SEO (Search Engine Optimization) techniques are classified into two broad categories. First, we have techniques that search engines recommend as part of good design. Next, we have methods that search engines do not approve of. Search engines attempt to minimise their effects. They refer to this as spamdexing. Essentially, industry commentators classify these methods, and the practitioners who employ them, as either white hat SEO, or black hat SEO. Usually, White hats tend to produce results that last a long time. Whereas black hats anticipate that once the search engines discover what they are doing, their sites will be banned.
Beware the Black Hats!
Be wary of offers that promise a thousand links to your website for a few hundred dollars. These are black hat SEO tactics that can sometimes lead to your website being banned by search engines.
White Hat is Where it’s at!
White Hat SEO is effective marketing making efforts to deliver quality content to an audience that has requested it. Furthermore, the focus is on transparency and exposure. Ultimately, a search engine’s algorithm takes this into account, such as Google’s PageRank.
In short, white hat SEO is a crucial part of the development process and the maintenance of our websites. To find more information about how your business can benefit from a business-grade website, please take a look at our Web Design section.