Should You Make Use Of Black Hat Techniques?

Some strategies are likely to be more successful than others. There's a big divide among SEO specialists, with some suggesting that making use of so-called black hat techniques will offer the best chance of success. Black hat SEO tactics are those that stray beyond the guidelines outlined by Google and the other leading search engines.

As a result, you may have heard some analysts refer to such tactics as being unethical. There's certainly something concerning about their use. But should you worry about moral issues?

For most of us, the key point in carrying out search engine positioning is because we want our website to be found more easily. We want to be at the top of the listings, attracting more visitors and more potential sales. Does it really matter how that is achieved? Surely we should use any technique that will bring success?

This is certainly one point of view, although it's not shared by many of the leading SEO exponents. That's because black hat tactics can have a very negative impact. Many people may be drawn to use them initially because they believe that they can produce impressive, fast results. Although this may be true, it only tells part of the story.

When you operate outside of the rules, you need to be aware that this has its dangers. The most significant danger is that the search engines may decide to penalise you as a result. This could see your website buried in the search engine rankings, or even removed completely.

This probably isn't in line with your SEO expectations. If you've spent money to achieve improved results, then the last thing that you'd want to see would be your website being almost impossible to find online.

When you're thinking about the best tactics for your own website, you might want to think about long-term sustainable results. It may be great to see improved rankings within a matter of days, but will those positions hold? Is there a danger that your efforts may be penalised?

Taking an ethical approach to optimisation and link building is more likely to pay dividends.