Over the years, webmasters have been told that they should want to avoid Blackhat SEO techniques in connection with their own websites. In general, I agree with this statement.
But, by obtaining a deeper understanding of Blackhat search engine optimization, one could actually learn a bit about how to better his or her own positioning in the search engine results.
White Hat vs. Black Hat Search Optimization
Whitehat and Blackhat SEO is a comparison that is a take-off from the old cowboy westerns, where the good guys always wore white hats and the bad guys always wore black hats.
So, in theory, we can assume that Whitehat practitioners are the good guys of SEO, and Blackhat practitioners are the bad guys of the industry.
But, the truth is a little bit more opaque than this. SEO is never a pure "white vs. black" issue. Just as in Mad Magazine's "Spy vs. Spy" series, sometimes the white spy whipped the black spy, and vice versa, sometimes the black spy was victorious.
In theory, Blackhat SEO is the type of search optimization that will eventually get your website banned in the search engines. And sometimes it will.
But, it is truly fascinating to me when I visit a website such as
http://www.blackhatseo.com/ and discover the world-renowned SEO expert Aaron Wall owns the website. In case you were not aware of it, Aaron Wall is the owner of the
SEO Book and is recognized as one of the world's foremost leaders in SEO technique.
Blackhat SEO Is A Learning Opportunity
To me, the study of opposites offers a greater understanding to mankind.
> One cannot know "altruism", until one learns about "selfishness".
> One cannot truly appreciate "wealth", until they have experienced "poverty".
> One can never declare something "easy", until they have faced something truly "difficult".
> A "slow" driver will seldom be noticed, until which time the "fast" driver passes them by.
These are the philosophical ramblings of Bill. ;-)
I have always argued that in order to see the light, one must be able to recognize the darkness. And that is why when I am told to avoid something; I go right to it, so that I can see what it looks like, for the sake of being able to recognize it.
So, whenever I am in the mood to learn more about SEO, I search out Black Hat SEO forums and websites to learn how to recognize the dark, when I am in the light.
After all, if you cannot recognize the dark side, how do you expect that can you protect yourself from it?
There Are Always Two Sides To Every Story
Remember when your grandmother always told you that there were always two sides to every story? Well, my grandmother did, and I like to believe that everyone had a wise old grandma to help them find their way in life.
White Hatters teach us how to do things the right way. Black Hatters teach us the wrong way to do things. And as my grandmother used to be fond of saying, "the truth is somewhere in the middle."
For example, White Hat web programmers teach us how to install Captcha scripts on our websites to keep the spammers at bay. Then the Black Hat web programmers come along and teach the spammers how to break Captcha software (
http://www.blackhat-seo.com/). And as Grandma used to say, the truth is somewhere in the middle.