White Hat vs. Black Hat SEO

Figuring out Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is tricky. Most businesses and organizations know they need it, even if they do not entirely understand it. Toss in terms like white hat, black hat, and gray hat SEO, and the confusion level increases. That is why you must have an SEO copywriter and web designer you can trust. SEO experts not only comprehend the differences they can explain them to their clients in a way that will make sense.

What is white hat SEO?
I may be dating myself here (but I am willing to take that risk for a good analogy). I grew up watching classic Westerns. You know, back when televisions only had 3 channels and you had to get off your duff to change them. My point is, I always knew who the good guys were in these films. From John Wayne to Clint Eastwood, their white hat gave them away. The good guys always wore them.

White hat SEO is a lot like those good guys from classic Westerns. They defeated the bad guys by playing by the rules. When you engage in white hat SEO, you are using ethical methods and following search engine guidelines. You never cut corners to get quicker results.

What is black hat SEO?
Going back to my Westerns analogy, the bad guys always wore black hats. No one had to tell you who was about to turn up in town and cause trouble. That hat signaled their intentions long before they engaged in any bad behavior. Black hat SEO is just like the bad guys. Talk to any SEO expert and they will tell you there is no doubt black hat SEO tactics work. They will get your brand right to the top of the Google search results in a hurry.

It can be a short-lived victory if Google catches you in the act. The search giant will issue a manual action report in Google Search Console. Webmasters and other SEO experts use Google Search Console to check your website’s indexing status and visibility online among other things. It also is how Google hands out penalties to organizations that are caught using underhanded SEO practices. If Google catches you using black hat SEO, it will put you in search engine “jail.” What it translates into is lost organic search visibility, traffic, and revenue. Your brand simply will not turn up in the search results when potential customers search for your products or services.

What is gray hat SEO?
Somewhere in the middle of white hat and black hat SEO lies a gray area. There are differing opinions among SEO experts as to what, exactly, constitutes gray hat SEO. For our purposes (and so as not to totally confuse you), we will go with a simple explanation. Gray hat SEO is a mixture of the two techniques.
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Just because it contains elements of white hat SEO does not mean it is any more acceptable than black hat SEO. Let me say that again for the people in the back. Just because it contains elements of white hat SEO does not mean it is any more acceptable than black hat SEO.
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Search engines – especially Google – interpret it as a blurred line. Search engines may or may not penalize a website using gray hat SEO practices. Their decision to punish comes down to one factor: intent. If you are using gray hat SEO with the sole purpose of helping your site soar above the competition in search rankings, you might get your wings clipped. We never recommend trying your luck with gray hat SEO for this reason. We recommend playing by the rules for the best long-term results, no matter how tempting those “quick results” promises are with black hat and gray hat SEO tactics. You will thank me later. 

White Hat SEO Graphic Designed by Shari Berg, The Write Reflection.

White hat SEO techniques
White hat SEO improves search performance on Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) by using several proven techniques. Each of these methods falls within webmaster guidelines for Google and other search engines like Yahoo and Bing. Here are some of the most popular white hat SEO practices.

1. Creating quality content
   Creating fresh, engaging, and relevant content is the best way to keep your website ranking well organically. Your content should use SEO best practices, which include using keywords specific to your industry and products or services in all content. SEO copywriters are masters at crafting copy using SEO keywords that sound natural to readers. Search engine algorithms are adept at picking up poor quality writing. Invest funds into working with an experienced SEO copywriter to ensure you are getting the best content for your brand.
2. Mobile optimization
   In the U.S. alone, 211 million people use a mobile device (Smartphone, tablet) to search online. That means, if you are not taking a mobile-first approach with your SEO and website design, you will not rank well in search results. Google adopted a mobile-first indexing system in recognition of the sheer number of users accessing their search engine from a mobile device. Images that do not load properly or are too slow to load and website designs that do not display well on mobile devices are penalized.
3. Focus on user intent
   Search engines, especially Google, make it a priority to serve their users with the most relevant results based on their search queries. Tailor your content to meet user intent, and you will boost its value with search engines. Any SEO copywriter worth their salt can do this.
4. Rich snippets
   Rich snippets are all the rage in SEO land right now. If your website copy is superb, Google will award you the coveted “rich snippet” for your topic or industry. That means when users find your content, they not only see the standard title tag, meta description, and URL. Google gives them extra data that may include reviews, events, or other enticing information about your brand.  This makes your content and your brand more attractive to searchers and your chances of converting traffic to leads much higher.

Black hat SEO techniques
We know what you must be thinking. Isn’t black hat SEO illegal? Nope. Nada. Nuh-uh. If you fail to follow search engine guidelines, the police are not going to come a-knocking on your door. Well, they might, if you engage in nefarious black hat SEO practices like hacking. Otherwise, it is not illegal. But it sure is unethical. Here are some of the most common black hat SEO tactics that can get your organization in hot water with search engines.

