What is black hat SEO? Black hat SEO is using potentially deceptive techniques to boost a web page to be higher on the SERP. How do I know if I am doing black hat SEO? Here are three common applications of black hat SEO.
Keyword Stuffing
One common black hat practice is keyword stuffing. This involves cramming multiple instances of your keyword into your blog post. This practice clutters up your blog post and makes it less user friendly. Additionally, it makes your content appear suspicious and weak to the reader.
Hidden Text
Hidden text is a practice in which the writer uses a text color that is the same as the background color of the webpage to increase the use of the keyword. This is deceptive and purposefully misleading and should be avoided by marketers.
Link Schemes
Link schemes are some of the most common types of black hat SEO. There are many different instances of link schemes including blog spamming, sponsored links that are not labeled as sponsored, and excessive link exchanges. In general, marketers should seek to earn links organically to build rapport with their audience and cultivate a trusting relationship.
These are just three instances of black hat SEO practices to avoid as a marketer. Even though it may seem easier to use cheap tricks to get on the top of SERP, these tactics lead to deception and a lack of trust among your audience. With hard work and ethical practices, marketers can boost their web pages to the top of SERP without using black hat as a cheat code.
2 Responses
I get why people would overuse keywords if it means getting their page seen, but what’s the alternative then? I think this post could’ve been stronger if you presented alternative solutions to these practices.
Hi there, I think that your post was good and addressed a good amount of problems dealing with black hat SEO. I think that if you presented different solutions to the practices illustrated then your post could have been stronger.