White Hat SEO is Better
Say No to Black Hat SEO
With the new year, new SEO trends and predictions for 2022 are on the way, often during the website optimization process, there has been a debate of using the right method for ranking. Although there are other ways that may not seem illegal, they might be punishable by law.
Classification of SEO Practices:
To counter the issue of kind of acceptable practices, Google along with many SEO specialist have compiled a set of rules that act as guidelines for a great SEO strategy. Based on such guidelines, SEO can be further classified as either White hat, or Black hat.
The color concept of hats came around based on old black and white movies, where a black hat represented bad guys and a white one for the good ones. This terminology was later adapted to many industries, including SEO.
White hat SEO means following the “rules”, which can be interpreted as only ethical tactics and following search engine guidelines. This leads to better rankings on search engines and improved website traffic. On the other hand, black hat SEO means using “risky practice” that always led to some form of punishment. This is the opposite of white hat practices that are questionable and result in sinking rank in search results.
Somewhere In-between is gray hat SEO, which has both the features of white hat and black hat. Although a gray hat can be questionable, it mostly goes acceptable.
Practices that make up white hat SEO
When search engine results appear as a result of approved methods, it’s known as organic search results, and it comes under white hat SEO. The top and bottom portion of search results, that display paid ads and sponsored links prominently, makes top placement desirable.
Some ad blockers can hide top and bottom ads on a results page. They also block ads on website you visit. That’s why some websites don’t allow ad blockers.
The best practice or tactics for improving a website’s ranking or placement in search results include:
- Make sure that the website title and URL include important keywords.
- Instead of keyword stuffing, try adding relevant keywords to text on the page. Usual requirement is less than 4% of the content.
- Add additional buttons and links to other parts of your website that draws reader deeper into the website.
- Feature social media links clearly without cluttering, and interact with users on those accounts.
- Try posting video content. You can start with short video stories.
Did you know about the concept of Black, Gray, and White Hat SEO? Let us know in the comments.
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