Western films first used the phrase “black hat” to distinguish between “good guys” (who wore white hats) and “bad guys,”. It is now more generally used to denote computer hackers, virus authors, and individuals who engage in unethical computer behavior.
This is one of those things which most digital marketing course programs don’t cover because this is supposed not to be followed and to be avoided.
In this article, you’ll be learning about:
Watch this Intellipaat video on SEO:
What is Black Hat SEO? Definition
Black hat SEO is the use of techniques to promote a website that violates search engine criteria. Black hat SEO strategies seek to fool search engine algorithms in order to boost a site’s rating on the SERPs.
Search engines, like Google and Bing, are extremely clear about what kinds of behavior are prohibited. They’re also very clear about the potential consequences of breaking their rules. Using black hat SEO strategies might result in your website being punished (either algorithmically or manually), which means poorer ranking positions and, most likely, a decrease in organic visitors.
If you want to understand SEO in-depth, do check out our SEO Course!
Black Hat SEO Techniques
The entire purpose of search engine algorithms is to present users with the best possible results for their searches. Marketers who use black hat SEO approaches effectively steal higher SERP rankings from those who use well-established and authentic white hat methods. Here are a few typical black hat SEO tactics:
1. Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing is the practice of adding irrelevant keywords into your content in an attempt to control where a page ranks on search pages. Including several versions of keywords that offer no value generates a negative user experience. Additionally, it can make your page rank for unrelated inquiries.
Also read: SEO vs SEM
Google defines keyword stuffing as:
- List of phone numbers having no extra value.
- Text blocks listing cities and places for which a website is attempting to rank.
- Repeating the same phrases and words too frequently that it sounds odd.
Google is becoming increasingly intelligent, and it can detect when a piece of information has been altered with keywords. Instead, you should produce content with a specific goal in mind as well as search intent. Content created for humans surpasses content created for bots.
2. Poor Quality Content
In black hat SEO, it’s also standard practice to use low-quality content that is useless to searchers. This includes content that has been scraped from another website, either by a bot or by a person. Search engines such As google were once incapable of detecting content that had been scraped from other websites. It was fixed by the 2011 Google Panda update. Many websites with duplicate material experienced an immediate drop in search ranks. Since that time, Google has improved significantly in its ability to detect duplicate and poor-quality information.
It is also illegal to include invisible keywords in your article. Some black hat SEO websites do this by having the text the same color as the website backdrop. As a result, even though the page doesn’t include any content directly related to those invisible keywords, it can nonetheless show up in search results for those terms. Because the keywords are hidden, when a person clicks on the result in the mistaken belief that it will be about the subject they looked for, they don’t see any of the content they were looking for. You shouldn’t need to hide anything on your website if you’re providing a solution for the user.
Create your own Digital Marketing Campaign after reading our blog on Digital Marketing Examples!
Get 100% Hike!
Master Most in Demand Skills Now !
3. Paid Links
Backlinks are important to any SEO strategy and cannot be ignored. Google views a site as more trustworthy and authoritative the more backlinks (external sites linking to your own) it has.
Obtaining links to a newly launched website might be difficult. After all, who would connect to a site that has no traffic or authority? That is why many SEO professionals pay for links. Numerous websites and blogs will compensate SEO marketers for the placement of material and links on their websites.
Google prohibits paying for links. Although we already discussed it, buying links is merely another tactic to trick search engines. The more paid links a site has, the more backlinks it has, and the higher a site and its associated pages will rank in SERPs. This may not even be excellent or relevant information for the users’ search purpose, yet it will appear as a top result since it is extensively backlinked.
Don’t forget to check our digital marketing interview questions for Freshers to crack the best marketing jobs.
4. Blog Comment Spam
As the name implies, this black hat method is posting a link to your website in blog comments. This method is becoming less common as search engines such As google have modified their algorithms to ignore any links in blog comments. Most authoritative blogs have made nofollow links in blog comments the default setting. This indicates that neither the link nor its authority is followed by search engines like Google.
If you own a website, forum, or community that accepts comments, you should take precautions to make sure that neither users nor bots can spam your comments section. Search engines, such as Google, will demote or remove spam-containing pages from their search results. One strategy to reduce the risk of spam user-generated material is to employ anti-spam tools like Google’s free reCAPTCHA tool.
To learn more about SEO, visit our Digital Marketing Tutorial!
