White Hat SEO
White Hat SEO refers to the type of search engine optimization which complies with quality guidelines of search engine operators and does not engage in spam methods.
Definition
White Hat SEO is ethical, legally not objectionable Search Engine Optimization which promotes positive rating by a search engine. It is performed by organic link building, in other words through natural linking to other websites. Natural link building is mainly generated through useful content and user popularity.
White hat actions
White hat SEO includes the following techniques:
- Content with added value: “Content is King” applies to white hat SEO all the more. Only high-quality content, which offers added user value, will generate natural links that are voluntarily set by users.
- Keywords: A comprehensive keyword research as well as their use in texts, pictures, Metadata, etc., is more important than ever for White Hat SEO. Keyword Stuffing is not a part of these methods.
- Links: Unnatural link building is taboo in white hat SEO. Instead, social media strategies are often followed to support natural link building.
- OnPage Optimization: On-Page optimization has a lot of potential, including meta data, the use of synonyms, the optimization of page navigation and search, meaningful URL structures, and link.
Advantages of white hat SEO
White hat SEO has several benefits for the operator:
- Cost: In the long run, white hat SEO is cheaper than Black Hat SEO, as it is not necessary to repair violations that have been identified and penalized by Google. A typical example is the time-consuming, manual removal of spam links in blog comments or forums.
- Ethics: Entrepreneurs opt for white hat SEO to justify their positioning in the SERPs to their visitors just for ethics reasons.
- Security: Sites optimized with white hat SEO are secure against Google Penalties. Accordingly, the Damocles sword of sales failures occasioned by a penalty is not constantly hang over the website.
- Consistency: The Rankings achieved are usually more stable and, in particular, long-term compared to pages optimized with unfair means, with the probability of penalties.
Problems with white hat SEO
The biggest problem of white hat SEO is its limited scope. Of course, search engine optimizers can do comprehensive on-page optimization. With regard to OffPage Optimization, possibilities are very limited, if you don’t want to end up on the black hat SEO bandwagon or at least gray hat SEO. Google forbids unnatural link building in its Webmaster Guidelines such as spam methods or link buying.
Another problem is the competition. If it uses gray or black hat SEO, the company itself is almost forced to use the same methods, lest it falls behind. It is difficult to overtake another highly-optimized website in the rankings just with pure white hat measures. However, if the website which was optimized with black hat methods is later penalized, it will have a very difficult time to catch up with a website that is optimized with very clean methods.
Moreover, the initial high cost is a barrier for many SEOs. The above-mentioned optimization work, which is allowed within the framework of white hat SEO, is very time-consuming and sometimes complex. Black hat SEO, on the other hand, is comparatively fast and can be performed more cost-effectively. In the long term, white hat SEO is more advantageous in terms of costs.
Relevance to search engine optimization
Since white hat SEO options are rather limited, not many SEOs actually limit themselves to this area. Most work in the gray zone (also called gray hat SEO). This includes white hat SEO methods, but at the same time pushes beyond its limits into the area of black hat SEO. Pure black hat methods such as cloaking, doorway pages, and spamming are dispensed with, but may, for example, build up unnatural links through certain non-conspicuous methods.
In the long term, white hat SEO is, however, the only way to stay in the rankings consistently and rock-solidly. For this reason, companies whose presence in the SERPs is of great importance in the future, should rely exclusively on white hat methods so as not to lose their business foundation from one day to the next.