| | The
terms "White Hat" and "Black Hat" continue to cause controversy
and mirth in SEO circles, and you'll find little agreement on what they actually
mean. That's possibly a shame, as the SEO industry is extremely polarized,
and site owners should be able to make an informed choice about their SEO's approach
to optimizing their site.
White Hat | Black Hat |
| My own definition of "White Hat" broadly (but
not entirely) reflects the almost-consensus within "White Hat" Internet
forums | My definition of "Black Hat" is entirely personal, as
I have been unable to find any measure of consensus among the "Black Hat"
community. | - White Hats take an ethical
approach: considering all the Internet stakeholders, not just the self and
the client.
| - Black Hats work in the clients' interest,
plus protecting and promoting self.
|
- White Hats do not accept 'shades of grey' - SEO is clean and honest.
Or not. Black Hat is a term of convenience for anyone who is not 'White Hat'.
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- Black Hats insist on grey hats, and deny the existence of Black
or White. Very, very few admit to owning a Black Hat, though many boast of their
achievements. Go figure.
| - White
Hats make no attempt to deceive search engines; what you see is what you get.
|
- Black Hats would be prepared, willing and happy to deceive search engines
(and thus search engine users) in client's interest.
|
- White Hats favour honesty with client about
techniques, risks, rewards.
| - Black Hats may be willing
to deceive the client about methods: "results are all".
|
- White Hats see search engines as friends;
you want their help, you adhere to their guidelines; a simple trade off.
|
- Black Hats see search engines as the enemy; deceit is the name
of the game, SEs are constantly looking to expose trickery and penalize guilty
sites.
| - White Hats see on-site
measures as helping visitors, as well as SEs; a better site self-SEOs, plus
converts more customers, and gets repeat visits.
| - Black
Hats emphasize off-site methods, getting 'bums on seats', with the hope
that a percentage will convert, or at least return by another route.
|
- White Hats emphasize the long term nature
of successful SEO; inexorable progress, without looking over the shoulder.
|
- Black Hats emphasize rapid results, accept risks, confident of
a new fix, as older tricks are neutralized.
|
- White Hats understand that 'Black Hat' success must harm sites displaced
by spam sites, and therefore is potentially illegal.
|
- Black Hats boast of income, but do not concede that this is arguably
defrauded from displaced better sites, and deny potential illegality. They
will not even discuss it.
| - White
Hats believe that if 'Black Hats' used their skills and experience honestly, they'd
probably be more successful than constantly rethinking strategy.
|
- Black Hats believe that 'White Hats' all secretly use 'Black Hat' techniques,
and are all 'holier than thou' hypocrites.
|
- White Hats condemn those who support, conceal, or apologize
for Black Hats, who harm the industry.
| - Black Hats
believe in the survival of the fittest, and have no time for wimps.
|
- For White Hats, it's all about intention.
|
- For Black Hats, it's all about technique.
|
Sources:
1. Alan Perkins' article SEO : Sleepwalking Ever
Onwards?
2. Numerous discussions at Best Practices Search Engine Forums (and
lesser forums)
Published: 04 August 2005
This article may
be published elswhere, provided this footnote is included as is,
with a live
link for the source: http://www.seo2seo.com/articles/
Copyright © 2005 Andrew Heenan. Comments very welcome.
Free
Listing for White Hat SEOsWe're happy to offer free listings for White
Hat SEOs in the seo2seo Directory,
but there is a price; by stating that you are White Hat, we are seen to be recommending
your services - and we are - but if you turn out to be other than white, that
is your responsibility; so the fee for that recommendation is that you cut and
paste the statement below, and email it to when you submit your site:
| I have a good faith belief that the owners
of the below named web site operate an ethical and honest SEO service, without
ever deliberately flouting Search Engine Guidelines or deceiving clients.
Site
name and URL:
I hereby confirm that the information in this
notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that I am authorized to
act on behalf of the owners of the above named web site.
|
This must arrive from a confirmable email address Please be advised
that you are entering a legal contract when you submit your web site.
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