Black Hat SEO Tools
Some of the most popular SEO tools used by Black hat SEOs consist of:
1. GSA Search Engine
If you wish to develop backlinks in mass, you might consider using the GSA Search Engine Ranker Tool. This powerful technology enables marketers to automate their backlink creation and eliminate the need for manual labor. This program creates backlinks round-the-clock with minimal to no human interaction. GSA Search Engine Ranker’s revolutionary program automatically creates accounts, registers them on key authority sites, and submits your material.
2. Scrapebox
Check out Scrapebox if you’re looking for an SEO tool that has a track record of getting users to discover web pages in search engine result pages. Scrapebox is a cutting-edge application that assists users with aggressive SEO methods. Scrapebox provides various cutting-edge capabilities that marketers require, like keyword scraping, mass link building, and search engine harvesting. These new tools assist you in discovering your competitors’ keywords and rating your site better than ever before.
3. SENuke
On our list, SEnukeTNG is the most effective black hat SEO tool. This whole SEO marketing automation solution allows clients to monitor their traffic and track interaction metrics with their followers and audiences. Total site visits and total page views are two statistics that SEnukeTNG monitors. To create results for its customers, this tool uses a strong CrowdSearch capability to replicate hundreds of user queries on online search engines such as Google.
SEnukeTNG offers the most ranking power of any SEO tool. This package enables marketers to replicate their competitors’ rankings and keywords. The automatic development of important social links, media-rich content, press releases, and even completely customized SEO campaigns are some of the most popular things that SEnukeTNG has to offer. The novel loop mode function lets users set up their campaign once and the program will rinse and repeat as needed, automatically loading relevant material for users and establishing backlinks on authority sites every day.
Let’s get back to the basics learn about the Types of SEO!
4. GSA Content Generator
GSA Content Generator gives users complete control over the article spinning and content production processes. Users can modify options such as the number of paragraphs, words per paragraph, the location of embeds, and many others. This tool is popular among black hat SEO users since it allows them to add their content sources with the click of a button. The sophisticated scraping capabilities enable users to capture keywords, text, photos, and videos and assemble their finished output.
5. Article Forge
There is no better tool for creating content for all of your link-building methods than Article Forge. Using artificial intelligence, Article Forge can quickly and accurately create original material on any topic.
Article Forge is the most efficient content generation tool available. Simply enter your keyword(s), and with the touch of a button, you will receive a complete, high-quality, one-of-a-kind article. The efficiency doesn’t stop there; Article Forge also offers a bulk generator that allows you to create several articles at once.
You are just a click away to crack and ace your interview, visit our SEO Interview Questions, just made for you!
How to Report Black Hat SEO
Reporting black hat SEO to Google can assist the company in taking immediate measures against the violation and improving its spam detection algorithms in order to safeguard search results from unethical practices.
And, with your assistance, Google may try to enhance the quality of information and the impartiality of its search results for all users.
You can follow the below-mentioned steps for reporting a website:
1. Reviewing Google’s Webmaster Guidelines
The first step in reporting black hat SEO is to read through the Webmaster Guidelines.
Google wishes to ensure that all website owners and online marketing agencies are aware of the quality criteria that address the most frequent forms of fraudulent or manipulative behavior.
Once you’ve established that a website is in violation of one of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines, move on to the next step to begin the reporting procedure.
2. Find the Misbehaving Web Page Address
Google needs to know the precise web URL that you suspect is misbehaving. This could be a single URL or a whole domain.
3. Choosing Correct Google Reporting Form
There are four broad areas you can utilize to submit black hat SEO to Google. Select the appropriate reporting form from the list below that pertains to the misleading behavior.
- Spammy Content
- Paid Links Spam
- Malware
- Phishing
4. Give Information Regarding the Black Hat SEO being Practiced
5. Submit your form
6. Wait for Google to respond
Google actively evaluates every Web Spam and Safe Browsing report and takes appropriate action. These teams must analyze all feedback from the reports to ensure that no black hat SEO tactics are being utilized to alter its search engine results or users’ web browsers.
Check out Intellipaat’s Digital Marketing course in Bangalore to gain in-depth knowledge about Digital Marketing!
Conclusion
Black hat SEO is a Digital Marketing technique that goes against the guidelines of search engines in an attempt to rank higher in search results. This type of SEO is often used by businesses that are looking for a quick and easy way to improve their search engine ranking, without worrying about the long-term consequences. While black hat SEO can sometimes be effective in the short term, it can ultimately lead to your website being banned from search engines, which is why it’s important to avoid this type of practice.
Have more questions to ask, feel free to reach out to us in our Digital Marketing community to resolve your queries!