Black Hat SEO is like the Dark Side of the Force
Star Wars is a quintessential story of good versus evil. The dark side of the force offers limitless power—and even though Darth Vader’s suit is pretty much the greatest uniform ever, it also means he’s half machine. The light side of the force requires self-discipline, training and a lot of patience. In essence, the force is a great metaphor for SEO, where black hat SEO and white hat SEO are fighting for search engine ranking positions instead of Luke’s soul. But Luke wins in the end, and even Darth Vader realizes the error of his ways. Practicing white hat SEO is the only way to go to come out unscathed.
Just like the dark side of the force, engaging in black hat SEO can be very tempting. Black hat techniques like buying links and article spinning are quick and easy. They don’t require any time commitment and very little individual attention or critical/creative thinking. And the numbers definitely look more impressive. A black hat SEO practitioner could get your site 10,000 links in the first month and shoot your site to the top of the SERP.
Chances are it’s also a lot cheaper than the rates of the white hat SEO professional. A lot of black hat SEO companies outsource client work to foreign countries. However, the old adage of “you get what you pay for” for holds fast in SEO. Those 10,000 links are going to come from completely irrelevant and maybe even dangerous sites to be linked to (like pornography and gambling sites). Any commenting/articles done with your company name is going to be written by non-native English speakers who don’t understand your brand or target audience. And while your site is riding high, enjoying the fruits of joining the dark side, the search engines’ algorithms are preparing to blow up your Death Star.
Sites that get caught using black hat SEO tactics (like the JCPenny SEO scandal as reported by the New York Times in February) suddenly find themselves facing the wrath of the search engines. Google quickly responded and JCPenny dropped substantially in the SERP. They had been ranking number 1 for “Samsonite carry on luggage” and within two hours of Google catching on, they had fallen to #71 for the same keyword.
Engaging in black hat SEO is an easy trap to fall into, especially if you are looking to do a little DIY SEO. I always tell people that they should read the Google and Bing Webmaster Guidelines before they begin any SEO activity. The Webmaster Guidelines clearly outline what the search engines do and do not allow. Regardless of what you think or what others have told you, these rules are the line in the sand for SEO. If they consider something black hat, stay away from it.
12 Responses to “Black Hat SEO is like the Dark Side of the Force”
The Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Journal is Written by SEO Expert:
Nick Stamoulis
Tel - 781-999-1222
nick@brickmarketing.com
Brick Marketing - SEO Company
Not that I totally disagree, but JC Penny is back on the first page for that search term in Google. There are black hat techniques people use that can cause them to be sandboxed, but many times those same sites are right back on the front page after a short break.
The issue is less about Google placement and more about market reputation. If you are using the dark side, the stink of the dark side will cling to you even after you return – and that’s bad marketing.
I’m just getting into SEO and I am having some real darth vader moments, I was only thinking about this the other day.
Here is a quote from one leading internet marketer when I asked him about paid links “Like or not there is money in ranking your site. All SEO is manipulation of the search results. Google is not the law and they are certainly not doing much about paid links.”
There are some aspects of SEO that are really grey and it’s kind of hard to turn your back on them when (a) competitors are using them with success and (b) it’s unlikely that Google will do anything about it.
These discussions are always funny to me. Google has done a phenomenal job of instilling fear into people.
Google is not the law, folks. They cannot dictate how we run our own websites and our own online campaigns. There is absolutely nothing “illegal”, “immoral” or “unethical” about buying ads on other web sites that link to your own site. That’s called advertising.
Google’s PageRank program is the most successful program in recent history, but it has a flaw that Google cannot overcome with technology. So, instead of trying to do the impossible, Google would rather make people believe they are doing something “wrong” or “dark” by buying links. Hogwash. They don’t own the internet. Stop allowing a (huge) for-profit corporation dictate what is wrong or right! Google can tell us what THEY prefer for their own website, but that’s where it ends. If I don’t want to play by their rules, guess what? I don’t have to!
A quote from the NYT article:
“J. C. Penney did not authorize, and we were not involved with or aware of, the posting of the links that you sent to us, as it is against our natural search policies,” Ms. Brossart (spokesperson for JC Penny) wrote in an e-mail.
And if you believe that, I bet you also believe in the tooth fairy.
Thanks for this timely post, Nick. I have been wary of some of the techniques you note – would love to hear more about some others beyond article spinning or buying links. My copywriting clients – for whom I write a great deal of website content with any toward white hat SEO – need to be aware of these issues so I will share with them.
Hi Lorraine,
Hahahahah! I do not believe in the tooth fairy! Thanks for reading
I have to agree with Pete about people buying links. I get that if you say bought links from a porn site or gambling site your site could suffer from it. But if its between two legit sites who is Google to say it’s right or wrong. It’s perfectly fine to place their ads on a website, and it’s just as fine to sell advertising space, so why is this a bad thing?
Hi Nick,
I am a regular reader and have been quietly following all your news letters ,articles and blogs with interest. I should also say that I enjoy reading every bit of it and often look forward for some more.
Thank you for all the SEO tips that you send out and they have been helpful to me in every aspect.
One question I wanted to see if you could answer is with external links. When I do a link popularity search for my website , I find some external links linked to my website and I dont ever remember adding them on. How could these links be deleted if I do not want them?
Also could you please advise how to check if a link is a “Black hat ” link before adding it to my website.Mostly for link exchange purposes.
Thank you once again for all your help and advice and I’m sure there must be many thousands like me who appreciate all your good work
By the way I am from Auckland new Zealand.
Kind regards
Darell
Hi Nick,
I agree with your article. I have come across many webmasters who use these techniques and feel that they have good business sense. “Hey- we are on top” that’s what they need. But in life or SEO taking the help of wrong practises never gives you happiness. I know I am getting philosophical over an SEO discussion but- nothing good ever happens by cheating and in this case – “Short Cuts.”
Best
Nayanna
Thanks Nayanna for reading and sharing your thoughts…taking short cuts with your SEO does not produce anything good!
Take Care,
Nick
Not to be argumentative, but….Nayanna….for goodness sake, how can you call buying a link “cheating”? Or worse yet “wrong” practices? Who says? Google? Before Google existed was it “wrong” to buy a link on someone else’s site?
Is it wrong to buy a directory listing, like in Yahoo or Best of the Web? Why not? Why do “white hatters” consistently buy links in “quality” directories as if that’s ok, but other link buying behavior isn’t? (I know why…it’s because Google has said so.)
Do what you wish with your own campaigns, that’s your business. But please for the love, stop all this moralizing. And worse, stop creating moral values based around what Google says. This is advertising and Google has NO right to tell us what is “wrong” or “cheating”. They have every right to tell us what THEY like, but that’s a lot different than defining moral values.
Hey Pat, I hadn’t seen that article. You know, it’s a funny thing you joke about Adsense, there were a lot of Adsense sites appearing in the top 10 I analyzed….something to think about…