Some call it a question of ethics; others just call it business. The discussion is raging online and in marketing conferences around the world, but what exactly are black hat SEO and white hat SEO, anyway?
White hat SEO is the angelic version of optimization, that is, it employs only techniques as recommended or at least, not barred by search engines and their ever-changing guidelines. Typically, results in the form of more traffic and higher profits take anywhere from three months to a year. With this type of SEO, there is no fear of your site being banned by search engines.
Black hat SEO, on the other hand, is the impatient fraternal twin of white hat SEO. It utilizes techniques specifically banned by search engines like hidden text and hidden links. Some call this spam. Others call it business savvy. Whatever you call it, if the search engine gurus figure out your game then the gig is up and you’re blackballed. That means that you could type the name of your company and your name and business address into the search box and your site still won’t come up.
It basically breaks down like this: White hat SEO focuses on marketing and the text on...