Knowing About Black Hat SEO Will Help You Avoid
Being Removed From The Search Engines Database
What Exactly Is Black Hat SEO?
Why Do People Use Black Hat SEO?
Is Using Black Hat SEO Really that Bad?
What Happens If You Use Black Hat SEO?
What Are The Alternatives To Black Hat SEO?
Can you Recover From Using Black Hat SEO?
Examples Of Known Black Hat SEO Techniques
What Exactly Is Black Hat SEO?
Black Hat SEO is the process of using Search Engine Optimization techniques that have been expressly forbidden by the Search Engines. Each of these techniques have been banned for the exact same reason - because other people have abused them in order to gain high rankings on the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) that would have been impossible otherwise. While this may not seem like a bad thing (they got good ratings and all) this type of behavior can only be used to scam people (hence why it's forbidden).
Why Do People Use Black Hat SEO?
There are only three reasons that people use Black Hat SEO:
1) The content of the website itself is not Usable and/or Relevant to people who visit the website. Instead of re-working the website to make everything Usable and Relevant, the website owners use scam tactics instead to trick people to come to the website. While this may not seem "terrible", look at your own experiences when using the Search Engines. Did you enjoy being directed to a website that had nothing to do with what you were looking for?
2) The second reason people use Black Hat SEO techniques is to actually try and scam people. This isn't about simply tricking them into coming to a less-than usable website. It's about actually trying to steal from them or harm them directly. This can include things like trying to get bank account information, steal someone's identity, or other such criminal behavior. It can also include making people think they are going to a website dedicated to "puppies" when it's actually about "sex".
3) The final reason people use Black Hat SEO is to hide some form of criminal activity. This often involves making the Search Engines think that the site is about something innocuous, while in truth it is about child pornography etc. That way the website gets added to the Search Engines so people can find it without letting them know that the site is doing something totally illegal.
Is Using Black Hat SEO Really that Bad?
As you can see above in the reasons why people use Black Hat SEO, there are some very bad things that can happen with it. However, because there are some "not so bad" reasons, people think that it's okay to use Black Hat SEO as long as it's used in the right way. The main problem with doing this, other than the fact it's a lie, is that it ALWAYS involves scamming people. No reputable person or website would ever condone the use of scam tactics to trick people into using their product or service. That is something that only dishonest or disreputable people would ever do. Do you really want to be labeled that way yourself?
What Happens If You Use Black Hat SEO?
If you're ever caught using Black Hat SEO techniques, then the Search Engines will either drop your placement on the Search Engine Results Page (SERPs) or they will completely delete you from the Databases altogether.
In the event of being dropped in the rankings, you will still show up in the SERPs. You will, however, be so far down the list as to be not on them anyway. Studies have shown that only 20% of people even look at the second page of the SERPs and only half of those even look at the third. So if you're dropped to page 50 then it's basically the same as if you're not listed in the SERPs anyway. You will still show up if people search for you directly - but that's it.
If the Search Engines delete you from their Databases, then you will not appear on the SERPs anywhere. Even if people look for you directly, you will not be found.
Using Black Hat SEO techniques may seem like a good way to get more people to come to your website. However, you should know that Search Engines spend a huge amount of time, money, and effort each year to stop people from using Black Hat SEO techniques. Once they identify a new technique being used to exploit the Search Engines, they quickly find ways to punish the people using them.
It really isn't worth the risk - especially when there are so many other options available!
What Are The Alternatives To Black Hat SEO?
The number one best alternative is to give the Search Engines what they are actually looking for - make your entire website Relevant and Usable to the End User (your customers, clients, subscribers, etc.). While this may seem backwards to some people since they want better Search Results, you have realize that Search Engines don't do any of those things. They simply provide information to the people using the Search Engine. The more Relevant and Usable the information the Search Engines can provide, the better for everyone.
Other options available so that you don't have to use Black Hat SEO (while still being able to drive new people to your website) include such things as:
- Add topic specific alternative media elements (audio, video, etc.) to your website and then upload them to other internet sites like YouTube etc.
- Create a topic specific podcast and talk about things related to what you offer.
- Add a topic specific blog to your website to talk about things directly related to the products, service, or information that you have to offer.
- Write blog posts for other topic specific blogs / websites with links back to your website.
- Write articles for local magazines, newspapers, etc. with a link to your website.
- Use RSS feeds to syndicate your information (not discussed here).
- Use real-world marketing strategies (business cards, letterhead, etc.) and include the URL to the website as part of the contact information.
- Find something truly unique that will make people want to come see what's going on.
These are just some of the many options available. If you want people to come to your website to see what you have to offer you have to give them a reason to do so. If what you offer isn't Relevant or Usable to them, then why would they come in the first place? Don't just offer them something you THINK is Relevant and Usable, do the research to make sure it is!
Can you Recover From Using Black Hat SEO?
The answer to this question is a definitive "Maybe"! If you can get rid of all the Black Hat SEO techniques you were using before the Search Engines catch you using them, there is a good chance it won't really affect you. However, if they do catch you (of have already caught you) using Black Hat SEO techniques, then it's a totally different situation.
If you're lucky the Search Engines will only drop you in their Rankings. While this may not seem "lucky" it truly is compared to the alternative. To recover from lowered Rankings you first have to remove all the Black Hat SEO techniques - that's what caused the trouble in the first place. You will then need to re-work the website to make it clear to the Search Engines that everything has been updated and changed. At that point, all you do is wait and hope your Rankings begin to improve.
