Best SEO Practices To Follow And Worst To Avoid: [Black Hat, White Hat, & More]

Introduction

The world of SEO is vast and complex, with many different facets. Various techniques can be used to improve your website’s ranking on search engine results pages, but it can be tricky to know which ones are safe and effective. In this article, we’ll explore the different types of SEO-blackhat, whitehat, grey hat, and negative SEO-and what they entail.

SEO Practices#1 Blackhat SEO

Blackhat SEO refers to the use of unethical and sometimes illegal methods to achieve higher rankings on search engines. These approaches are often seen as shortcuts or “cheats,” and are typically frowned upon by the online community.

Black Hat SEO Techniques

Some of the most common black hat SEO techniques include keyword stuffing, link buying, and doorway pages. These techniques are frowned upon by Google and other search engines and can lead to your website being penalized or even banned from the search results altogether. Well, if you want to avoid making mistakes then the first thing on your list must be “knowing them”.

#1 Keyword stuffing

Keyword stuffing is a technique that used to be popular among SEOs, but it’s now considered an outdated and frowned-upon practice. This involves filling your website’s content with as many keywords as possible in an attempt to rank higher in the search results. However, this can have the opposite effect and can lead to your website being penalized or de-indexed altogether. In the above image, you can see the word red apples repeated over and over in the same paragraph.

#2 Cloaking

Cloaking is another technique that can be used to improve your website’s ranking in the search engine results pages, but it’s considered a grey hat technique if not caught and a blackhat SEO technique, if caught.

This involves serving different content to users and search engine crawlers, in an attempt to deceive them into thinking that your site is higher-ranking than it is. However, this can result in your website being penalized by the search engines, so it’s not something that you should consider doing.

#3 Hidden text or links

Using hidden text or links is a blackhat SEO technique that involves incorporating text or links into your website’s code that is not visible to the average user but can be seen by search engine crawlers.

This can be used to manipulate your website’s ranking in search engine results pages by increasing the number of links to your site from other websites, or by including keywords that you want to rank for but are not relevant to your content. This technique is considered unethical like the other techniques and can result in your website being penalized by search engines.

#4 Doorway pages

Doorway pages are another blackhat SEO technique that can be used to improve your website’s ranking in the search engine results pages. This involves creating low-quality, keyword-stuffed pages that exist only to funnel users to a different page. These pages are designed to be “liked” by search engines so that they will appear aggressively in the results pages, even if their content is not relevant or useful to users.

Doorway pages often have little or no original content and are created with the sole purpose of manipulating the search engine results pages. This is an unethical and potentially dangerous technique that can result in your website being banned from search engines.

#5 Scraping and mirroring content

Mirroring or scraping content can be a powerful tool in blackhat SEO. By replicating the content of high-traffic websites, you can siphon some of their traffic to your site. This is done by copying the text of the website, as well as any accompanying images and videos, and pasting it all onto your site. This can be a time-consuming process.

But, if you can get even a fraction of the traffic of the original site with this method it can be worth it(you certainly did not hear it from us), but the question is, is it worth “stealing the traffic”?

#6 Automated content generation

When it comes to blackhat SEO, automated content generation is one of the worst practices you can engage in. This is because it involves using software to create fake or low-quality content to manipulate search engine results. Not only is this unethical and likely to get your website penalized by Google, but it can also damage your brand reputation and turn off potential customers.

#7 Link farming

Link farming is a blackhat SEO technique that involves creating links to a website from other websites to artificially boost the site’s ranking in search engine results pages. This is often done by creating dummy websites or blog comments specifically to link to a target site.

Problem

The problem with link farming is that it can be easily detected by search engines, and it can result in the target site being penalized or even banned from the search engine’s index. Additionally, link farms are often populated with low-quality websites that provide little value to visitors, which can reflect poorly on the target site.

#8 Purchased links

There’s a good chance you’ve already heard of this technique where someone buys their way into top rankings on Google with bought links. While this can be effective for boosting traffic and revenue at first glance; it might not work as well in the long-term since Google penalizes websites that violate its spammy link guidelines!

Problem

Google is increasingly cracking down on this practice, as it is considered to be a form of link manipulation. This means that it can result in your website being penalized or even banned from Google’s search results altogether.

#9 Churn & Burn

Churn and burn is a black hat SEO technique that involves rapidly creating and deleting pages or blogs to increase a website’s ranking in search engine results pages. This is achieved by creating a large number of low-quality backlinks to the site, which will then boost its position in the search results.

