Search Engine Optimization aka SEO is an awesome marketing strategy for businesses. SEO can generate views on your webpage that later, can turn the web visitors to real consumers. While you might have already been relying on SEO to boost your business, do you know that there are two kinds of SEO you can use?
The truth is, there are two types of SEO that have the same goals but different approach: black and white hat SEO. These, as the name suggests, black hat SEO could be considered as identical with mysterious approach, while the white hat one offers better approach. According to Search Engine Journal, white hat SEO is marketing tactic that follows Google’s rules. On the other hand, black hat SEO uses a completely “aggressive” approach such as violating Google’s rules. These two kinds of SEO also have their own benefits and drawbacks for online marketing. To understand those pluses and minuses, you should first acknowledge yourself with black and white hat SEO differences.
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Black hat SEO
Usually, marketers who use black hat SEO are considered brave and are not afraid of losing anything they build. They are rule-breaker, yet are likely to generate higher ranking for their web. Black hatters will use these strategies to generate more traffic: unrelated keywords, content automation (in the body text of the comment section), doorway pages, cloaking, and invisible text or links.
Using unrelated keywords or invisible links to attract more visitors are a big no-no for Google. Therefore, black hatter strategies are often considered risky. If Google finds out, your site can be banned or penalized with lower rank.
White hat SEO
White hat techniques are pretty safe. However, it will take more time to generate visitors to your websites. White hatters use focused strategy on making your site more visible through quality content and organic link. These are the strategies of white hatters: quality content, effective keyword search and use, relevant backlinks, internal links, and relevant meta description.
Likewise, there is no violent strategies in white hat SEO. And if you want to generate better visitors, paid white hat SEO is a good choice. You can invest to the long-term success white hat SEO brings.
While it can be concluded that white hat SEO is better for business, you can ask yourself these three questions for your final consideration on which SEO strategy suits your needs better. These questions are proposed by DR. Peter J. Meyers, a marketing scientist at Moz:
o Are you looking for high-value or low-value SEO marketing?
Value is tactics provided to site and search visitors. Low-value tactics is considered as spam. It is not illegal and not always unethical. Low-value is also riskier than high-value. When you use low-value tactics, you build nothing towards future as once you fail, you need to start all over again.
On the other hand, high-value means you build something towards future. For example, Google sometimes changes their rule and regulations. When you use low-value, you will lose everything once it does not match the rules. On contrary, high-value web will still exist over changed rules.
o Are you looking for high-risk or low-risk SEO marketing?
You should understand that every tactic carries risk, especially if you fail to diversify. “Sooner or later, white-hat or black-hat, the rules will change,” said Meyers. Therefore, you should be prepared for unexpected situation like paid inclusion SERP layout changes, SERP feature changer.
o Do you want a short-term or long-term marketing strategy?
You have to consider whether you are building site for long haul or short-term play. You should understand your own business consequences. For example, you are building an affiliate site to sell accessories for smartphone. Yet, smartphones move fast time to time. In this kind of situation, your business in considered as a short-term play. Therefore, you can take risks that other people cannot.
Read also: Is SEO Enough to Bring Success for Business?
