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SEO Black/White Hat Tips - Agent Orange - Mar 11, 2009

This guide is composed of stuff put together from different sources, and some written by me. Use this guide to utilize and manipulate search engines to your advantage

A little history:
Quote:Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Typically, the earlier a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.

The acronym "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.

Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or Spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.
Contents


In other words, there are 2 types of categories to improve the traffic onto your site; and make search engines, such as Google and Yahoo, make your site appear higher up on the search list. Black Hat search engine optimization is defined as techniques that are used to get higher search rankings in an unethical manner. These black hat SEO techniques usually include one or more of the following characteristics: breaks search engine rules and regulations
 creates a poor user experience directly because of the black hat SEO techniques utilized on the Web site


The 2 types are Black Hat, and White Hat.

Black Hat Method(s) (the dirty way):

1. Hidden Content

Top of our list of black hat SEO techniques is hidden content. Hidden content comes in many guises but the basic principle is that within the code for the site there will be content stuffed with keywords, this content will not be visible to the end user of the site.

One way of doing this is by using comment tags.

Comment tags look like this;

Code
<!– Comment Tag –>

The real purpose of comment tags is for developers to add in useful reminders within their code explaining what that piece of code does.

Here’s an example of the comment tag being used correctly,

Code
<!– Start of the Main Content –>

Here’s an example of a comment tag being used incorrectly in a bid to promote a hypothetical page targeting search engine optimisation,

Code
<!—Search engine optimisation, SEO, professional search engine optimisation company, spamming search engines –>

Another popular way of hiding content is the use of the <noscript> tag. The <noscript> tag should be used to inform a user that a script is being used but their browser either doesn’t support the script
language used or they have that function turned off.

Here’s an example of the <noscript> tag being used correctly,

Code
<script type=”text/javascript”>
<!–
document.write(”Hello World!”)
//–>
</script>
<noscript>Your browser does not support JavaScript!</noscript>

Here’s an example of the <noscript> tag being used as a black hat SEO technique again in a bid to promote a hypothetical page but this time targeting car hire,

Code
<noscript>
Imaginary Car Hire Firm do Car Hire which is very affordable so if you want to hire a car call our car hire firm because we are the best car hire firm in the world
</noscript>

Other HMTL tags misused in similar ways include the <noframes> tag and hidden inputs in forms.

Content can also be hidden from the end user by using CSS, excessively small text and coloured text on the same coloured background.

All of these techniques are frowned upon by search engines and if detected can mean your website will be penalised or even banned. To the untrained eye it can be very difficult to spot the use of some of these techniques which is why we offer a free website MOT test at PushON.

2. Meta Keyword Stuffing

There are two Meta tags that are generally used to inform search engines of the content on the page. They reside between the <head> tag of a page and when used incorrectly they can alert a search engine that a site is using spam techniques in an attempt to improve its ranking.

Meta Description

The meta description should be used to describe the content of your page honestly and concisely and be 1 or 2 sentences, 3 at most.

Here’s an example of the meta description being used in the correct manner,

Code
<meta name=”description” content=”PushON are an Online Marketing agency providing a full range of digital marketing services throughout Greater Manchester and the North West UK. If you need Search Engine marketing (SEM), Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) or Pay per Click (PPC), we can help you. Contact us now.” />

Here’s an example of the meta description tag being used incorrectly for a page promoting a restaurant called “MadeUp”,

Code
<meta name=”description” content=”MadeUp restaurant website is the best MadeUp restaurant website, our restaurant is better than any restaurant,great restaurant,best food restaurant,visit our restaurant” />

3. Meta Keywords

Meta Keywords should be a short list of words that inform of the main focus of the page. Meta keywords have been so misused in the past that there are few if any search engines that take any heed of them.
Here’s an example of the meta keywords being used in the correct manner,

Code
<meta name=”Keywords” content=”Online marketing, digital marketing, search marketing, search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, SEO” />

Here’s an example of the meta keywords tag being used incorrectly for a page promoting a restaurant called “MadeUp”,

Code
<meta name=”keywords” content=”Restaurant,restaurants,food,feed,take away food,fast food,junk food,eat,eating
out,dinner,dining,meal,eating,MadeUp,steak and chips,chicken and chips,pie and chips,pudding,desert,big restaurant,small restaurant,best restaurant,great restaurant, exclusive restaurant,cocktails,wine,drink,pizza,sandwhiches”>
4. Doorway or Gateway Pages

Doorway or Gateway pages are pages designed for search engines and not for the end user. They are basically fake pages that are stuffed with content and highly optimised for 1 or 2 keywords that link to a target or landing page. The end user never sees these pages because they are automatically redirected to the target page.

Off-the-shelf SEO software often encourages the use of gateway pages as do SEO firms that don’t know what they’re talking about. Search engine spiders are being enhanced continually to detect these pages and will get ignored or worse still, flag your site up as being spam and ban you all together.

5. Cookie Stuffing (illegal):

Cookie stuffing is a method of dropping an affiliate cookie into user’s computer (cookie jar) transparently or without user knowing what is going on behind the scenes. Lets consider an example to explain it a bit in depth, e.g. you are affiliated with eBay and they have given you an affiliate link, which you can post on your websites to promote their products, if anyone clicks that (affiliate) link, a cookie is dropped on that user’s computer which tracks that specific user was referred to eBay by you (affiliate), so if the user makes a purchase you get commission, so simple. But while doing it with cookie stuffing, user is not clicking any links but at the same time cookie is dropped on his computer and if he makes any purchase you get commission. Evil !