Churn & Burn Risks:

However, this technique can be risky as search engines like Google are constantly updating their algorithms to improve the quality of search results. This means that once this technique is discovered, it can cause a site’s ranking to plummet.

Another big drawback of this technique is that it can also harm other websites in the process. For example, if you’re using churn and burn to create backlinks for your website, you may inadvertently hurt the rankings of other sites in the process. This can lead to complaints from other site owners and even legal action against you if they feel that it is directly harming their business.

Churn and burn is a strategy that some people use to make money. It’s not great for your credit score, but there are benefits associated with this type of marketing campaign if you do it right!

We won’t talk about those though…what are the moral code rules again?

#10 Bait & Switch

The bait and switch technique is a type of blackhat SEO that involves deceiving search engines into ranking a website higher than it deserves. This can be done by creating low-quality pages specifically designed to rank high in search results, or by using fraudulent methods like keyword stuffing and link spamming.

While this technique can be effective in the short term, it’s not sustainable in the long run. Not only will search engines eventually catch on and penalize the offending website, but users will also quickly realize they’re being deceived and will stop trusting the site.

#11 Content Spinning

The black hat technique of spinning content involves rewriting to make content more keyword-rich and has been around for years. It’s an attempt by webmasters and SEO specialists alike, to improve their ranking on Google search engine results pages (SERPs).

However this risky practice can lead you down a slippery slope if not done correctly – so be careful! Now, we wouldn’t want you to be hand-cuffed by the Google police.

#12 Google Bowling

Google Bowling is another unethical blackhat SEO technique that can result in severe penalties from Google. It involves artificially lowering the ranking of a website on Google’s search results pages. This can be done by spamming the website’s links to low-quality websites, or by creating fake negative reviews and comments about the site. By artificially reducing the site’s ranking, the goal is to make it less visible to potential customers and visitors. This technique is considered unethical and can result in severe penalties from Google.

While there are a ton of other black hat techniques, we don’t want to get too technical. Just know that if you’re thinking about using any of these methods to improve your website’s ranking, you’re taking a big risk. Not only could you be penalized by Google, but you could also damage your reputation and lose the trust of your visitors.

SEO Practices#2 White Hat SEO

White hat SEO is a term used to describe the ethical and safe approach to optimizing a website for search engines. It involves using techniques that are approved by Google and other search engines, and it focuses on creating a good user experience. White hat SEO is the opposite of black hat SEO, which is a more aggressive approach that involves using frowned-upon techniques to try to game the system.

White Hat SEO Techniques

Some common white hat SEO techniques include things like optimizing your website for relevant keywords, creating high-quality content, and building links from other reputable websites. These techniques can be time-consuming and difficult to execute, but they will pay off in the long run by helping you rank higher in search engines.

Though we have many articles only to discuss these “Ethical” techniques, let us brush up our knowledge again with three of the most common White hat techniques:

1. Optimize your website for search engines

One of the most basic white hat SEO techniques is to optimize your website for search engines. This involves making sure your site is coded in a way that makes it easy for Google and other search engines to understand and index. You can also help improve your site’s ranking by including keywords in relevant title tags, meta descriptions, and on-page content.

2. Use backlinks to boost your ranking

Backlinks are a major factor in how search engines rank websites. You can improve your website’s ranking by building high-quality backlinks from other reputable websites related to your niche or industry. One way to do this is to guest post on other blogs or websites and include links back to your site.

3. Publish quality content

Another important white hat SEO technique is to publish quality content on your website. This means creating informative and well-written blog posts, articles, and web pages that offer value to your target audience. Quality content helps improve your site’s ranking in search engine results pages, but it also helps build trust and credibility with your target audience.

SEO Practices#3 Grey Hat SEO

SEO can be a tricky business. Grey hat SEO is a murky area between black hat and white hat techniques. It involves using methods that are frowned upon by Google but may not be explicitly against the rules. Greyhat SEO is a technique that is not quite as bad as blackhat SEO, but it’s not as good as whitehat either.

Greyhat SEO involves using techniques that are frowned upon by search engines but may not be explicitly against their guidelines. Some grey hat tactics can improve your website’s ranking or help you build links to your site, but these methods are often not safe for your growth or reputation because they can also negatively affect other websites or have unintended consequences that impact the quality of search results for users.

