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SEO & Web Article - White Hat / Black Hat SEO

White Hat / Black Hat SEO

As noted in the article on SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and as one of the generally accepted definitions, SEO is the science of optimizing a website so that the major search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc.) will position its pages high in their search results.

It goes without saying that for many thousands of keywords, competition to rank high is enormous, and placements on the top 3 results pages (generally recognized as the "place to be") are hotly contested.

As a consequence, over the years some web developers and inventive SEO specialists have resorted to methods designed to trick the search engines into ranking certain sites highly - higher, and in many cases much higher, than those sites would merit in normal circumstances.

These techniques are called Black Hat SEO techniques, as opposed to straightforward, search engine compliant methods. Industry experts have classified Search Engine Optimization methods, and the practitioners who employ them, as either White Hat SEO, or Black Hat SEO.

Accordingly, SEO techniques can be classified into two broad categories: techniques that search engines recommend as part of good website design, and those that search engines do not approve of.

White Hat SEO techniques conform to the search engines' guidelines and, additionally, involve no deception. As the search engine guidelines are not written as a series of rules or commandments, this is an important addition to note. White Hat SEO is not just about following guidelines, but is about ensuring that the content a search engine indexes and subsequently ranks is the same content a user will see. White Hat SEO is generally summed up as creating content for users, not for search engines, and then making the content easily accessible to the spiders, rather than attempting to trick the algorithm into a non-intended purpose. White Hat SEO is ethical Search Engine Optimization.

Black Hat SEO attempts to improve rankings in ways which are strongly are disapproved of by the search engines, or involve deception. One Black Hat SEO technique uses text that is hidden, either as text colored similar to the background ("Alt"), or positioned off-screen. Another Black Hat method consists of creating links or content that is invisible to users but visible or accessible to search engines, a technique known as cloaking.

White Hat SEO tends to produce results that last a long time, whereas Black Hat SEO, out for quick, short-term success, anticipates that their sites may eventually be banned either temporarily or permanently once the search engines discover what they are doing.

Search engines may penalize sites they discover using Black Hat methods, either by reducing their rankings or eliminating their listings from their databases altogether. Such penalties can be applied either automatically by the search engines' algorithms, or by a manual site review.

For more information about our SEO and Web consulting services, or an absolutely free web site analysis and SEO consultation, we encourage you to contact us. Our SEO Montreal consultants will be pleased to help.

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