White Hat SEO - What It Is
There are two types of people out there: Those who play by the rules no matter what and those who think rules were meant to be broken, or at least bent.
In the search engine optimisation world, SEOs who practise what’s called “white hat SEO” only use Google-approved strategies to rank their websites and drive traffic. White hat SEOs believe that a website’s ranking for a given search term should be based on what the site is actually about and reflect the site’s actual relevance to that term.
SEOs who try to trick Google into ranking their sites higher in the SERPs use “black hat” SEO strategies not approved by Google. They do things like keyword stuffing, buying links, and flooding the web with ‘copy & paste’ articles in an attempt to manipulate the search engines.
If you want to rank for competitive search terms without worrying about being penalised by Google, you need to practice white hat SEO. The focus on white hat SEO is to use strategies, techniques, and tactics that are Google-approved. When you practice white hat SEO, you will:
- Play by Google’s rules which you can find in their webmaster guidelines
- Optimise your site for users and not the search engines
- Create high-quality content that people will want to read and share
- Create a website that stands out from the others in your niche
The Good Guys Always Win
Just like in the old western films, the good guys wearing the white hats always come out winners in the end. Even though you could practice black hat SEO and get some favourable results, those good results can disappear quickly. Plus, using unapproved & shady SEO practices can prove devastating if Google discovers you’re not following their guidelines.
If Google finds out you’re using unethical SEO methods that clearly violate its guidelines, it may de-index your site so it doesn’t show up in search results at all. In other words, your site will get blacklisted because you used black hat techniques in an attempt to trick Google.
When you practice white hat SEO, you don’t have to worry constantly about getting penalised by Google. Instead of worrying about being slapped with a penalty, you can remain focused on using Google-friendly techniques and tactics.
White Hat Tactics
White hat SEO tactics don’t bring instant results or overnight success on the web. They take time and produce long-term results in many cases. Here are some white hat tactics to implement.
- Offer valuable content that’s unique
- Satisfy user intent
- Make sure your site is mobile-friendly
- Acquire links naturally
Playing by the rules may be time-consuming, but it’s your best bet if you want to build an authoritative and enduring web presence. If you don’t feel like you can handle doing all your SEO, find an agency or SEO consultant to give you a helping hand. Just make sure they only practice white hat SEO to keep you out of hot water with Google!