Example

One example of a grey hat technique is using tactics that exploit loopholes in Google’s algorithm. For example, some websites purchase or artificially inflate their reviews on the platform, tricking users into visiting the site and giving it a higher ranking. While this tactic may work for a while, Google may eventually discover what you’re doing and penalize your website by downgrading its ranking or even removing it from the search results altogether.

3 Brands that attempted Grey Hat SEO and Failed

While there are many different types of SEO, not all of them are safe or effective. Some brands have attempted to use grey hat SEO techniques, only to see their website rankings plummet as a result. Here are three examples:

1. The Huffington Post

In 2010, the Huffington Post was penalized by Google for using excessive keyword stuffing. The website was filled with so many keywords that it became difficult to read, and this ultimately led to a drop in its search engine rankings.

2. JCPenney

In 2011, J.C. Penney was caught using black hat SEO techniques to artificially inflate their search engine rankings. The company hired a company that used link farms and other shady tactics to boost its ranking. As a result, Google penalized J.C. Penney and their search engine rankings plummeted.

3. Overstock.com

In 2013, Overstock.com was caught using grey hat SEO techniques to improve their search engine rankings. The company purchased links from other sites to manipulate the search engine rankings. While this initially worked and helped them rank higher, they were ultimately caught by Google and penalized as a result.

While there are many different types of SEO practices, not all of them are safe or effective like the white hat.

“Seems like it needs a mastermind to trick another mastermind”

SEO Practices#4 Negative SEO

Negative SEO is a type of SEO that involves using blackhat techniques to harm the ranking of a competitor’s website. It can involve activities such as spamming links to the competitor’s website, creating fake profiles or websites with links to the competitor’s site, and hacking into the competitor’s website to insert malicious code.

While negative SEO can be effective in harming a competitor’s website, it is also risky. If you are caught engaging in negative SEO, you could be penalized by search engines and your website could suffer as a result. Therefore, it is important to weigh the risks and benefits before deciding to engage in negative SEO.

Tricks

If you do decide to engage in negative SEO, there are a few things you can do to minimize the risk of being caught.

But first neither do we support or encourage using negative SEO techniques. However, we are not Google. So:

1. Make sure that your website is not linked to the competitor’s site in any way.
2. Don’t use exact match anchor text when linking to the competitor’s site.
3. Vary the IP addresses from which you link to the competitor’s site.

By following these tips, you can minimize the risk of being caught and penalized for engaging in negative SEO.

What? Do you want to go back and review the section on moral code again??

We thought we were done with that topic! ;) And what could be better than lighting up the mood in between storming sessions?

To the “actual” point

However, it is important to remember that Negative SEO is a dirty word in the search industry, and even if you are not caught, there is no guarantee that your efforts will be successful. Many times negative SEO attempts fail and can even backfire, resulting in a penalty for the attacker’s website.

Highlights Of The Article: 3 Things To Remember

Avoid black hat SEO techniques

While white hat SEO techniques are the safest way to improve your website’s ranking, several “black hat” strategies can backfire on you and even get your site penalized or banned by Google. Black hat SEO includes techniques like keyword stuffing, link buying, and cloaking, which are all aimed at artificially inflating your website’s ranking in search engine results pages.

Use grey hat SEO techniques with caution

Grey hat SEO is a bit of a middle ground between white hat and black hat techniques. These are strategies that may not be strictly against the terms of service for search engines, but they’re still considered to be a bit on the shady side. Examples of grey hat SEO include link farms, article spinning, and doorway pages.

Be aware of Negative SEO

Negative SEO is a black hat technique that involves trying to deliberately sabotage another website’s ranking on search engine results pages. This can be done by building spammy backlinks to the site, stuffing keywords onto the site, or creating duplicate content. If you suspect that someone is using negative SEO against your website, you can use Google’s disavow tool to try and counter the effects.

Conclusion

Did we scare you there?

SEO can be a tricky business, with many different facets and techniques. It’s important to be aware of the risks involved in using black hat SEO techniques, as well as the potential for negative SEO attacks from your competitors. By following the tips in this article, you can stay safe while still trying to improve your website’s ranking in search engine results.

However, working with the right agency will open up a great space for your growth in no time. And at 12 Channels we do not believe that black hat techniques are an effective way of speeding the process of success because our subject experts and their knowledge are what makes us different from other agencies out there!