First of all, you might be asking – what on earth is SEO? Never mind Black hat SEO!

Let’s do a quick run through, and start from the beginning.

SEO – What even is it!?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. You might have seen this abbreviation buzzing around the internet and wondered what it is and where it came from. Since the success of search engines like google, and the movement of the world away from print and onto digital, being seen online matters more and more every day. And in this competitive market, ensuring that your website is optimised for search engines is key.

So, what on earth is ‘Black Hat SEO’!?

Black hat SEO refers to a set of practices that are used to increase a site or page’s rank in search engines through means that violate the search engines’ terms of service. While using these techniques can temporarily improve your website’s ranking, it also puts your site at risk of being banned from search engines or other affiliated sites.

The trouble is, how can you recognise a black hat?! Here are 4 simple indicators:

  • They promise they will get you in the X or Y position on Google. NOBODY can promise that!
  • They are not using a company email address and the phone number is located to somewhere outside New Zealand.
  • They are talking about low rankings or keywords not performing on Google but fail to share which keywords they are referring to.
  • They suggest technical changes to the site which don’t make any sense They lie about the site’s current situation.

Don’t be tricked and stung my the Black Hat SEO phenomenon! If in doubt, speak to a specialist at Grow Digital Marketing for more information.