Search engine optimization practices are vital for all website owners and improve their rankings in search engine results pages. Ethical strategies increase the visibility of the website and make it more popular on search engines. However, some business owners follow trends presented by inferior marketing agencies and sketchy content they find online. The practices are called Black Hat SEO, and the search engines aren’t having it. To avoid banned websites and other repercussions website owners learn about the three deadly SEO mistakes that are hurting their search engine results.
#1. Using Black Hat Content Strategies
Content automation and other content faux passes are detrimental to any website. It might seem like a great idea and save time, but the strategies often lead to a banned development due to violations of the terms and conditions of popular search engines. Too often the condition isn’t useful. The spelling and grammar aren’t correct when using automation, and the content reads almost robotic.
Article spinning is completed by using software that reads through and recreates the current content. Unfortunately, this leads to duplicate content, irrelevant content, and useless information. Keyword stuffing also occurs in Black Hat strategies. As users enter search criteria to find content online, the search engines review all websites for relevance to the keywords entered by the user. Websites that are relevant, have useful information, and high-quality content appears in the search engine results pages. The results of using Black Hat content strategies are that the website appears on the last pages of the search results or the search engine bans the website entirely.
#2. Creating and Using Doorway Pages
In Black Hat, doorway pages are landing pages that aren’t useful but manipulate the search engines efficiently. Internet users are transferred from the content they wanted to a completely different location. Doorway pages have nothing to do with the user’s search criteria and just send them to the wrong website. The pages are loaded with keywords that increase the website’s rankings, but ultimately, the search engines become wise to them and block them from view.
WHITEHAT strategies won’t lead to website banning and don’t involve the use of doorway pages. Companies and individuals that use the approval strategies have a better chance of ranking higher on the search engine results pages without any ethics violations or violating the terms for connecting their websites to popular search engines. Search engines, such as Google have been cracking down on Black Hat SEO tactics and penalizing website owners who use the strategies.
#3. Initiating Cloaking Techniques
Cloaking techniques violate the terms and conditions of most search engines. The techniques use empty link anchors, hide Javascript in the content, and use Javascript to redirect internet users. Using cloaking techniques sends the users in a completely different direction and the websites have nothing to do with the search engine’s results. Search engines use spiders to crawl through content and find options that are relevant to the words entered by the user. Cloaking tricks the search engine into believing that the irrelevant content has a higher ranking and places it at a higher position that is more visible to internet users.
Search engine optimization offers tried and true methods of increasing a website’s visibility and search engine rankings. The most recent terms and conditions for search engines, such as Google prevent website owners from using Black Hat SEO strategies for improving their rankings. Strategies used most often related to content automation, irrelevant information, and creating unacceptable redirect options using cloaking or doorway pages. Website owners who avoid Black Hat SEO find better success on the search engines.
