Black Hat or White Hat SEO: Which Side Are You On?

Every website uses some technique or the other to boost up their SEO. A lot of websites hire firms that help them do so. However, there is a very fine line between techniques that are acceptable and techniques that can shut down your website.  These techniques are called White Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO, no prizes for guesses which is which.

Black Hat SEO

Let's start with the bad guy, Black Hat SEO are those aggressive strategies that focus only on search engine optimisation. These techniques are used by people looking for quick profits with no regard for authentic content. Some of the top moves in the Black Hat SEO business are

•    Hidden Content

The villain is usually under a disguise, same goes for Black Hat SEO. Keywords are the most important ingredient in the SEO recipe of success. So some websites stuff keywords in disguise. These keywords can be hidden in the form of comment tags, noscript tag, noframes tag or by using CSS. Extremely small text or coloured text is also used in some cases.

•    Stuffing Meta Keywords

Meta Keywords are used to describe the website's content in an extremely concise manner. However, many websites misuse this option and add unnecessary Meta keywords. Same goes Meta description, what is to be said in 2-3 lines is often extended to 6-7 lines in order to stuff as many keywords as possible.

White Hat SEO

White Hat SEO tactics that are a part of the rulebook, it is the ethical way of going up the SEO ladder. These tactics help boost your website's SEO but they do not compromise the quality of the content.

•    Quality Inbound Links

It is common knowledge that having quality links on your website influences how high your site is placed on a search engine.  But what is also important is that the links you provide are relevant. So if you think having a matrimonial site's link on your handbag selling website is good. Well, it's not.

•    Effective Keyword Use

Stuffing your website with keywords is a bad idea. The trick is to use the right combination of keywords so that your website pops up at the top of every search engine's result page. Assign keywords to every page and use them effectively in every aspect of that page. Multi-word phrases work better than single words. Stay true to your main product or service and use your keywords judiciously.

•    Structure it Right

Give your data a definite structure, so that search engine crawlers can easily locate every dimension of your website. The clearer you are about your content, the more easily it will be spotted. It is always a good idea to use headings and sub-headings as it gives a more refined structure to your data.

Money making is the idea behind most websites but if you wish to make cash for a longer duration, it is always better to side with the good guys.

Which Side Are You On? - Are you looking for SEO consultant in Melbourne? Whether you want to learn the skills required for SEO or want a member of your marketing team to make a real SEO impact, then contact Rank First today and book one of their SEO consultants.