White Hat vs. Black Hat Search Engine Optimization

February 1st, 2008

When people refer to “organic SEO” (search engine optimization), they almost always use it as a blanket term to describe the unpaid, algorithm-driven results of any particular engine. However, a sophisticated search engine optimization company, like DigitalPeabody.com will often take the meaning of “organic” one step further. To such companies, the description of “organic SEO” is not limited to what shows up in the “natural” search engine results - it includes the methodologies used to achieve such rankings.

There’s more than one way to achieve natural search engine results. A search engine optimization company usually falls into one of two camps. They are referred to as “white hat” and “black hat” search engine optimization.

A “White Hat” search engine optimization company, like DigitalPeabody.com, will use a largely content-based approach and will not violate the terms of service of the major search engines.

A “Black Hat” search engine optimization company will use a largely technology-driven approach and often ignore the terms of service.

Neither approach is invalid, and both can achieve high rankings. But a search engine optimization company that takes the word “organic” literally believes that the “Black Hat” approach is anything but “organic SEO.”

To a search engine optimization company, “organic” actually describes the approach taken to achieve long-lasting results in the “natural” section of search engines.

Below are just a few comparisons of the different approaches taken by the two types of SEO firms. I refer to the two approaches as “organic SEO” and “artificial SEO” for the sake of clarity.

Content

There’s an “old” saying in the SEO industry that “content is king.” This is not necessarily true. What is true is that good content is king. Study after study has shown that when people use search engines, they are primarily seeking one thing: information. They are not seeking to be impressed by fancy flash sites, or a virtual piece of art. “Artificial SEO” firms, which embrace a technical loophole philosophy, which is largely technical and is designed to trick the engine into showing content that it would not otherwise. Certainly, there are acceptable technical aspects that any good search engine optimization company will use, such as relevant page titles and meta tags. But there are many more unacceptable technical methodologies than acceptable ones, including cloaking, redirects, multiple sites, keyphrase stuffing, hidden links, and numerous others. A company practicing “organic SEO” will avoid these, and focus instead on content expansion.

Attracting Links

Inbound links are critical to the success of an “organic SEO” campaign. But there are different ways to go about it. Firms that practice true “organic SEO” will look at the website itself and say “How can we make this site something that other sites would want to link to?” A search engine optimization company using “artificial SEO” will ask, “How can I get links pointing to this site without adding anything of value to it?”
A good search engine optimization company will continually seek both general and industry specific directories where your site should be listed. But truly using “organic SEO” means evolving your site into something that holds actual value to your prospects. In my opinion, this is much more beneficial in the long run than the artificial methodology of trying to garner incoming links that the site does not truly deserve.

Creating a Valuable Resource

Search engines change algorithms frequently, and for two reasons. One is, of course, to improve their results based upon their most recent user studies. The other, which is obviously related, is to remove sites that are ranked artificially high. There is, with only a few exceptions, a common denominator in the websites that remain highly ranked throughout these algorithm shifts. They offer something of value to their visitors and are considered a resource for their industry. “Organic SEO” practitioners generally do not have to worry about going back and redoing work because of an algorithm shift. These firms continue adding valuable content to a site, strengthening its value and bolstering its rankings.

Taking advantage of “organic SEO” to make your website an industry resource provides a tremendous natural boost to your rankings for your individual product or service pages. This means that you’ll get the best of both worlds. You’ll reach people early in the buying cycle, educate them, and steer them toward your solution by using your website instead of your sales personnel. You will also reach the low hanging fruit because your individual product or service pages, which are intended for people who are ready to buy now, will get a significant rankings boost.

Learning from Engines

Search engines conduct very expensive and frequent studies on what their users want to see when they enter search queries. Obviously, no company has a more vested interest in serving up the type of results that their users want than the engines themselves. “Organic SEO” firms will take the “piggyback” approach by trying to learn what the results of these studies were by examining the sites that figure prominently in search engine results over long periods of time. In this way, they can work to make the website not only better for search engines, but also for the user. Presumably, the engine’s internal research has shown that these sites have what their users have consistently desired, study after study. “Artificial SEO” practitioners have no real interest in these studies- they are instead expending a great deal of energy finding the next technical loophole to exploit after their most recent one has failed.

“Organic” Revisited

A search engine optimization company like Digital Peabody that takes a true “organic SEO” approach will actually take term “organic” literally. A good website does develop in natural manner. It builds upon itself. It learns how it should behave for its own benefit. Most importantly, it establishes its territory at the top of the search engine results. And as the website thrives, artificially optimized websites fade into obsolescence.

Digital Peabody has optimized many websites for its customers – many of which are ranked #1 on Google and Yahoo for their key terms. If you are interested in learning how Digital Peabody can get your site ranked #1 on Google and Yahoo, please email or call us at 303.468.5707.