Black hat SEO is a set of strategies that are used to manipulate search engine results pages (SERPs) in order to improve the ranking of a website. These strategies often violate the terms of service of search engines and can result in penalties, such as delisting from SERPs.
There are a number of reasons why black hat SEO is not recommended for businesses.
- It is risky. Search engines are constantly updating their algorithms to detect and penalize black hat SEO tactics. If you are caught using black hat SEO, you could be penalized, which could damage your website’s ranking and traffic.
- It is ineffective. In the long run, black hat SEO is not an effective way to improve your website’s ranking. Search engines are very good at detecting and filtering out black hat SEO tactics. If you use black hat SEO, you are likely to waste your time and money.
- It is unethical. Black hat SEO is unethical because it gives you an unfair advantage over other businesses that are playing by the rules. It is also harmful to users because it can lead to them being presented with inaccurate or misleading information.
Here are a few examples of litigation or news about real life examples of Black Hat SEO negatively impacting a business:
- In 2012, Google sued SEO company SearchDex for $22 million for using black hat SEO tactics to manipulate SERPs.
- In 2015, SEO company Spamdexing was fined $7 million by the Federal Trade Commission for using black hat SEO tactics to defraud businesses.
- In 2017, SEO company SearchKing was sued by the New York Attorney General for using black hat SEO tactics to damage the reputation of businesses.
These are just a few examples of the negative consequences of black hat SEO. If you are considering using black hat SEO, I urge you to reconsider. It is not worth the risk. Because YES, Black Hat SEO Can Get You There, but the destination is not where you think it is.
