve the experience a site provides its visitors.

Tactics like publishing high-quality content and improving page load times improve the value that users get from a site, and the ease with which they can navigate it — making them upstanding, Google-approved strategies.

3. It takes a long-term approach
Strategies that follow Google’s guidelines and create a positive user experience are often more time- and work-intensive than black hat methods.

This means that it will take time to see the results you want.

But on the flip side, white hat SEO also has a much more lasting impact. That’s because when you use strategies that are designed to improve your overall site experience, you can achieve steady rankings for your target keywords.

Since it involves investing in content that can generate results for years to come, and using tactics that don’t put you at risk for consequences from Google, white hat is a more long-term approach.

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

The biggest differences between these two approaches are that white hat SEO follows Google’s guidelines and improves user experience, while black hat SEO violates those guidelines and is typically done with complete disregard for human users.

Examples
Given that the core goals behind the white hat and black hat SEO are very different, it should come as no surprise that there’s very little overlap in the specific tactics involved.

black hat and white hat seo techniques

Here are some of the top White Hat SEO tactics you can use to “play by the rules” to boost your website’s presence:

1. Quality content
2. Content-relevant keywords
3. Keyword-rich page titles and metadata
4. Lean code/well-structured markup language
5. Authoritative inbound links
6. Simple website navigation
7. Fast page loading times

7 White Hat SEO Techniques

1. Quality content written for the benefit of the reader, not the search engine crawler, is the most crucial element of modern-day SEO. It is the best way to be rewarded by search engines and how they rank your site or blog. Always remember that quality content is king!
2. Content-relevant keywords based on disciplined research around page content are mandatory. Also, pay attention to keyword usage. Stick to one primary keyword and 2 or 3 secondary/supporting keywords.
3. Keyword-rich page titles and metadata are also mandatory. It’s easy to overlook or underestimate these areas, but optimization is low-hanging fruit for most sites.
4. Lean code and semantically structured markup language, including the use of keyword-rich heading elements on your pages, aid search engines in finding what they’re looking for when crawling your site.
5. Authoritative inbound links that are gained organically versus paid links have become one of the most important elements in your SEO efforts. Attaining authoritative inbound links takes time and dedication, but the tremendous impact on how you rank in SERPs and increased overall site traffic make it well worth the effort.
6. Simple website navigation generally boosts where your site places in organic search rankings. It also helps visitors find what they need without getting frustrated, which is a win for potential conversions.
7. Fast page loading times are a necessity because, like simple navigation or mobile optimization, responsive sites don’t frustrate visitors or encourage bounce. From an SEO standpoint, site speed is a search engine ranking signal. Sites that are slow in responding to visitor requests for whatever reason (large images, image carousels, etc.) generally rank lower in SERPs because the user experience is jeopardized. Be mindful of functionality and features and how they impact load times.

Being familiar with white hat SEO isn’t enough to keep you from inadvertently crossing into an SEO grey area or, worse, do something that violates search engine guidelines — black hat SEO territory.

Here are some of the top Black Hat SEO tactics to avoid when boosting your website’s visibility:

1. Keyword Stuffing
2. Meta Keyword Stuffing
3. Link Farming
4. Cloaking Your Content
5. Publishing Bad Content

5 Black Hat SEO Techniques

1. Keyword stuffing — hidden content masked with the use of code but stuffed with keyword jargon so it’s only visible to the search engine crawler — may have worked in the past, but search algorithms have gotten smarter. Site owners engaging in this “number one no-no” will be subject to a hefty fine and/or the site may be blocked by search engine authorities.
2. Meta keyword stuffing — unnaturally placing keywords in web page meta tags, page titles, or backlink anchor text — is easy enough for a trained monkey to conduct, but does not positively impact your SEO. In fact, it can turn away search engine crawlers.
3. Link farming is the process of gathering a whole slew of unrelated website links that are typically hidden from actual site visitors. Being listed on such a page won’t get you traffic — in fact, it potentially puts you at risk of having your site flagged.
4. Content cloaking is a lot like electronic bait and switch. Search engine spiders are shown content that doesn’t actually appear in the user’s browser. This dual path helps sites rank for irrelevant content and provides unwitting users with results other than that which they expected. A basic example would be providing HTML to search engines while showing images or Flash files to human users — a classic trick of spammers.
5. Publishing bad content provides no value to visitors and reflects poorly on you. Scraping or copying content from other sites was once nearly undetectable by search engines, which made it a bit of a rankings boon. Now, Google and other search engines have algorithms in place that not only recognize duplicate content but instantly down-rank sites for duplication or other low-quality content.

