Although it has only been a few years since Internet usage has seen wider integration into people’s lives, the practice of search engine optimization or SEO has been carried out for more than a decade.
With its history, SEO practitioners have devised many methods to get websites ranking at the top of search engines. These methods fall under two major categories – “white hat” SEO and “black hat” SEO. These two “hats” are separated by their ethical legitimacy in how they boost a website’s visibility.
White Hat SEO
White hat SEO uses strategies, which comply with the guidelines set out by search engines, mainly Google. White hat strategies include
(1) creating quality content that people will want to view,
(2) making key adjustments to a website’s structure, and
(3) establishing links with other relevant websites built through organic relationships. Executing such strategies will not produce results in search engines immediately, but the positive effects which will manifest in the long run will be more sustainable.
The clients that white hat SEO practitioners service enjoy long-term rewards from highly optimized websites that receive frequent visits from a dedicated user base, as well as from other sources connected to their niche. Their brand will gain more recognition online, and their credibility will be cemented through the fresh content they produce and the number of websites constantly and naturally linking to them.
Black Hat SEO
Black hat SEO employs techniques that exploit search engines’ algorithms, taking no heed whatsoever of their guidelines. Examples of such techniques are keyword stuffing, duplicating content and participating in link farms. Most of the time the quality of the website itself will be severely lacking, as black hat practitioners only focus on fooling search engines and not on delivering a good experience for actual human visitors.
Using these black hat SEO tricks can provide a significant increase in search engine rankings, but only temporarily. Companies running search engines have developed ways to recognize anomalies in a website, making search engines ignore these websites instead of rewarding them with high rankings. These websites are also penalized depending on the severity of the infraction. They either experience a great fall in their rankings or get banned altogether, making them virtually invisible to the average Internet user.
Grey Hat SEO
In between white and black hat SEO is grey hat SEO, which toes the line of ethical methods. It takes advantage of loopholes in the guidelines so as to game the system without breaking the rules outright. Cloaking or displaying content different to search engines and human visitors, buying links, and borderline keyword stuffing are just a few examples of grey hat SEO.
Cloaking can be necessary for some websites with complex coding that humans don’t need to see but search engines do. Buying links for a quick surge in rankings is frowned upon, but buying links for advertising is legitimate. Inserting multiple keywords in one page up to a point before it is considered spam can still look unappealing for people, but search engines won’t immediately notice.
Search engine developers look down on such methods as they still see it as manipulative. Websites that exercise grey hat SEO techniques run the risk of getting penalized, especially if their owners can’t provide reasonable arguments for applying them.
The Reality of White Hat SEO Implementation
With the previously stated definitions for each SEO “hat”, it might seem obvious that white hat SEO is the only kind of SEO that should be pursued. It brings in genuine popularity to a website and guarantees continued results if done correctly. However, it does face real problems that can prove disastrous to even the most honest SEO specialists in the industry today.
Start-up Problems with Extreme Niche Websites
The adage “content is king” still contains some level of truth to it, as good content will more likely attract attention from people and be followed soon by search engines. However, content for websites that cater to a particularly small audience with topics such as credit card debt relief or DIY pipe furniture, no matter how good, will not gain much traction compared to more “interesting” topics like app development for mobile devices or console gaming.
This is much more apparent for start-up websites in those niches. A common white hat advice is to leverage social media, but chances are just as slim trying to get content from such niche markets to spread throughout social networks. Methods such as mass sending articles advertising the company itself through directories and paid press releases are viewed by some white hat SEO practitioners as out of bounds due to their monetary nature.
More established websites with authority can also simply spin the fresh content created by the new website. Search engines will favor them instead of the start-ups, thinking the former were the original producers and even penalizing the latter. This leaves business owners new to the Internet at a loss on how to get a good and legitimate search engine ranking.
Unnatural External Links
Getting other websites to link to one’s own is crucial to attaining a high search engine ranking, but the process has to come naturally for them to matter. In the beginning, getting links requires plenty of work through building a relationship with other webmasters but later on, other websites will just give links if that certain website has enough credibility. This can’t be controlled all the time.
Unfortunately, there are ways for the competition to sabotage another website through bought links and similar sounding domain names linking to the targeted business’ website. Google will penalize that website for having those unnatural external links even if it was not the intention of the webmaster.
The Defense for White Hat SEO
The previous points are serious issues that both white hat SEO specialists and search engine developers need to address. However, the benefits of following ethical methods still outweigh the costs especially when compared to the dangers of black and grey hat techniques.
