Black Hat, White Hat, Gray Hat | Roofing SEO Podcast

When people hear the words “Black Hat” or “Gray Hat”, they often picture old 90’s movies about spy escapades or illegal hacker groups. When it comes to the world of online search however, most of these activities aren’t even illegal, just highly frowned upon. If you rely upon these techniques for day to day business however, your company could be destined for a world of hurt! In our latest podcast, Nolen and Jason discuss the difference between black, gray, and white. Learn how to distinguish legitimate SEO experts from the fakes. If you’ve struggled in the past with ranking up your website, or if a shady marketing company is advertising some sketchy SEO tactics, be sure to listen in closely. Key Points to Listen For * White Hat techniques provide the best long-term results for your business. * Gray Hat methods may actually work…for a time. * Black Hat tactics could put your entire company as risk. * Business owners are responsible for their SEO practices, even if they don’t manage them. Black Hat, Gray Hat, and White Hat “What the heck is going on with all these hats?!” That’s a question that many contractors instinctively blurt out whenever this topic pops up. Born out of western film terminology, these hats represent the various levels of legitimacy when it comes to SEO (search engine optimization). What does each one signify? * White Hats – represent acceptable SEO business practices recommended by Google * Gray Hat – techniques lying outside accepted practice, but not forbidden by Google * Black Hat – tactics explicitly forbidden by Google, typically for their harmful nature against consumers Keep in mind that most gray and black hat tactics are not illegal. However, they conflict with Google’s accepted terms of use and recommended business practices. The vast majority of businesses utilize white hat practices exclusively (or almost exclusively). What’s Wrong With Black Hat SEO? In Western filmology, black hats were typically reserved for American outlaws who fought against the accepted code of conduct. They lived the high and romanticized life on the run. Sometimes they hid from the public eye. Sometimes they strut flamboyantly about in defiance of the law. Black hat SEO behaves in a similar way. Some who engage in these tactics carefully mask themselves as legitimate businesses and hide from the public eye. Others publicly advertise their practices because they know they can’t be punished (yet). This was the case in the late 2000s, when Google struggled to curtail the ludicrous practice of buying inbound links. Back then, sites were judged predominantly by the number of other sites linking to them. The issue spiraled so hilariously out of control, that your neighborhood roofing contractor would purchase hundreds of thousands of inbound links just to keep up with the competition. If you search Google’s policy on link schemes now, it won’t take much imagination to predict what happened next. Google explicitly condemned this behavior for years, and earnestly sought ways to prevent it. After years of warning businesses to stop these practices, the search engine had had enough. In 2012 and 2013, Google rolled out the Penguin algorithm update and all hell broke loose for companies that relied on these black hat SEO practices.