Black Hat SEO

Black Hat SEO by definition is, “tactics that are used to rank a website that violates search engine guidelines.” This is usually because they want to increase a site ranking on the SERP’s. One of the ways this can be done is redirecting someone to their own page when they click on a link. Another way this can be done is creating misleading information that is only for the purpose of trying to get traffic from searchers. This technique is usually used for the short run but while this technique of black hat SEO may work to get more people to look at the website, there can be some severe consequences. For example, when searchers do not find the information, they want they will just leave the website, even if they are scammed into clicking onto the page. Another huge risk is that Google will flag this activity and give your website a poor rating.

While Black Hat SEO is pretty unethical and against the rules for Google, there is not much else that can be done to stop it besides give the site a poor rating, if it is caught. One interesting thing is that Google does not reindex sites that use this technique even though it violates the guidelines. This is because Google does not have a list of permanently blocked sites. If the sites get removed, they can get reindexed. I would say there should be more of an emphasis on banning sites that use this technique. If the rules say that Black Hat SEO violates the guidelines should be more strict and uphold the rules. If they are not upheld, then it is not fair for the companies that follow the rules or white hat SEO.