Remington BeggWhile many people, even SEO experts, use the two terms interchangeably, there’s actually quite a difference between Black Hat SEO and just plain bad SEO. While it’s true that bad SEO could be an umbrella term with Black Hat SEO tactics falling somewhere underneath, looking at Black Hat SEO practices and bad SEO practices differently can help you make sure you’re following the rules completely.
To state it simply- Black Hat SEO is doing something to trick Google into ranking you higher and is often deceitful, bad SEO is just not the correct way to do it. Let’s break it down a little more:
Black Hat SEO
Black hat SEO tactics are just that – tactics.
- Hidden Text
- Doorway Pages
- Cloaking
- Link Farms
- Buying and/or Selling Links
- Link Exchanges
- Content Duplicating and Spinning
- Comment Spamming
Black Hat means taking deliberate actions meant to trick search engine bots into thinking something that isn’t authentic, so that your website can get better rankings. They’re shady and dishonest, and you should stay away from any agencies or SEO Specialists who try to use them.
Bad SEO
Bad SEO is a little different in that it isn’t necessary an SEO strategy purposefully based on tricks. In facts, the problem can be not having a strategy at all.
- Optimizing for Search Bots, Not Readers
- Publishing Anything Outdated
- No Data Behind Your Keywords
- No Strategy
- Not Having Unique Meta Titles on Every Page
- Keyword Stuffing
- Duplicate Content
- Slow Loading Times
Too often, even the best intentions turn into bad SEO and begin to affect rankings. The best way to avoid these type of penalties is to make sure you have an agency who fully understands the industry and it’s recent changes optimizing your website.
You can be completely free of using any Black Hat SEO tactics and still have poor organic performance. This is why it’s so important to understand some of the pieces of bad SEO that aren’t necessarily deceitful. If you’re truly concerned about your business’s success, you’ll give SEO the attention and investment it deserves. To learn even more about what is considered good SEO practices in today’s competitive atmosphere, download our free eBook Modern SEO today.
