The term “Black Hat” is used often in Search Engine Optimization and is one of the reasons why so many people are unsure of what Search Engine Optimization has to offer and whether SEO is safe to carry out without getting their website banned on search engines, which is the last thing anyone wants.

Black Hat SEO is widely known however because it is a quick fix way to get high rankings and high visitor numbers, however this all comes at a high price. Not necessarily a high price in terms of $$ for the service, but instead for the fact that using Black Hat SEO is a sure fire way to get you website banned from search engines altogether.

Black Hat SEO has also caused people in the industry to be very secretive, hiding their techniques to improve website ranking, should a competitor find out what they are doing and thereby do the same. But, honestly, if SEO is performed ethically then there are no secrets to be had.

Black Hat SEO consists mainly of techniques which take advantage of loop holes in search engine algorithms. The top search engines such as Google and Yahoo are constantly having to update their search engine algorithms to be sure that Black Hat optimizers do not get the upper hand. Because of these constant updates to algorithms, it is not very wise to join the crowd of Black Hat optimizers.

Early Black Hat SEO techniques consisted of the following techniques and many more. In the early days of search engines, in fact, many people participated in these techniques. However because search engines are much more advanced then they were back then, these techniques have fallen by the wayside.

• Keyword Stuffing – Keywords are abused in Meta keyword and description tags, title tags, in comment tags, image alt tags and more.
• Doorway Pages – Different pages were created for search engines and users. Search Engines would see a page stuffed with keywords while users would see the regular page.
• Hidden Text – Text is hidden by making it the same color as the background color, or moved off the page where the user won’t see it but a search engine will.

The latest Black Hat SEO techniques are much more advanced and reach far beyond those listed above.

If you choose to use Black Hat SEO services you have to expect that your website will sooner or later be banned from search engines. All Black Hat optimizers have this thought in mind when optimizing sites and therefore also have multiple domain names as backup, should one be banned from a search engine’s listings. As with any dubious activities, there are always penalties involved.

When choosing a Search Engine Optimization firm to carry out a service on your site or even when you are looking to build or update your website, it is wise to study SEO a little yourself so that you at least know the basics. Many companies, especially website design companies who don’t know all that much about SEO (although they may claim to), may accidentally build a website or use a technique in a way that may be looked down upon by a search engine and may get their client listed poorly in search engines, or perhaps banned in the worst case scenario. I have seen this happen before. If you know the basics of the service that you plan to get, you can at the least understand a little of what the service provider is talking about, and ask any suitable follow up questions. If the company cannot tell you in the basic sense what they plan to do to boost your website rankings, then you should be cautious. A dishonest Search Engine Optimization company may lead to your website being banned from search engines and you may be left in the lurch.