White hat vs. Black hat SEO: What’s the difference?

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With 67% of digital marketing professionals citing search engine optimization ( SEO ) as the most effective content marketing tactic to implement, having an effective SEO strategy is important to your overall digital marketing plans.

There are two common approaches when it comes to SEO: white hat and black hat techniques. White hat SEO includes all those practices that increase search engine rankings (SERPs) without going beyond Google’s guidelines . On the other hand, black hat SEO is associated with finding and exploiting loopholes in Google’s algorithm. While both have the same goal in mind, there are some key differences that you should understand, especially since black hat tactics come with the risk of receiving a penalty from Google.

In this guide, we’ll cover the difference between white hat and black hat SEO strategies. We’ll also cover the basics of an effective white hat SEO strategy so you can improve key ranking factors.


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What is White hat SEO?
White hat SEO is a term used to refer to SEO strategies that work according to the rules and expectations of search engines and users. It means implementing techniques that improve a website's rankings in search engines without resorting to tricks to undermine the search engine algorithm.

White hat SEO strategies focus on providing readers with high-quality, relevant jordan mobile database content that optimizes user experience rather than spammy techniques, such as duplicate content, that are only optimized for search engines.

Whether you opt for white hat or black hat strategies, content professionals are looking for the same thing: boosting their Google rankings. So what can SEO strategists do to make Google’s algorithm happy? If your website ranks high on Google, it means you can reach 86% of Internet users worldwide.

To better understand White hat SEO, it makes sense to examine Black hat and understand their differences. For example:

White hat SEO creates high-quality content that matches user intent, while black hat SEO generates duplicate, low-quality, or template-based content.

A white hat strategy includes using a proper balance of images and text, while black hat uses outdated techniques such as keyword stuffing and invisible text.