White Hat - Black Hat SEO Practices - Where is the Line?

There is still much debate over White Hat and Black Hat SEO tactics. First, lets understand what SEO is: it is Search Engine Optimization. SEO covers a wide range of tactics and procedures, and ranges from on-site optimization to off-site marketing. Google still holds you cannot pay for search engine rankings, but is that really the case?

I started writing this article when I noticed a lot of blogs picking up my articles. These blogs had urls that had no meaning or relevancy to my industry. It seemed like someone was creating a free blog and cramming it with content and adsense, hoping for Page Rank increase and Ad Revenue. These blogs are poorly put together, and some even were obviously full of automatically generated content, which was nothing more than a bunch of words randomly positioned throughout the site.

I started investigating a little and it turns out, many of these blogs point to sites and have the same anchor text. The blogs are simply a means to get incoming links with the anchor text of your choice to boost search engine placement for keywords. Granted, I benefit from some of the additional links coming to my site from these "blogs", but I can't help but think of these pages as useless content black holes that are used to prey on adsense revenue and to essentially "cheat" in obtaining search engine rankings for keywords. I would consider this Black Hat SEO tactics.

This is just one of the tactics I found recently to be less than reputable. According to Google Webmaster Guidelines, incoming links act as a vote for your site. There "votes" affect your page ranks and your keyword ranking in search results based on the incoming Page Rank of the site that links to you, and the anchor text used as the link. voting for yourself hundreds or thousands of times by creating garbage web sites or blogs doesn't qualify as an ethical SEO tactic.

So what does qualify as an ethical SEO tactic? There are a lot of answers to that one. You can first start by creating a website that has good content. It should offer products, services, information, opinions, or be some other media type that people will find useful. Then, you can follow guidelines set up by the search engines to optimize that content for you industry keywords. Once you have a quality site, its time to tell people about it. Submit it to directories and get it added to listings. If you have an e-commerce site, get listed in local or regional directories. Write articles about your products or services and submit them to article directories. Create Press Releases about your new site and what it offers. Start a real blog with frequently updated content that people can follow and comment on. Use your expertise and experience to bring a fresh perspective to the industry. Once you have something useful for your customers or your audience, then you will naturally begin to generate votes and links for your site. That is how to optimize for search engines.

Majestic Modifications is the complete auto accessories solution, specializing in car accessories, cold air intakes and performance upgrades, body kits and exterior accessories, glow gauges and interior accessories, wheels and tires, mobile video, car audio and electronics.

Do You Wear A White Hat Or Black Hat?
When someone mentions the phrase "Organic SEO", they mean the optimization of a website to appear in the non-paid, search algorithm driven results in search engines. However, it is useful to understand that there are two "clans" for organic SEO exper...

What The "Gurus" Don’t Want You To Know
Now I'm not going to do any guru bashing. Some of the gurus out there definitely know their stuff online and make a ton of money. People will buy their guides and listen to them because of their success, but what should you really be paying attenti...

How Complex Search Engine Came To Be With The Different Hats It Wears
According to Mr. Danny Sullivan, an industry analyst, the initiatory use of the term Search Engine Optimization was on July 26, 1997, contained in a spam message posted on Usenet.SEO is composed of many integrated processes aiming to improve the qual...

Closet Lighting Installation Is Easy
People give a lot of thought to really utilizing their closet space by good organization and smart space-saving design. What they forget is the need to provide closet lighting as well. Unfortunately, you cannot keep your storage area neat and tidy if...

How To Avoid Being Deceived When Meeting Online
The Internet has again crept further into our daily lives with the conception of on line dating. With a couple clicks of a button you can open a whole broad world of people awaiting you, looking for relationships..Naturally, when meeting people on l...

Interracial Dating
Dating someone outside of your race has been controversial for many centuries. At one point Canada, Australia, and the United states all banned interracial relationships. The origin of such debates stem from a hair brained notion that interracial r...

Ceiling Fan Light Kit - An Ideal Lighting
If you have a ceiling fan but no lighting attached to it, you are missing an ideal lighting option for your home. You can buy a ceiling fan light kit if your fan did not come with a lighting option that will customize your fan to look fantastic in a...

Energy Efficiency Will Save You Money On Light Bulbs
The next time that you go light bulb shopping, you should consider more than just the price. By purchasing a higher priced light bulb, you wont have to replace it as much, and it will even reduce your electricity bill.Did you know that theres a 100-...

Search Engine Optimization Provider - What to Look Out For And How to Keep Your Cost Down
When it comes to choosing a search engine optimization provider, it is easier to focus on what things to look out for rather than the positive things. Here are some tips for you to consider.Good SEO providers do not need to receive continuous payment...

How You Can Make a Solar Cooker
A solar cooker is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to make use of solar energy, whether its your first foray into solar power or youve got solar panels covering your rooftop. And while there are no shortage of designs available in print and onli...