When it comes to search engine optimization, there is no such thing as a quick fix. SEO specialists who promise to improve your Google ranking in a short period of time should be carefully screened. A few people choose to use unsavory tactics, also known as black hat techniques, that can actually reduce your ranking. Black hat techniques involve manipulating the search bots and going against the rules that search engines put in place. The guidelines established by Google and other search engines are meant to protect you as well as your competitors, and basically even the playing field. With that in mind, read on to learn more about the SEO tactics to avoid.
Cookie Dropping | Stuffing
Do not stealthily place affiliate cookies on computers.
Social Networking Spam
Do not message people with advertisements. Instead, network and find people with similar interests. Engage with your customers and answer their questions.
URL Hijacking
This is a technique that involves registering a domain name that is a misspelled version of a popular website or a competing business in an attempt to mislead visitors.
Domain Squatting
This involves registering a domain with a word that is trademarked in the name in order to profit from the association.
Link Farms
Do not gather links for SEO from websites that have low-quality content or are not related to your website.
Referrer Spam
Do not make continual requests utilizing a fake referrer URL in order to advertise a website.
Keyword Stuffing
This is one of the most common and obvious black hat techniques that are used today. If you look at this article on Star Wars & SEO, you will see it talks about being tempted to the dark side, i.e. black hat SEO. There is no better representation of this than keyword stuffing. It does not work!
Cloaking
This means presenting site visitors with one set of text and search engines with another.
Hidden Text
Do not add white text to your website. Search engines are wise to this.
Unrelated Keywords
Last but not least, ranking for keywords that are not related to your content will only result in you having a high bounce rate. You cannot write a blog on fashion trends and then randomly include the keyword “fish market in London.”
Hopefully, you now have a better understanding regarding the common black hat techniques that are used today. No matter what type of business you run, you cannot afford to use black hat SEO. If you do, you could find yourself languishing at the bottom of page 15 on Google quicker than you can say ‘keyword.’
Be sure to hop into the Savvy Entrepreneur Private Facebook Community to collaborate, learn and grow with your fellow entrepreneurs and business owners.
Similar Posts by Savvy Entrepreneur:
10 Income Reports by Entrepreneurs for Entrepreneurs
https://savvyentrepreneur.co/10-income-reports-by-entrepreneurs-for-entrepreneurs/
Get More Customers Using Your Website, Email Marketing, and Social Media
https://savvyentrepreneur.co/get-more-customers-using-website-email-marketing-social-media/
Mastermind Groups for Entrepreneurs Foster Accountability
https://savvyentrepreneur.co/mastermind-groups-for-entrepreneurs-foster-accountability/
This is a Collaborative Post
