Top 5 Black Hat SEO Techniques to Avoid in 2022
Ten years ago, many incorrectly believed that SEO was a deceptive marketing strategy centred around ‘cheating the formula’ and manipulating Google to believe the website was the best answer for a search query.
This should never have been the case, and SEOs should have instead based their attention on achieving the best possible outcome on the network, rather than feigning it.
Black hat SEO can seem to be a quick way to boost your rankings and increase your search exposure. However, exercise caution when using these techniques. Black hat tactics can do more harm than good to your SEO.
Google’s algorithms were less sophisticated 10 years back in time, especially when it came to detecting web spam.
Numerous advertisers used black hat SEO strategies to rate websites in the past; however, things have changed. We are going to dig deep into the strategies to stop if you do not want to run afoul of the algorithm or Webmaster Quality Guidelines in this guide.
What is Black Hat SEO?
Google’s Webmaster Guidelines provide the ground rules for your search engine optimisation approach. If you use tactics or shortcuts for SEO ranking that violate Google’s rules, you are engaging in black hat SEO, which any professional marketer or website owner can stop at all costs
If Google discovers that your website is using black hat SEO techniques, they will penalise you. Receiving a punishment from Google will cause the search engine to change its PageRank algorithm, lowering the website’s rating score or, in the worst-case situation, completely delisting it.
Uncertain if you have violated Google’s rules? To assuage any questions, there is one simple question you can ask: Is your SEO approach focused on providing value to your readers or solely on ranking well? If the intention is all about rankings, you should reconsider your plan.
Top 5 Back Hat SEO Techniques to Avoid in 2022
Private Blog Networks
Private blog networks (PBNs) were once often used by companies seeking an immediate supply of backlinks for a fresh or underperforming site property. PBNs are a network of high-authority websites that have been created exclusively for the purpose of link building and supporting supported content.
These websites are often termed as “link farms” due to their setup to take advantage of Google’s PageRank algorithm. Rather than charge for PBN membership, you can automatically expand your outreach and offer guest blog posts to reputable sources and forums for long term SEO advantages.
Cloaking
Cloaking is a term that refers to the practice of displaying crawlers’ content that differs from what you present to your users. One method of cloaking is to use a variety of slogans, names, and definitions that are diametrically opposed to what the actual content is about. There is a good risk that if a search engine detects cloaking, the site will be blocked.
The search engine’s algorithm is constantly updated, and if you use cloaking, they may eventually discover it and will permanently bar your website from being indexed. Indeed, Google “blacklisted” a German automobile maker, BMW, in February 2006 for violating its guidelines.
Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing is the process of stuffing a web page with keywords or numbers to fool a search engine into believing it is important to the search. Typically, these keywords are unrelated to the content of the website.
Occasionally, these keywords are shielded from the user but are still searched by the search engine. Stuffing keywords will degrade the user interface and potentially damage your site’s rating.
An example of keyword stuffing will be when writing to rank for “best laptop” using the following copy: “If you are looking for the best laptop, look no further for best laptop. We have the best laptop. Best laptop runs smoothly…… and more”.
Comment Spamming
While it is becoming less common, there was a period when comment sections were flooded with automated comments written to create backlinks. Google’s algorithm has since been modified to weed out and discredit links created by spam or bots.
In any case, links created from comment sections are typically marked with “no follow” HTML tags, which have no effect on your ranking results.
Buying Backlinks
Links should be earned, not purchased. Google discredits links created by sponsored content or paid guest posts, but rewards domains that are linked to, based on the quality of their content with PageRank (or “link juice”). In other words, the backlink approach should be normal.
An effective link-building approach begins with the development of genuine and exclusive value-added material that the readers can find beneficial. If you can do that, the backlinks would automatically flow in overtime.
Why Should You Avoid Black Hat SEO Techniques?
Digital marketing agency which years of experience in terms of white hat SEO. The SEO strategies that we create have helped businesses obtain their maximum growth in terms of online traffic and sales.
