If you are in the Search Engine Optimization field or wish to become an SEO expert, you might have a heard about the do’s which is on-page and off-page strategies and the don’ts which are the blackhat SEO techniques. For the longest time, Google has time and again tried to revive and update the ranking algorithm so that these websites who use blackhat SEO to rank higher can be pushed down or even penalised. In this article, we discuss the most popular blackhat SEO techniques that you should avoid at all costs to be in the good books of Google.
What is Blackhat SEO?
White hat SEO refers to a collection of techniques used to break the terms of service of search engines in order to raise the rank of a website or page. In Western movies, the phrase “black hat” first appeared to distinguish the “evil people” from the “good ones,” who wore white hats (see white hat SEO). Recently, it’s been used more frequently to refer to those who use computers unethically, such as hackers and virus developers.
Blackhat SEO is a term used to describe techniques that are against the search engine’s guidelines. These techniques can be used by marketers to rank higher in the SERPs and increase their visibility. They try to play coy with SEO Copy, Website Structure and Schema Markup to rank higher.
Blackhat SEO is not a new concept, but it has been around for decades. It was initially used to manipulate search engine results pages (SERPs) in order to show the desired content at the top of the list. However, with Google’s continued development of its algorithm, many Blackhat SEO techniques have become outdated and ineffective.
What blackhat SEO techniques should you avoid?
Many people think that blackhat SEO techniques are the way to go when it comes to ranking a website higher in search engines. But that is not the case. There are many other ways to rank higher in search engines without using these techniques.
Blackhat SEO techniques should be avoided at all costs because they put your website at risk of getting penalized by Google and losing rankings.
Some of the blackhat SEO techniques that one should avoid are:
● Doorway Pages
Doorway pages are used to manipulate search engine rankings by linking to a specific page from multiple pages. Doorway pages are a type of blackhat SEO techniques that is used to manipulate search engine rankings by linking to a specific page from multiple pages.
The idea is that the doorway page will rank higher than the other links on the SERP, and as such, it will be easier for users to find your desired destination.
● Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing is the act of inserting a large number of keywords in an article or post, with the intention of increasing the search engine rankings. It is an extreme use of one of the SEO tips and tricks.
Keyword stuffing is one of the most common blackhat SEO techniques that are used by many people. It is also one of the easiest to spot and identify.
The problem with keyword stuffing is that it can lead to a penalty on your site and even cause you to be removed from Google’s index entirely.
● Hidden Text
The most popular blackhat SEO techniques are spamming and keyword stuffing. However, there are many other techniques that are used to manipulate the search engine results page. One of these techniques is hidden text.
Hidden text is a technique that manipulates the on-page content of a website in order to increase its relevance in search engine rankings. This technique can be applied to both textual and non-textual content. It is possible to use hidden text for either commercial or non-commercial purposes, as it is not considered ethical by Google or Bing webmasters guidelines.
● Spamming with Comments
The spamming technique is a blackhat SEO technique that is used to manipulate search engine rankings. It is used by many people who do not know how to rank their websites organically.
This technique usually involves using a large number of fake accounts in order to create backlinks and post comments on other websites, rather than creating content.
● Link Farms
Link Farms are a form of blackhat SEO techniques which involve the creation of large numbers of artificial links to a web page. Link farms can be created manually or automatically by using software. In some cases, they may be used in an attempt to game search engines and improve the ranking of a web page.
Link farms are also sometimes used as a means of generating income by monetizing high-quality links. Most link farms are created using automated software, but manual methods can produce similar results.
Link farms usually appear on various websites and can be used to increase website traffic. Link farms are often created by individuals or companies with the intention of making money without needing to create any original content.
● Rich Snippet Abuse
Rich snippets are a great way for businesses to connect with their customers. However, there are some blackhat SEO techniques that can abuse this feature and get the top spot on Google search.
The first step in the process is to create a website that has only one page with several short sentences, phrases and paragraphs. This content should be high quality with good grammar but it should not be too long or too detailed.
The next step is to include rich snippets in the content by using Schema markup and structured data where possible.
Finally, you need to make sure that you have a lot of links going back to your site from other websites and social media platforms so that Google will rank your site higher in the SERPs. This is a blackhat SEO technique that one should avoid at all costs.
Conclusion
In this article, we have looked at the grey area of SEO that a lot of spam and other websites use to secure a higher position of the SERP. But as a website owner or SEO expert, one should know that playing the game against Google rules to rank on Google SERP is a short-term victory but will cost you a long-term loss. Hope this article was informative and insightful for you!
Author’s Bio
Karan Shah
Founder and CEO at IIDE
Apart from being an Edu-Preneur, Tedx Speaker and a Black Coffee connoisseur, Karan Shah is also the founder of IIDE- The Digital School.
A Harvard alumnus, Karan’s expertise lies in digital marketing and Ecommerce. A storyteller at heart, he has penned plenty of articles in leading news portals such as Entrepreneur, BusinessWorld, Education Times, and Youth Magazine to name a few.
