It’s natural for businesses to wish for superior online visibility and improved search engine result rankings. After all, the more your business is seen over the internet, the more it gains. We thus see a mad scramble among marketers to try and use different tools and techniques for SEO purposes.
But yes, search engines have drawn a certain line that nobody should dare cross for ranking and visibility gains. Many businesses, however, make the mistake and go ahead with black hat SEO tactics hoping to gain big but ending up on the wrong side!
Search engines keep changing the algorithm and with that, old practices go obsolete and you need to adhere to what is relevant. So, always try to follow the right optimization techniques, not the prohibited ones.
Why Black Hat SEO Tactic should be a Big NO?
When it comes to rankings and visibility, search engines are very clear in their approach – you have to be within the set guidelines. If you, however, try to game the system to gain any kind of benefit, it then might cost you, dear. The same is true with black hat SEO tactics.
Why such Tactics should Never Be Tried?
· They may bring you short-term gains of some sort but they are not worth the pursuit of being illegal
· If search engines find out, you, or your website, will be penalized severely
· Those caught following dubious tactics can see the site being de-ranked
· Sites get banned and they stop showing up in results for days, weeks, or even months
· A huge loss of traffic will ensure if harmful ways are adopted to gain optimization
Black Hat SEO Tactics to Avoid
When it comes to achieving ranking and visibility, you have to follow the established norms for sure. Your optimization efforts just can’t go against the norms laid down by search engines. So, don’t venture out to a zone strictly restricted by search engines.
Here are some of Black Hat SEO tactics to avoid:
1. Keyword Stuffing
There was a time when search engines only looked at keywords in the content to rank websites. Those were the days when keywords were perhaps the most defining parameters to rank a site better in search engines. Over the years, other ranking factors have evolved making search engines give lesser priority to keywords and ranking based on them. These days, you just can’t stuff keywords more than the required limit set by search engines else the site might get banned.
2. Hidden Text
Marketers often add text and links to their content in a manner that only search engine robots can see them and not the general public. Keywords are used a lot as hidden text so that ranking benefits are availed even without making the content look unnatural and out of the flow. Clearly, many secretly adopt the practice of using taking the links and linking them with high-value sites. Search engines don’t approve of this manner of hiding text or links and often penalize the offenders.
3. Buying Links
Inbound links are important as they lend weight and heft to your site. However, their number makes the difference and this is why marketers vie for them. After all, having more links means a site is considered valuable simply for being connected to relevant sources. But yes, you are not allowed to buy or exchange links as search engines are against the practice.
4. Spinning Articles
Original and well-written content is known to bring superior rankings and better traffic when they link to a site. Yes, rankings are influenced a lot by writing articles that are leveraged. Many marketers, however, ignore this basic tenet and rather take to spinning articles that are neither fresh nor original. Since such content doesn't add any value to users, having them on the site invites penalty.
5. Social Networking Spam
It’s quite common to post links to social media. Many people do it day in and day out. What however comes under the black hat tactic is posting or sending links to people in social media messages or comments sans any value. Search engines penalize those spamming people on social media with links to their web pages. Don’t do this else you might get the site banned.
6. Cloaking Content
Cloaking content is a big no-black hat tactic and you should stay away from that. Search engines don’t rank sites with cloaking content in this way, the same content is presented in two different ways, one to the reader and while other to the robots. The version presented to the robots is often stuffed with keywords while the one users see is more relevant.
Overall, black hat SEO tactics are harmful to your website and its online performance so better to stay away from them and avoid any penalty.
I am Sid Garg an SEO specialist with 2 years of experience in the domain. I consult and guide brands on the planning, execution, and implementation of SEO tactics to help them with rankings and visibility. Currently, I am associated with Mind Digital Group.
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