Black Hat SEO Wiki

Black hat SEO Wiki

Black hat SEO has received a bad name but it’s really kind of ironic.  The strategies used by people to make a ton of money were not always considered black hat.  According to Wikipedia, white hat vs. black hat SEO wiki consists of basically providing content for users or consumers vs. providing content for search engines according to the guidelines of the search engines.  Ok, but how have those guidelines changed over the years?  The definition of a black hat or a white hat shifts and is a dynamic relationship, not a black and white one.  Sites like BlackHatWorld.com have some really interesting insight with regards to this relationship.

And really, as the black hat SEO wiki says what it comes down to is that some websites are informative or for personal use like social networks and then there are the sites trying to sell a product or service to a consumer.  What types of techniques are those sites using?  Are they all straight-laced and do they conform to the white hat ethic expounded on Wikipedia?  No, I think not.  It has been seen over the years that big companies or corporations are just as guilty as lone black hats of trying to make a buck and they do it because it does just that and a lot more—it makes a lot of bucks.

Unlike a moral dilemma such as whether or not to sell cancer causing cigarettes to an addicted consumer, the dilemma of whether to embrace the world of black hat techniques or white hat is not really a dilemma at all.  Contrary to the black and white relationship expounded on the wiki, the successful entrepreneur of internet marketing will be well versed in all potential methods of delivering the message to consumers that they should buy X product or should engage with Y company for such and such a service.  Ultimately, the search engines might disapprove of the methods used by black hats but do the consumers?  Do the consumers who have successfully been led to purchase a product or engage a service that will help them or enrich their lives find a fault with this?  The answer is most likely not.  The other thing to note is that the algorithms and the methods of how pages are catalogued and ranked is subject to change without any notice at all.  According to the black hat SEO wiki only eBay tells its users when they change their algorithm.

The truth is that building links and building websites is never going to stop and as more and more people gravitate to the web and the younger more tech savvy generation takes over and moves into positions of leadership, the trend is going to be for a more connected and bigger presence online.  It is in your best interest to learn the tools of war, even if some are frowned on now.  Because of the precedent of the past, some things that people do today considered as white hat will most likely be unacceptable in the future.