First and foremost, white hat SEO specialists do not have to constantly worry about getting caught by search engines and getting their clients’ websites penalized. This lets them focus on building good websites that will last and continue to provide business to companies online for years, instead of figuring out ways to hide one’s tracks. The websites they build will also have a strong foundation, weathering any updates in search engines’ algorithms.
The money and effort poured in by black hat SEO practitioners jumping from one temporary website to another while avoiding search engine penalties might as well be put to better use into long-term investments.
In a nutshell, the best way to optimize your website is by focusing on the readers, and not on search engines. By creating content that readers will want to read and share instead of manipulating your site for search engine spiders, you’re sure to generate organic traffic that search engine companies are sure to recognize. Needless to say, the best way to do that is through white hat SEO.
About Nikko Marasigan
Great tips for SEO. SEO is too confusing as Google regularly updates it’s algo each time. Nice post. Thanks for sharing it.
Prakash recently posted..UC Browser for PC Free Download, Android APK, Symbian, Blackberry
Twitter: prabhatrayal
says:
thanks kiesha
yes, black hat SEO is not good as it can give boost to our current rankings but its not permament..we will loose our rankings ultimately
prabhat recently posted..Top 5 Best Siri Alternatives for Android 2013 Download: iEatTraffic
Hi Nikko!
I got some knowledge about White Hat.But through your blog I gain more knowledge about White Hat and Black Hat.And I also came to know about Grey Hat too.\
Nikko please share some informations about Blue Hat??As I dont know about that topic.
Twitter: freedom9to5
says:
It is terrible that Google would penalize you for someone else spamming your site. The best way to combat this is to use White Hat SEO.
I have a friend in the SEO business who says he is tired of advice like “create great content and wait for the magic to happen”, because in reality it can take years to rise in the search results without some solid linkbuiding, not to mention that the majority of the competition uses at least some grey hat tactics.
Michael recently posted..kinder0005
I agree that the reader is is more important and people will be the one who will create connections. Readers are the most important client who will get much with your post. White hat sound great and new to me. Thanks for sharing for this information.
Great explanation about white,Black and Grey Hat SEO. I really enjoyed your post. White SEO take more time and more effort then black SEO. But its safer then the black ones.
Twitter: myndot
says:
I just know there are black hat n white hat.
but overall, honest way better to do.
myndot recently posted..Lowongan GKM PRINT – Operator CAD
Twitter: HealthTipWealth
says:
I like the way you ended this post saying that the best way is just to focus on your readers. Truer words have not been said.
Steven Jude recently posted..Master Resale Rights: 5 Lessons Bill Gates Could Teach You + Insomnia: Some Tips That Help With This Sleep Disorder
White Hat SEO means quality techniques used to rand a website in search engine. White Hat SEO is best then Black Hat SEO and Grey Hat SEO.
That was a very detailed post on White hat, Black hat and Grey hat seo. I would always ask people if you like to earn money for short term or long term. For long term, which is obviously White hat seo, if done properly with quality work you actually can make passive income with it. Google will recognise your efforts and making your website jump right to the top of the serps. For short term, Black hat seo aka gaming the system to boost your rank immediately, will only last for a short while and will be penalised as Google hate people who cheat their way through.
Twitter: sadayk
says:
Thanks Nikko for this informative post. White Hat SEO means quality techniques used to rank a website in search engine. The points which you have mentioned are absolutely correct and perfect.
Yes white hat SEO generally indicate the quality you provide to your blog posts for getting good results.
Prakash recently posted..UC Browser for PC Free Download, Android APK, Symbian, Blackberry
Twitter: eridesktop
says:
white SEO take more time and more effort then black SEO. but its safer then the black ones. nowadays google is really smart, if you are not carefull, your site will be jailed in sanbox for long time! hail white SEO…
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Twitter: Anthony_Porto
says:
Content is king & when people link to it, even better. Search engines do love new fresh content, no doubt a way to gain popularity with search engines, however at the very end of the day it all comes down to high quality relevant backlinks..
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Twitter: RaviBhushanSin4
says:
I am so consent with your factor that “best way to boost your web page is by concentrating on the readers” that;s why they always say, create for individuals not look for engines
Twitter: rancorinfotech
says:
Hi Nikko,
Great explanation about White, Black and Grey Hat SEO. I had confusion between Black and Grey Hat SEO but you make it clear now. Certainly there is no doubt that White Hat SEO is good one and gives you long lasting results.
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White hat SEO is a long term strategy and it takes time to see results. Results may come quicker with other methods, but those results will be short lived. The search engines are always changing their algorithms and the only way to survive is to play by the rules.
