What is black hat SEO? Black Hat SEO is a derogatory term used to describe search engine optimization practitioners to describe other SEOs who violate search engine guidelines such as Google Webmaster Guidelines. The only problem, specific guidelines have drastically different levels of severity.
If you ask 10 SEOs what black hat SEO is, you’re going to likely get 10 different answers.
So, what really is black hat SEO?
In order to understand the true definition of black hat SEO we need to truly understand what black hat is. In the old western movies, ‘black hats’ were typically criminals or villains. In the hacking world, black hats refer to people who hack into computers with malicious or criminal intent. Regardless if you look at the old western movie definition, or the new computer definition, both include the element of malicious or criminal intent.
If you look at black hat SEO for what it is, it’s search engine optimization practices that include malicious or criminal intent. Does violating a search engines guidelines include malice, or criminal intent? Maybe, but probably not. For an example; some SEOs claim that violating any search engine guidelines is illegal. It’s not, its simply against their guidelines. You cannot be arrested for buying paid links however; you can be arrested for hacking someones website.
This brings up an interesting point. Why would search engine optimizers claim any violation of any search engine guidelines is black hat when only a small handful of guidelines include malicious intent? Additionally, many of the SEOs who claim others are participating in black hat techniques are really, participating in black hat themselves by their own definition.
Here’s another example: One of Google’s Guidelines is “Sending automated queries to Google.” Google defines automated queries as “sending of automated queries of any sort to our system without express permission in advance from Google.”
This includes “sending automated queries to Google to determine how a website or webpage ranks in Google search results for various queries.”
Most SEOs I know use some form of rank tracking software from their clients that scrape search engine result pages to determined search engine rankings which is a violation of at least one guideline. Is it black hat?
There’s a difference to deploying naive, or even dangerous tactics like paid links, or wide-spread article marketing that could put a client in harm, but are those black hat? Do they contain the element of malice? Maybe if the SEO practitioner is performing negative SEO however, using these tactics to help a client by definition, is not black hat SEO.
(NOTE: I am not condoning any tactics that violate search engine guidelines. I’m simply pointing out that not all violations are black hat.)
So, the next time your SEO starts throwing out ‘black hat’ you may want to question their understanding of what SEO is, and what it isn’t.