If you’ve been around the Internet marketing world for a while, white hat vs. black hat isn’t new to you and you probably already know this stuff. But, if you are new to the game, then I strongly suggest you pay attention in order the avoid falling into the Google black hole to oblivion.
What Color is Your Hat?
What we’re talking about is the color of the hat you want to wear. No… this is not about making a fashion statement or a puff piece on trending hat styles. This is about playing by the rules versus employing unethical business practices to beat the system. There are various “hat” colors representing various marketing practices. For now, we will be discussing white hat vs. black hat.
Are You Wearing a White Hat?
It’s safe to say that the best techniques to follow in your marketing campaigns would be the strategies commonly referred to as white hat. These are the marketing techniques that the majority of marketers teach their students as these are techniques and strategies that will help build your business. They are ethical business practices that are accepted by the Internet marketing industry at large. They are harmless, for lack of a better word, and unexploitive, and certainly not considered spam. Adopt these practices and it’s highly unlikely your website will fall into the dreaded black hole.
Are You Wearing a Black Hat?
Black hat, on the other hand, is a whole different ball game. Black hat marketers employ shady or sneaky methods in order to manipulate the search engines. These guys think they’re smarter than the folks at Google and give it their best shot. And, yes, for a time they are successful.
They employed such tactics as keyword stuffing, spam linking, spamdexing, content spinning of copyrighted material, content scraping, hidden website links, on and on, in order to achieve higher search engine rankings.
Turns out they weren’t so smart after all.
White Hat vs. Black Hat: Where Do You Stand?
Needless to say, the doors to those kinds of tactics have been shut and those days are over. The Google police caught on to these schemes and shut them down. In light of the Google Panda update, it has become increasingly difficult to cheat the system. I dare say it would take more time and energy to try to work around the revised rules than it would be to comply. Legitimate marketers should have no problem since the targets of this update were the cheaters, spammers, and all around bad boys.
If you’re in the business to hit and run, then by all means, take your chances on short-term rewards. But, if you’re in it for the long haul, looking for an income you can count on, then I recommend you start off on the right foot right from the beginning. If you give the search engines what they want, they will give you what you want. Sounds like a win-win to me!
Conclusion
You have an important decision to make. You can either be one of the good guys (white hat) or one of the bad guys (black hat). Either way your reputation, and that of your brand, are on the line. It’s your choice… so choose wisely.
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