Categories: Marketing

White Hat Vs. Black Hat Vs. Grey Hat SEO: what they are?

Typically, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is used to rank a website better with different search engines. There are a variety of techniques and tactics that are used by experts to enable them to rank a specific website on search engines. These techniques are often legal while some are not. While white hat SEO is a completely legal way of ranking a page the black hat SEO technique is the opposite.

Even experts find it difficult to define grey hat SEO techniques as it does not fall under either category. Professionals feel that the use of ethical methods to rank a website is the one that works best. This is irrelevant to you using the website for a short-term burst with marketing techniques or for long-term efforts.

Differentiating White Hat and Black Hat

It is important that you understand the difference between these two before you can go ahead with using the same for your website. Using black hat SEO means the worst-case scenario is your website getting banned by search engines and also from its affiliate sites. This means that you lose out on whatever potential that you had with ranking your website better. Although short-term goals are achieved using this technique not many people opt for it as it does not produce results in the longer run.

You as a website owner do not have any risks involved while using white hat SEO tools and tactics for your website. Ethical methods are used to rank with this type of SEO which further concentrates on the human audience. These tools strictly follow whatever rules are put in place by the webmaster or the search engine and abide by the same.

Grey Hat SEO

Although not as popular grey hat SEO has its own audience in the market like the others. There are a variety of techniques that are predominantly used by this specific style of SEO and they are as follows:

Automation and purchasing followers on social media platforms
Duplicate content production
Cloaking
Link purchasing
Old domain purchasing

As mentioned earlier people who take up these methods of SEO may often not get the appropriate results. Most popular search engines like Google often end up banning any website that is found to be engaged in practices such as these. It is safe to keep these methods out if you are not sure about how SEO works. Although it does not get completely categorized as a black area it is still not recommended that you use this for your business.

Any professional would only recommend that you use white hat methods, techniques, and tactics for your website. Despite them producing results slower they are more inclined to work towards the benefit of your business and not produce adverse results. You would also ensure that you are not penalized by search engines such as Google when you use white hat methods.

Sameer

Sameer is a writer, entrepreneur and investor. He is passionate about inspiring entrepreneurs and women in business, telling great startup stories, providing readers with actionable insights on startup fundraising, startup marketing and startup non-obviousnesses and generally ranting on things that he thinks should be ranting about all while hoping to impress upon them to bet on themselves (as entrepreneurs) and bet on others (as investors or potential board members or executives or managers) who are really betting on themselves but need the motivation of someone else’s endorsement to get there. Sameer is a writer, entrepreneur and investor. He is passionate about inspiring entrepreneurs and women in business, telling great startup stories, providing readers with actionable insights on startup fundraising, startup marketing and startup non-obviousnesses and generally ranting on things that he thinks should be ranting about all while hoping to impress upon them to bet on themselves (as entrepreneurs) and bet on others (as investors or potential board members or executives or managers) who are really betting on themselves but need the motivation of someone else’s endorsement to get there.

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