SEO

White Hat Seo

What is SEO?

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of altering and improving web pages so that they rank higher in search engine for targeted keywords. It also refers to an industry of experts that carry out optimization projects on behalf of a client sites.

White Hat Seo and black hat SEO are two types of SEO. White Hat SEO refers to the ethical practice of SEO methodologies that adhere to search engine Terms of Service (TOS) or guidelines.

The aim of White hat Seo is to make it easier for Search Engines to determine if your content is relevant to a query. The techniques used will make the site more useful to a site s visitors. White Hat SEO techniques are aimed at designing websites for long term purposes and not short term get-rich-quick links of black hat seo.

The visitor's preference and purpose is the ultimate goal of White Hat SEO while at the same time making the site easier to be indexed by search engines. Most of the search engine guidelines stipulate that websites should be designed for humans and not for search engines.

There are many techniques used in White Hat SEO and here are a few:

Quality content:

These websites are designed to appeal to humans and as such the content must be useful and important to the user. Well written articles are easier to read and contain relevant information. The content is generally designed for users and not search engines algorithms.

Relevant & Legitimate Links

Another factor in ranking well in search engines is obtaining relevant inbound links. White Hat SEO will always seek after links that are relevant to the site s content and at the same time offering more legitimate information. These links are highly regarded by search engines.

Usability

Easy to use websites is the goal of White Hat SEO. Easy to navigate and visual appealing sites are important for the overall user experience. When a site uses these techniques it will in the least be coherent.

Many of the White Hat SEO techniques actually make sense with the absence of search engines while not so for black hat seo. Black hat seo may actually increase rankings in the short term but the consequences are not worth it. While most White Hat SEO techniques increase risks the benefits of their usage tend to last for a long time. The techniques can take some time to implement but their results are for the long time to come.

Article Published: Saturday 30th December 2006