"Black Hat" is a term used to describe search engine optimization strategies that employ tactics that are bordering on, or are unethical. According to Wendy Boswell in Black Hat Search Engine Optimization black hat SEO techniques usually include one or more of the following characteristics:
- Breaks search engine rules and regulations
- Creates a poor user experience directly because of the black hat SEO techniques utilized on the Web site
- Unethically presents content in a different visual or non-visual way to search engine spiders and search engine users.
Matt Cutts in Gadgets, Google, and SEO had this to say about companies that use black hat SEO --
I think the search engine optimization industry has made a lot of progress in the last few years. It's a little less common to get cold calls from SEOs that guarantee #1 rankings but won't tell you how they try to do it. And if a large SEO company wants to try something high-risk with a client, they're more likely to explain the potential risks to that client first. There are still issues, of course, but I was looking over a list of 20+ blackhat SEO companies that I compiled back in 2002. The majority either went out of business or have transformed into white-hat SEO companies.
For a while now, I've had a slight hunch that clients that embrace blackhat SEO on their site are willing to cut corners in other areas of business as well. Earlier today I was reviewing an email from 2001 (!) where Google removed a very large company's website from our index for hidden GIF links, machine-generated doorway pages, and cloaking. It's interesting to look back with the benefit of hindsight now. Later on, the company:
- had 10+ employees convicted for inflating revenue
- the CEO was sentenced to 10+ years in jail
- another executive was sentenced to 2+ years in jail
Forbes had an extensive article on black hat SEO called The Saboteurs Of Search, where Andy Greenberg, described one popular tactic called "Google Bowling".
Search marketers claim they can frame certain competitors as cheaters by posting thousands of links around the Web, making a competing site look like it's engaging in "link spamming," a tactic that draws the disfavor of major search engines. In SEO circles, this technique of setting up a competitor to be punished for link spamming is sometimes called "Google bowling."
What can a targeted business do if it's competitors use black hat SEO? Terri Wells tackles this in Defending Against Black Hat and Negative SEO Tactics
Diane Aull came up with five possible approaches, based on how one would deal with a schoolyard bully. There is no telling which approach - if any - would be successful. Her suggestions would probably work best when dealing with someone who is not targeting your site with negative SEO, but rather engaging in black hat SEO to increase his or her own site's ranking in the SERPs, thus driving yours down. You might want to consider combining several tactics for the best chance of ameliorating the problem.
- First, you can ignore what is happening ...
- Second, you could take up negative SEO yourself ...
- Third, you could report the offender to Google ...
- Fourth, you could avoid the bully ...
- Fifth, you could work at becoming popular ...
There is still some controversy around what a black hat practitioner is truly capable of doing and how effective it is in destroying search rankings for targeted sites. Nevertheless, it never hurts to understand what you can of the "dark underbelly" of search, especially given the rapidly growing competitive online business environment.