Twitter: TheTechnoMAG
says:
Hi Nikko!
I am so agree with your point that “best way to optimize your website is by focusing on the readers” that;s why they always say, write for people not search engines
Joe Clark recently posted..Google plus: heaven of SEO for webmasters in 2013
I suggest, everyone should so white hat seo instead of black hat seo for best and permanent results as the auother says.
Twitter: taxfile_india
says:
I am all for white-hat SEO, but it can be really trying at times. A better way is a mix of white hat and grey hat. Getting organic and original links for a new website can be really difficult.
Yes it’s really difficult to get links for a blog. But what can we do it’s the requirement of SEO. So we have to do it.
Prakash recently posted..UC Browser for PC Free Download, Android APK, Symbian, Blackberry
Thanks Nikko for sharing this. I believe that white hat is the way to go and it’s also safer. Especially with all the Google changes taking place all the time.
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Hello, this is a very thought provoking post! I do think that white hate SEO is the way forward, however I would love something that explains it in more detail? A great post, thank you for sharing- I think many people agree with many of the thoughts expressed in this.
Looking at the comments, I think most of us agree that white hat is the way to go. I always get really annoyed when I look for valuable information on the net and click on a high ranking site during my google search, and all that turns up is some low-quality website with text that is barely readable because of keyword-stuffing.
This is a great inspiring article. I am pretty much pleased with your good work. You put really very helpful information
naresh recently posted..The Tiger’s Nest and other thoughts from the mountains
Heyy Nikko thanks for sharing. Another different view about SEO.
Love it!
Twitter: infoheaps
says:
nice explanation.
I really enjoyed your post, as contents are both fun and rich.
Thanks
Melissa recently posted..Top 3 ideas for Christmas 2012 Centerpieces
Twitter: bihar
says:
There is no substitute for white hat seo techniques. For those sites that want to survive in the long run they must practice ethical forms of seo. Things are changing too often with the algorithms and there is no scope for borderline methods.
Shalu Sharma recently posted..Try the delicious motichoor ladoo
Twitter: HutzelMedia
says:
Hey Nikko, thanks for this analysis on the different SEO practices and clarifying which of them can be considered “grey areas”. Good to know which tactics (know matter how often they may be promoted throughout the web) are worth staying away from.
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Twitter: christinamari21
says:
Thank you for the fun inforgraphi. It would be great to utilize for tutorials as well as for seminars because of the easy to understand conepts that it shares! These charcters are the main proprietors for a sucessful Blog.
christina recently posted..The Tiger’s Nest and other thoughts from the mountains
Twitter: usmank11
says:
I’ve never been able to understand all these kinds of SEO. Everything gets intermingled ..
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I agree that white hat seo is the ideal way to go, but i don’t believe that it is possible to follow this principles for most niche websites, because there are not enough people active in this niche with whom you could build a relationship. But for wider topics and larger sites it is recommended to use ethical methods.
Frank recently posted..Handtuchheizung im Bad
Twitter: webmaisterpro
says:
Certainly ethical SEO is a way to go, If you try to build serious business online. Well at least what is written in official guidelines. However I know many SEO practitioners that successfully apply automation partially and keep high rankings for long time. However this pretty much depends on the niche and direct competitors.
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Hey Nikko.
You really deserve a lot of white hats for this great article. Where can I learn more about this two methods and categories?
Cristian Stan recently posted..Best Home Espresso Machine
Twitter: iteachcash
says:
Great article, Nikko. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t even need to talk about any type of SEO. But, well, we live in an imperfect world: You said that white hat SEO guarantees long term results. But what do you have to say about the impact of negative SEO (especially in crazily competitive niches like insurance and real estate) on white hat SEOers? What do you say about the new disavow tool and how it might be used by unscrupulous persons to wipe out the hard work of white hat SEOs? How do you suggest such persons protect their hard-earned top rankings?
Do you think Google is really committed to giving long term SEOers continuous traffic bearing in mind the constant flux in top rankings we see in competitive niches like insurance?
I’d like to know your take on these points raised.
Twitter: yeremiakpan
says:
To tell the truth, I think Google does not want people to do SEO. Given the way Google throws the spanner in the works every other day, that is the only sane conclusion I have been able to arrive at.
Talking about whitehat SEO, why has Google not come out with an industry certification the same as they have for Adwords so we can know companies that are truly “whitehat”?
Yeremi Akpan recently posted..Is Your Sidebar a Vanity Shelf or a Useful Resource?