SEO – Implementing “Black Hat” Techniques

The internet has made it possible for anyone with motivation and a willingness to work to make money – an incredible amount of money. Unfortunately, devious people who want to cheat the system often resort to what is known as “black hat” techniques when implementing SEO. Along with this have come an endless supply of guides and products promising instant results and high rankings that are “undetectable” by search engines, offered by marketers on internet marketing forums, and advertised as foolproof. While you may think twice about using such tactics, particularly if the seller “guarantees” that you will never get caught, stay away – far, far away. In using black hat techniques for SEO purposes, you WILL get caught. And, it could very likely mean the end of your business.

Just consider it for a minute. If black hat SEO techniques worked (and most are easy to implement), everyone could get to number one easily. However, Google and other search engines are much “smarter” than people give them credit for. While you may experience a “honeymoon” period where your website ranks highly, it will not last, guaranteed. In fact, those who do use these devious “tricks” or tactics will likely find that success is very fleeting indeed, and will probably last only a few days.

What are some of the most common black hat techniques used in SEO today? Keyword spamming, title tag stuffing and title tag stacking. With keyword spamming, a webmaster may use the target keyword on page hundreds of times, only they will do this in a way that is invisible to the human eye by making text match the background of the page. Title tag stacking involves “stacking” multiple title tags one on top of the other in order to rank for numerous keywords. These are just a couple of examples; there are literally dozens of “cheat” tactics that are used to attempt to deceive the search engines.

Now, back to the forum peddlers who promote methods of garnishing a high ranking without getting caught using these black hat techniques. Do you believe that if an individual truly unlocked the secret to getting a page one ranking that worked, he/she would share it with the world for a few bucks a pop? Not likely; in fact, any smart individual would want to keep such a secret from getting out, so that every other website on the web wouldn’t be competition! That so-called “guru” would be building hundreds of affiliate sites in popular niches, just sitting back watching the cash roll into the bank account. Add to that the fact that the more these purported “experts” hawk their wares, the more likely the odds of being caught by Google, and you can see that this is an investment you DO NOT want to make.

The truth is, there is no “magic bullet” to getting high or even #1 rankings with black hat techniques or otherwise. Why waste your money on false promises – only to get caught and subsequently penalized when the search engines find out? When it comes to SEO, stick to the tried and true tactics that are legitimate and effective.

What Constitutes the Best SEO Services

The power of the Internet is such that today you can close a business deal with someone else sitting in the other part of the world, without moving even a muscle. This being the case, it is not surprising that it has become imperative for businesses to have an online presence. However, merely having a website will not guarantee more business revenue. It is important that your website is ranked high on search engine listings. This is where search engine optimization or simply SEO plays a key role. The success of your online source, therefore, lies squarely with choosing the best SEO services.

It goes without saying that you need to choose your SEO services company with care. The first thing that you need to look for is the reputation of a particular company. How do you find it? The best way is to talk to its customers. You can also go through customer reviews. Check out the testimonials on the SEO company’s website. It would be even better if you can talk to some of those clients. Remember, there are several dubious companies out there for every good SEO services company.

It is important that you go know the experience of the SEO services company. It should be preferably have been in the field for at least a few years. You can talk to some of its employees. Find out about how many projects that the company has completed till now and what is the timeframe it needs to complete yours. Talking to the staff would also give you an idea about their experience levels and their customer friendliness. It is only when you are satisfied that you should proceed further and choose one.

Apart from the technical expertise of its employees, the location of the SEO company is another factor that you need to consider. Remember, you will need to interact a lot with the SEO company’s team. It is therefore preferable that the SEO company is somewhere close to your place so that you can visit it frequently without problems. Do you feel that the company is offering the optimum service for the charges that it got from you? It is something that you need to take a look at before you choose an SEO services company.

Deadly Sins of SEO – a Black Hat Technique Known as Title Stacking

Title stacking, similar to title “stuffing,” is a practice designed to help a web page rank higher in the search engine results, although it is deceptive. This black hat technique involves stacking multiple title tags, rather than a single HTML tag so that all of these tags could be optimized for various keywords. Today, search engines are able to see these deceptive “tricks,” so they’re not effective. In fact, using title stacking for the purpose of SEO optimization may get you banned by Google!

What is a title tag? This is an element used in SEO that goes in the section for each web page on your website. In fact, it is a required element for a web page, an element that should be context rich in order to be effective for SEO purposes. A title tag is formed using HTML code in this format:

This tag is seen not only by search engines but by your visitors as well. In a search engine’s eyes, the three key elements in determining where your website ranks in search results are the content on your pages, title tags, and inbound links or external links pointing to your pages from other sites.

It is recommended that title tags be approximately 65 characters in length; in fact, Google states that these first 65 characters are the only ones they give value to. Title tags should include your primary keywords and your geographic areas of practice if applicable. The keywords used in title tags should not be repeated and should reflect the keywords used in the content (main body) of your web page.

Essentially, in “title stacking” many title tags are created, then stacked one on top of the other. Title “stuffing” involves stuffing keywords into a single title tag, a practice frowned upon by search engines. While title stacking may be beneficial for immediate results, all black hat techniques will eventually get your website penalized. This means that after the initial period of success, you will likely be black-listed, and chances of long term success are obliterated.

Trusted SEO professionals use only “white hat” or legitimate techniques to achieve high rankings for websites. In most cases, a reputable search engine optimization firm will not resort to title stacking or other underhanded techniques, as they know that this is not beneficial for the overall long-term success of the business.

A decade ago, search engines were not as “smart” as they are today. Because devious people over the years have learned how to “trick” search engines for higher rankings quickly, Google and other search engines have become much harder, if not impossible, to fool with black hat techniques such as title stacking. If you want a business that is profitable and sustainable for the long term, stay away from title stacking and other tactics that are basically cheating.