The Bad Guy’s Search Engine Marketing Techniques
Author: Conrad Salvador
Back during the old glory days of Hollywood westerns, it was the hero who always wore a hat that was white, while it was the bad guy who always wore a hat that was black.
In the SEO world, search engine marketing techniques fall into two similar categories. Companies practicing “white hat” SEO know that their work will produce results that are long lasting. While those who practice “black hat” SEO techniques are only concerned with instant and more immediate results.
It is important to understand on what not to do when it comes to smart SEO practices. Black hat SEO techniques fall into this category, because this method incorporates deceptive practices that are not approved of by search engines.
Why face the possibilities of having your site banned?
Know what these practices are, so your site will not suffer a similar fate:
- Hidden text – when text is designed to be part of the background, invisible, and positioned slightly off screen.
- Cloaking – the practice of incorporating poorly designed pages with the sole purpose of redirecting traffic to the main site.
- Keyword stuffing – overloading pages with targeted keywords in the meta tags or actual content.
- Content repetition – the duplication of content taken from another website.
- Link farms – a form of spamming the index of search engines, used to hyperlink a group of websites.
Knowing the differences between good guy and bad guy techniques could make the difference in your site’s long-term goals. Be in the habit of striving for longevity and practice organic search engine optimization. The results may take a little bit more time, but are well worth it in the end.