1. Keyword stuffing
   Save the stuffing for Thanksgiving. It has no place in quality content on your brand’s website. Keyword stuffing is what SEO pros call it when someone shoves keywords into content in nonsensical ways to get Google’s attention. If you think about it long enough, you can probably recall an example of this practice. Let’s say your keyword is “car batteries Pittsburgh.” Here is what it would look like if you were keyword stuffing content with that focus: If you are looking for the best car batteries Pittsburgh look no further than Bob’s Batteries for the best batteries Pittsburgh. We offer the best batteries Pittsburgh at affordable prices. Come on down to see us at 555 Bob’s Street for the best batteries Pittsburgh. Content written like this will get Google’s attention. If you do it often enough, it will be the kind of attention that earns you a manual action report.
2. Duplicating content
   This is the nicest way we can call out the kind of blatant copying of content that some copywriters engage in shamelessly. They have a client who wants a blog about a product or service, so that copywriter goes and finds a competitor with similar content and just mimics it. They may change a few words here or there, but the basic information is essentially the same. When you plagiarize another site, Google notices, and they will de-index your site as punishment.
3. Backlink building
   There is a right way and a wrong way to build backlinks to your website. Adding links back to your own website (blogs, pages) in all online platforms you can manipulate goes against both Google’s and Bing’s webmaster guidelines. This includes the comment sections for social media pages and news or other websites where public discussions are permitted. Paying for backlinks also falls into this category.
4. Doorway pages
   These are sometimes called gateway, bridge, or jump pages. They are designed with only one purpose in mind – to rank well for search queries. So why is this bad, exactly? Once a user goes to the page, they will find it lacks relevant or engaging content. In other words, it was just a ploy to get them onto the site without rewarding them for their visit.
5. Content spinning
   This is like outright plagiarism. The only difference is software – not a person – is used to take existing content from another site and rewrite it. Content spinning software is designed to replace individual words and entire sentences with synonyms or change the sentence structure around just enough to make it look or sound different. Ultimately, it is the same content someone else produced. No reputable SEO copywriter will engage in this shady practice. SEO copywriters who adhere to best practices know how to conduct proper research on a topic to create original and compelling copy that has educational value to a brand’s target audience.
6. Private blog networks (PBNs)
   PBNs exist for the sole purpose of manipulating search engine rankings. They work by building links back to a single website to appear that the website and the organization it represents have gained authority in its industry. Some SEO experts will argue this is a gray hat SEO tactic. At The Write Reflection, we think it is clear this goes against webmaster guidelines and will never engage in this practice on behalf of a client. 

What does Google say?
What does Google say about white hat vs. black hat vs. gray hat SEO? More importantly, why should we care what Google thinks? Whether you love it or hate it, it is hard to deny that Google is the king of the proverbial search engine castle. Google holds 85.86 percent of the global search market. Bing is next up, with a paltry 6.84 percent of the global market share.

Google’s search engine first launched in 1995. From day one, Google went out of its way to differentiate itself from other search engines. Search engines like Yahoo placed a lot of emphasis on paid ads. Yahoo made no secret that it prioritized its paid search service, Overture. It required folks to fork over beaucoup bucks to earn the coveted top spot in their search results. Google decided it wanted to level the playing field for all users. Its algorithm considers several factors, including page quality, backlinks, and relevance to a user’s search (this is where SEO comes in handy). That is not to say Google is above accepting cold, hard cash from advertisers to earn a better ranking. It is just not the only factor Google uses.

Google provides clear guidelines for webmasters that SEO copywriters like me use to determine what is white hat, gray hat, and black hat SEO. Reputable SEO copywriters never cross lines, risking your website and your brand. When Google catches on to underhanded SEO tactics – and trust us, they will catch on eventually – you risk having your brand banned from their search engines. That can spell sudden death when the king of internet search engines banishes you from the kingdom.

A final word on the best SEO strategies
For your own sake, never work with an SEO copywriter or agency that promises you quick results. When that happens, you can almost bank on the fact they are using gray or black hat techniques. While you might think you are getting the best bang for your buck, you could be risking your livelihood by making it harder for your brand to be found online.

We get it. Doing SEO the right way can feel painfully slow. You want new traffic and leads now. While niche businesses using SEO keyword topics with little to no competition may see results in a few weeks, the average organization can expect to wait up to six months or more for their return on investment. We promise, committing to working with SEO experts who value best practices pays off in the long run.
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If you are ready to learn more about how white hat SEO copywriting can help boost your brand’s visibility online, give us a shout-out at 724-713-3254 or contact us online to schedule your no-obligation consultation.