If the Search Engines delete you from the Databases there are only two options available to you. The first is to remove all the Black Hat SEO techniques affecting your website, re-work the content to make things different enough to be unique, and then re-submit your website for the Search Engine to review. If you're very, very lucky they will then give you the opportunity to re-build your rankings from scratch.
The only other option is to build an entirely new website using entirely new content and also uses an entirely new domain name. If any of those elements are used from the old website they could decide it's the same website and prevent you being added back into the Search Engines Databases. Of course, even if they do allow you to list this new website with them, if the content is the basically the same as what was used on the old website (even if it uses new page names etc.) it can be classified as duplicate content. When that happens (which also happens in general when there is duplicate content) the Search Engines will not index the information because it already exists elsewhere. So in that regard you really do need to create an entirely new website from scratch.
Examples Of Known Black Hat SEO Techniques
To help you avoid using Black Hat SEO techniques by mistake, lets take a moment to look at some known examples. Because they are already known, the Search Engines keep an eye out for people using them. That means that if you try and use them to boost your website traffic, don't be surprised when your rankings drop with the Search Engines.
Keyword Stuffing:
This is by far the most commonly used Black Hat SEO technique and involves the "overuse" of Keywords. Keyword stuffing means using Keywords over and over so that the Keyword is used more often. While Keywords stuffing may sound okay - because the same Keywords are used over and over those Keywords can make everything hard to read because of all those Keywords being Keyword stuffed into the content. That, as an example, was Keyword stuffing. This is considered Black Hat SEO because it makes everything unusable to the end user - which means it is being used ONLY to boost the website's Search Engine Rankings (which is expressly forbidden by the Search Engines).
Alt Tag Stuffing
Alt Tags are a special code element used only with images that provide an "alternative" should the image not be displayed. There use is actually mandated by law in many countries as it makes the website equally accessible to people using alternative technology to surf the internet (like the Blind using a Screen Reader).
Search Engines look for Alt Text because it means the website has taken the time to make the website as usable as possible for everyone. If they find that the Alt Text is being stuffed with Keywords, or has nothing to do with the image itself, then it tells the Search Engine it isn't being used for usability purposes - it's only there to get higher Search Engines Rankings (again -expressly forbidden).
Cloaking
Cloaking is purely a code based Black Hat SEO technique. This occurs when someone essentially sets up two different versions of the same website - one for the actual end user to see and use, and something very different for the Search Bots. The only point to doing this is to hide what's really happening on the website from the Search Engines. As a side note, when people use this form of Black Hat SEO it also sets off an alarm that they may also be engaged in criminal activity (like child porn, etc.) - because that is what it has mostly been used for in the past. Even if you're not doing this to hide some dark, nefarious plan - the question still remains, "What are you trying to hide?"
Artificial Link Popularity (Backlinking)
Artificial Link Popularity actually includes a wide range of different elements. In order to give you something specific to work with (and because it's currently a hugely used Black Hat SEO technique) we will focus specifically on Backlinking.
Backlinking is the artificial creation of links from another website back to your own for the express purpose of improving your link popularity. This isn't to be confused with such things as writing blog posts with links to your website in them. That is something totally different (called creating Inbound Links) and is an acceptable SEO practice.
Search Engines draw the line between Inbound Links and Backlinks based on their usage. If the link is used to get people to come to the website, then it's considered Inbound and is acceptable. However, they do also separate these types of links into two other groups - natural and artificial. If the link is found to be artificial (created by people connected to the website the link is directed to) then the link is simply discounted. Since the goal of the link is to bring people to the website and not get higher Search Results, that's a very good thing - otherwise it would drop your Search Rankings because it's an artificially created link. Only natural links are fully valued by the Search Engines.
If, on the other hand, the link is used to increase your placement on the Search Engines Results Page (SERPs), then it's considered Backlinking. This is because artificially created links are all about tricking the Search Engine into thinking that the links are naturally created "Inbound Links" when in fact they are artificially created. As this is purely used as a scam tactic, the Search Engines consider it a Black Hat SEO technique.
While this may seem like a difficult thing for the Search Engine to be able to distinguish, there are many other things that point to the use of Backlinking. The most common of which is the use of External Links (links from your website to another). If a website has no External Links, or too few comparatively, it is a clear indication of Backlinking. The reason for this is because, as Google puts it, "no one website can have all the answers." If there are no links to other "authority rated" websites (which increases the Usability and Relevance of a website anyway) - it signals loud and clear that Backlinking has likely occurred because the website itself can't be Usable and Relevant to other people.
You should also understand that Backlinking is also the hardest Black Hat SEO technique to remove. That's because the Backlinks exist on other websites which can make it very difficult, if not impossible, to remove them. To do so would require you contact every last website that Backlinks exists on and ask the WebMaster to remove them. If the WebMaster finds out you've been using their website for this purpose, they may seek to punish you for doing so. That is assuming they were not party to the Backlinking or setting up what's known as a Link Farm. So, unlike many other Black Hat SEO techniques, once you create Backlinks you may not ever be able to undo them.
As a side note, this does present a good opportunity to check how Usable and Relevant your website REALLY is. If no other websites create any natural Inbound Links to your website, that's a good indicator that you need to offer more to the people who use your website. If people find something that they like, or think will benefit others, they will link to that website. If that isn't happening, consider that an opportunity to re-work the website so that people want to link to is - instead of scamming them with Backlinks.
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