What is Black Hat SEO? A set of techniques that should not be done for SEO at all. This!
Of course, this important issue in SEO is not so simple. In the world of SEO, there are discussions about some topics that never get old. Black hat SEO is one of those topics. Everyone around the world knows that Google does not like black hat SEO. Everyone knows that Google penalizes black hat SEO. But the techniques of this type of SEO are done.
In the world of SEO and according to Google, using black hat techniques for SEO is illegal. The logical question that arises here is then why? Why, when everyone knows that something should not be done and there is a penalty, some people still do it? There are several answers to this important question. The short answer is that law-breaking is not just about the real world, and there are people in the digital world and cyberspace who break the law.
Another answer is that sometimes an SEO expert may not be well aware of the do’s and don’ts of black hat SEO and fall into the trap of black SEO. For this reason, full knowledge of black hat SEO and its techniques is as important and necessary as knowing white hat SEO. In this article, I will try to clarify what black hat SEO is and what black SEO techniques are considered.
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What is Black Hat SEO?
In SEO, the goal is to reach the first page and the first to third line of search engine search results. When there was no competition between sites like today and Google and other search engines were just starting out, there was no discussion of black hat SEO. Because there was no need for it. But as the number of sites increased, users around the world became more confident in search engines, especially Google; The competition between the sites to reach the first page increased.
As more competition and more users refer to search engines, they set standards and guidelines for sites and site content. On the other hand, search engines and Google are improving their algorithms every day so that they can more closely monitor sites’ adherence to guidelines. The purpose of search engines of their standards and algorithms is to show the user the best, most accurate and most reliable response to the search on the first page.
Black hat SEO is the use of techniques or tricks that are contrary to the standards and guidelines of search engines in order to bring the site to a higher ranking in search results. In black hat SEO, the goal is to play (deceive) search engine algorithms.
Why did black hat SEO come into being?
When you and I do a Google search and the results are displayed to us, which link do we click on? I choose the first link and the result. If I do not find what I am looking for on the first site, I will click on the second and third links. Maybe I will look at other links on the first page. But it is very rare for me to go to the second page of results.
You probably do the same. Others probably do the same. For this reason, businesses and those who offer their goods and services on the site are looking to get to the first page. Because for many sites, being on the first page means selling and making a profit.
The problem is that if everyone wants to optimize their site based on white hat SEO (according to search engine standards and guidelines) to get rankings, it takes a relatively long time. Websites need to gain the trust of search engines and Google and show them that they are up and running on the web by their standards. Because as a result of using black SEO techniques, search engine algorithms are deceived; The site will reach the rank and position in a shorter time.
But the results of black hat SEO are short-lived. Because search engines will notice and penalize the wrong site. They may remove that site from the search results for a while and not show it to the user.
White hat SEO is not only time consuming but also costly. Google standards apply to almost everything on a site. In terms of search engines, site design should have features. UX design is also important for Google and other search engines. The most important thing is that the content of the site should be high quality and original. It costs a lot to produce diverse and quality content and meet all standards in the long run. In contrast, black hat SEO techniques are cheaper.
Which techniques are called black hat SEO techniques?
Anything unrealistic and contrary to the search engine guidelines for site optimization may be considered a black hat technique. But there are some techniques that there is no doubt that they are black, and search engines have announced that they are banned. Here are the most destructive SEO techniques that SEO experts should never use.
keyword Stuffing
Imagine a question for you: What is External SEO?
Ask this question of Google. You certainly do not expect content that is the first line of Google results to repeat the word external SEO or external linking or other related and unrelated words in meaningless sentences. This type of content definitely does not answer the user’s question. It confuses the user and wastes his time. All the words in the content of the site must be necessary to convey the concept that the user is looking for. keyword stuffing may also occur in meta descriptions and alt image text.
Any abnormal repetition of the keyword or irrelevant numbers or words in the text of the page is intended to deceive the algorithms and manipulate the ranking of the Keyword Stuffing site.
Hidden contents and links
Some pages of the site put things for search engines that are hidden by tricks from users; That is, part of the content is written for search engine crawlers, not users. One of the tricks to hiding part of the content is to make the text color the same as the background color of the page.
What is the reason for this? Include keywords and links as much as possible on one page. I can put several white links on this page that users will not see. Or I may hide some links from users with the help of CSS code. An SEO expert should always be on the lookout for hidden content or links. Content that is being copied from somewhere may have links or hidden content.
Unrealistic and manipulated links
Backlinks should be provided by real users to your site (your site content). Backlinks show the credibility and quality of your content in the eyes of real users. For this reason, buy-to-buy, buy-to-buy from Link Farms, and build-to-PBN; They are all unrealistic and punishable links. Even backlinking by commenting on other sites may be unrealistic. If the SEO expert wants to link to your site in the comments of other sites, he must do so very carefully.
Manipulation of redirects and snippets
Basically, those who use black hat SEO techniques to rank in search engines use every opportunity to dodge algorithms. Redirection occurs in certain cases. For example, when a new version of a site is created, users click on the pages of the old site; They will be redirected to a new address. But redirection may be used to direct users to one page and search engine crawlers to another page (which is full of links and keywords).
How Do Search Engines Penalty Black Hat SEO?
Definitely black hat SEO will be to the detriment of the site. It may take some time for a search engine to realize that a site with black hat SEO techniques has reached its current position, but it certainly does. Search engines and Google take the fight against black hat SEO very, very seriously. They are improving their algorithms and standards every day to better find sites that use black hat SEO techniques.
Google and other search engines fine black hat SEO techniques anyway. It does not matter to search engines whether those techniques are knowingly used or unknowingly used.
When we talk about being penalized and fined for black SEO, we do not mean that Google or other search engines are suing the site or taking it to court. Wrong sites are penalized for their virtual nature and in the net space. The penalty for the site may be that the site will not be shown to the user in the search results for a while or forever. Search engines also have a heavier penalty: they take down the site for a while (meaning the site is not accessible). The offending site must modify the site and its contents in accordance with the standards in order to be able to function again.