Wearing the White Hat

SEO can help or hinder your site’s success, depending on the hat that you choose to wear. White hat SEO is a powerhouse, delivering relevant content, clicks, higher visibility, more conversion opportunities, and other business builders. Black hat SEO, on the other hand, is fraught with peril — potential fines, site shutdowns, bounces, a dissatisfying user experience, and a loss of conversion opportunities. Be sure you’re educated about which tactics are white and black so you choose the right ones.

What is Grey Hat SEO?

Although this is a less common term, you’ll sometimes hear SEOs refer to “grey hat” tactics.

And as you may have guessed, this term is used to describe strategies that fall somewhere in between white hat and black hat SEO.

In most cases, they could be considered manipulative, but Google hasn’t named them as practices to avoid.

So while they might be less risky than the tactics Google has explicitly defined as bad, they still hold the potential for consequences.

For example, tactics like creating doorway pages, building microsites, and submitting to link directories are all considered “grey hat.” You’ll occasionally come across debates about whether these are safe to use, or simply not worth the risk.

The risks of using black hat or grey hat tactics

Using tactics that attempt to manipulate Google’s algorithm has two possible consequences. Your site could be demoted in rankings due to an algorithm update, or manually penalized by Google.

Algorithm updates

Google regularly updates its algorithm with the goal of improving the results it delivers to users. And many of these updates are designed to close the loopholes that black hat SEO exploits.

For example, one of the most notable changes was the 2012 “Penguin” update that was designed to target sites buying links or using spammy link practices.

When this update was released, thousands of site owners using deceptive link practices saw their rankings drop — and lost all of the results they’d gained through those practices.

Since then, Google has released countless updates targeting manipulative SEO practices. So while these updates don’t target specific site owners or “ban” them from search results, they can have a serious impact on the rankings of sites using black hat tactics.

Manual penalties

Sites using black hat SEO are also at risk of a Manual Action from Google.

These penalties are given by human reviewers from Google’s team and indicate that a site has been flagged for violating their guidelines.

And unlike algorithm updates, manual actions can prevent sites from appearing in search results altogether.

In this case, black hat tactics can have the exact opposite result from what the SEOs using them intend.

Is Link Building Black Hat SEO?

One common concern among site owners is whether link building is considered black hat SEO.

After all, most site owners build links solely with the goal of improving rankings. They don’t impact user experience, and their main purpose is to improve a site’s credibility with search engines.

So, does this mean you shouldn’t attempt to earn links to your site?

Fortunately, the answer is no — but you should be careful about the tactics you use.

As Google outlines in their guidelines, you shouldn’t participate in link schemes and affiliate programs that don’t provide value. And you should never attempt to buy links.

But as long as you aren’t attempting to manipulate Google’s algorithm with spammy, unnatural links, taking steps to earn them is not an inherently black hat practice.

The bottom line: stick to white hat tactics

White hat SEO takes time.

It requires a significant amount of time, effort, and often money, to achieve significant results.

As a result, you might be tempted to look for black hat shortcuts to speed up the process.

But when it comes down to it, the risks simply aren’t worth the potential rewards.

Invest in a white hat strategy, and you’ll be much more successful in the long term — without having to worry about algorithm updates or potential penalties.

Conclusion

As you dig deeper into the world of digital marketing and the best ways to optimize your site, the black hat vs. white hat SEO debate is one you may come across often.

And when you do, just remember that this isn’t a debate worth your time.

White hat SEO is, point-blank, the better approach — and you shouldn’t listen to anyone who attempts to tell you otherwise.

While black hat SEO may enable some site owners to achieve quick wins, it directly violates Google’s guidelines, relies on manipulative tactics, and is ultimately much more likely to lead to a penalty than the results you want.

White hat SEO, on the other hand, follows search engine guidelines, focuses on a human audience, and takes a long-term approach — all of which are essential for making a lasting, positive impact on your search visibility.