White Hat vs Black Hat and what about the Grey?

There are thousands of methods that search engine optimization and internet marketing specialists will use to help get a site ranked well. Anything from content building, link building and keyword stuffing, to viral marketing, guest blogging, and various others. So which methods are better then others, and which ones are considered black hat and white hat?

White Hat Methods:
I like to think of these methods as the methods that would be used if you didn't have to worry about the search engines. What I mean is that if you asked yourself "If I didn't have to worry at all about ranking, would I do what I'm about to try?", would you still do it? If the answer is no then it clearly is not White Hat.

Content building, link building (for the most part), code structuring, etc, are all mostly White Hat techniques. They can take longer to have an effect, but over the long run your site will be better off for trying these methods.

Black Hat Methods:
Pretty much the opposite of White Hat, Black Hat is anything you can do to get your site ranked well regardless of whether it is ethical or legal in the eyes of the search engines. Spamming blog and or forum posts with links back to your site, stuffing keywords in every possible place, cloaking your domain, etc.

Black Hat techniques can give you good results in the short term, but over time can prove to hurt your site overall. There have been instances of sites being delisted in the search engines for using such techniques, which obviously is the exact opposite effect that was intended.

The Grey Area:
As with anything in life, there is always a grey area. This area is where White meets Black and the line is blurred as to how ethical an action is. For example, buying links for inbound linking campaigns is often frowned upon by the search engines, but what if the link is for a reputable association but they just so happen to charge for them? It's hard to say what to do in cases like this. The link itself is probably very valuable but there is a chance the search engines will not look so kindly on it. My suggestion would be to ask yourself "Will the link benefit a user who clicks on it?". If the answer is yes then proceed, if the answer is maybe or no, I would tend to say don't even consider it.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race:
Although it may seem like an old, over used cliche, it is indeed true. Long terms internet marketing takes time, and over time your hard work and effort will pay off and those people who have employed Black Hat techniques will have to continually look over their shoulder to see if their site is still listed.

Remember: It's not about quantity, it's about quality.

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