Search engine optimization comes in three different categories. You get your white hat optimization, your grey hat SEO and then your black hat search engine optimization. Each category comes with its differences and pro’s and con’s.
However, there is one important thing to know about the three ways to do SEO. The darker the colours, the better off you are without it. White hat search engine optimization is the only way to go if you want to play by the rules, keep your cyber nose clean and stay in the engines’ good books. Grey hat optimization starts getting a bit dodgier and then black hat SEO is a definite no-no.
What is white hat?
White hat SEO is the goody two shoes of the search engine optimization world. White hatters play by the rules and think of the integrity of their website and web presence. Integrity is an important thing on the internet. Once you lose the integrity of your website, it is a very long and hard road to win it back. White hat SEO is also known as ethically improving the performance and results of your organic SEO marketing program.
You may hear about organic search engine optimization quite often. No, it has nothing to do with growing pesticide free and chemically unenhanced fruits and veggies. Organic SEO is simply optimization done the right way that allows your rating to climb naturally. Some examples of good white hat optimization methods are adding easy navigation to your website. Offering only good quality and informative content and products or services and using keywords in your Meta tags.
Why white hat?
Playing by the rules may take longer, it may be more work and it may let your competition get ahead of you for a short while. However, white hat search SEO pays without running the risk of penalties and punishment. Black and grey hat optimization is not a good idea for anyone. Using those types of optimisation can lead to your permanent ban from the engines.
No access to the SERPs and your website traffic drops to zero. Nobody will be able to find your website because it will have no listings, there will be no way to find it unless your users know your website URL by heart.
This spells disaster for business websites as the lower your traffic is, the fewer sales you will make and the less your profits. When you apply white hat optimization you don’t run this risk at all, your website’s integrity stays intact and you can merrily go on trying to out optimize competition.
The bottom line
Good, informative and interesting content will draw visitors to your website, and it prescribes to white hat SEO. Using Meta tags that are right in relevant keywords helps spread your keyword usage across your page without keywords stuffing. And, it falls under white hat optimization. Easy navigation of your website makes it user friendly to people and crawlers; the best part is that this is part of white hat SEO too. If you doubt any of your SEO methods as being anything other than white hat, research it and ask Google. Playing it safe is better than getting banned for life.
Related posts:
- Seeing black, white and grey
- Grow an organic website
- Going organic with optimization
- Waiting for organic results
- Making Use Of Meta Tags With Your SEO Campaign
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