Around 20% of companies in the United States fail within the first year. This can occur due to a variety of causes, but one of the most notable is failing to properly leverage search engine optimization. No matter what product or service you offer, you’ll likely fall short of your goals if nobody can find your brand online.
While SEO marketing comes with countless benefits, it’s essential to understand the difference between white hat SEO and black hat SEO so you can ensure you hire a white hat SEO service. Let’s explore the key information you need to know.
What Is Black Hat SEO?
This type of search engine optimization involves using practices that go against search engine guidelines. For example, Google has a policy that declares website owners shouldn’t publish low-quality content or spam keywords throughout their pages.
Google will penalize this behavior and lower your ranking in response. It’s worth noting that black hat SEO is often effective at first. Many users find they sharply increase their performance for days or weeks after using black hat techniques.
However, your long-term performance will suffer greatly. In some situations, Google could deindex your site from its search results.
Nobody will be able to find your site when using the search engine, which is essentially a death sentence for your online performance. The only way people can get your pages is by clicking a link or typing in the exact URL.
One of the most common black hat methods involves linking to irrelevant content for promotional reasons. For instance, let’s assume that you own a clothing brand and publish lifestyle/fashion content on your site’s blog. A business owner approaches you and offers to pay you to link to their firearm product pages.
Google will discern situations like these and respond accordingly. The links you use should always be relevant and useful.
Otherwise, you risk penalization. In many cases, the consequences you experience for black hat SEO can be impossible to overcome.
What Is White Hat SEO?
In contrast to black hat strategies, white hat SEO marketing leverages methods that stay within search engine guidelines. Great examples include making your website easy to navigate and ensuring it loads quickly. The latter is especially important, as it will impact a metric known as your bounce rate.
This term refers to a situation where people leave your site shortly after arriving at it. Situations like these tell Google that your content is either irrelevant or low-quality. As a result, they’ll lower your page ranking.
White hat strategies are crucial to leverage since there is no risk regarding your site’s ranking. You can use them freely to push your search engine performance as far as possible.
It’s best to educate yourself on Google’s policies to avoid infringing upon their rules. Even a single incident can have dire consequences. Other white hat strategies to consider include:
- Using keyword-rich meta tags
- Offering quality services and content
- Having backlinks from authoritative websites
Keep in mind that white hat SEO won’t give you stellar results overnight. It could take months to reach your desired levels of performance.
Stay consistent so you can get the outcome you anticipate. One of the most common mistakes people make is quitting too early.
Deciding Which Is Best
Under no circumstances should you use black hat SEO. As previously mentioned, this can lead to major issues like decreased ranking and deindexing.
Instead, it’s essential to leverage white hat SEO. Not only does this help you avoid penalties, but it’s more effective in the long term.
It’s possible to handle this obligation on your own, but not everybody has the knowledge to do so effectively. There’s also a greater likelihood that you make mistakes during the process.
Finding a White Hat SEO Service
To get the best results for your needs, you’ll need to work with the right professional. They have the tools and resources to help you overcome the obstacles you encounter. Not all companies are created equal, though.
It’s essential to do your due diligence during your search. Check their online reputation to see what other people have to say about the results they got. Look for reviews that mention professionalism, timeliness, and communicativeness.
It’s essential to look for fake reviews, though. These are often posted in batches and contain identical keywords.
It’s best to ignore these when assessing the company. When looking at their pricing structure, make sure their services are scalable.
Your needs will change depending on many factors, such as your company’s growth and the economy. It’s also important to consider how much their services cost.
People make the mistake of looking for the cheapest options. These are likely to fall short of your needs due to cutting corners.
You don’t have to spend as much money as possible looking, though. Somewhere in the middle of the price range can help you meet your needs without stretching your budget.
Are they easy to get in touch with? If you can’t get the support you need when issues arise, you could experience downtime.
This could derail your performance and damage your company’s reputation. Imagine if your users weren’t able to access your site. They’d choose a competitor instead.
Their level of experience is also important to consider. Ideally, you’ll work with someone who’s been in the industry for at least a decade.
This will help ensure they understand your project’s nuances. With enough vigilance during research, you shouldn’t have an issue getting the best results.
Make the Right Decision
While it can be tempting to leverage black hat SEO, it’s never worth doing so. The long-term negatives far outweigh the short-lived benefits you’ll see. The information in this guide can help ensure you find the right white hat SEO service for your needs.
BizMilk prides itself on providing stellar results and exceeding client expectations. We’ve served our industry for over a decade and have helped countless businesses increase their online presence. You’ll learn more about what we have to offer when you book a call with us today.