A few of methods for dropping affiliate cookie on user’s computer

1. Using Javascript
2. Using iFrames
3. PHP Header redirect
4. .htaccess and redirect pages
5. With HTML Object
6. Exploiting Browser’s security flaws

For more, kindly read this pdf:

Code
http://www.blackhatweekly.com/CookieStuffingGuide.pdf

White Hat Method(s) (legit way):


1. Quality Content

When we first started looking at SEO as a separate entity to website build there was one phrase that we would continually hear, “content is King”, and it’s true. There is nothing more valuable you can do to optimise your site for search engines than offer unique well written content. A search engines aim is to serve up what it believes to be the most appropriate website for any given search to the end user.

Imagine we are the end user and we are searching for a portable air conditioner for hire. We go to our favourite search engine and search for the phrase “portable air conditioner hire”. In this imaginary scenario let’s assume there are only 2 websites that target that phrase,

Website 1

Website 1 consists of a single page with 3 paragraphs of text. The text tells us that the company does portable air conditioning hire and give us a phone number to call.

Website 2

Website 2 contains 30 plus pages all focusing on various portable air conditioning units that we can hire, costs and technical explanations of how portable air conditioning units work.

Which website do you think the search engine is likely to offer to the user first? It’s a rather obvious example but it illustrates the importance of good content so your priority should be good quality content.

2. Use Structural (Semantic) Mark Up and Separate Content from Presentation

Semantically structuring your mark up helps search engines understand the content of your webpage which is of course a good thing. Making proper use of heading elements is essential because search engines give more weight
to the content within the heading elements.

Using CSS to separate the design elements from the content makes for much leaner code and makes it easier for search engines to find what they’re looking for, which is content. Remember content is king!

3. Titles and Meta Data

Providing pages with proper titles and meta data is essential. As discussed in the top 5 black hat SEO techniques section the meta description and meta keywords elements have been so misused in the past that Search
Engines now regard them as less important, it’s still important to use them and use them properly. Titles however still carry a lot of weight and when we think of semantic mark up it is obvious why. The title of anything is a declaration as to what the content might be, so make sure your page titles are a true representation of the content of the page.

4. Keyword Research and Effective Keyword Use

Create your website with keywords and key phrases in mind. Research keywords and key phrases you think people might use to find your site. Single words are not always the most effective target, try multi-word phrases that are much more specific to your product/service and you’ll be targeting end users that are much more likely to want what you are offering.

Use the keywords and key phrases you’ve identified effectively throughout your website. Assign each page 2-3 of the keywords you’ve identified and use the keywords throughout all the important elements of the page. Those are,

Title
 Meta Description
Meta Keywords
 Heading Elements <H1> <H2> <H3>
Text
 Alt Tag
Title Tag
 Links

5. Quality Inbound Links

Having inbound links to your website can be likened to having a vote for the good but there are good links and bad links so therefore votes for the good and votes that are bad. Good links are links from other web pages
that are regarded highly by the search engines and are contextually relevant to the content of your page. Bad links are links from web pages that aren’t regarded highly or potentially banned by search engines and have no relevance to the content of your page.

For example;

Imagine we have a website that sells telephones.

Link A: Link on the homepage of the British Telecoms website. = Good

Link B: Link on John Smiths Beer and Ale appreciation links page = Bad

The amount of quality inbound links to your site therefore have some relevance on how high up the search engine your site is placed. When sourcing links you should be thinking of quality over quantity and deep linking to pages within your website not just the home page.

- Da Pimp Yo - Mar 11, 2009

Lol Yo playa whut kinda person wud where a black o wite hat? Lol Dem purple hats look tight yo

- Agent Orange - Mar 11, 2009

Oh god.

Code
Black Hat Hacker

Black Hat Hackers (also called "crackers"), are hackers who specialize in unauthorized penetration of information systems. They may use computers to attack systems for profit, for fun, or for political motivations or as a part of a social cause. Such penetration often involves modification and/or destruction of data, and is done without authorization and hence they should not be confused with ethical hackers.

They also may distribute computer viruses, Internet worms, and deliver spam through the use of botnets. The term may also refer to hackers who crack software to remove protection methods: copy prevention, trial/demo version, serial number, hardware key, date checks, CD check(NO-CD) or software annoyances like nag screens and adware.

Code
White Hat Hacker

White Hat Hackers, also known as Ethical Hackers, are Computer Security experts, who specialize in penetration testing, and other testing methodologies, to ensure that a company's information systems are secure. Such people are employed by companies where these professionals are sometimes called sneakers.[citation needed] Groups of these people are often called tiger teams[2] or red teams. These Security experts may utilise a variety of methods to carry out their tests, including social engineering tactics, use of Hacking tools, and attempts to evade security to gain entry into secured areas.

The National Security Agency offers certifications such as the CNSS 4011. Such a cert covers orderly ethical hacking approaches and team management. Aggressor teams are called "red" teams. Defender teams are called "blue" teams.


Purple Hat:

[img]http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:4ebYXi-yNVoiUM:http://muguspetboutique.com/purplehat.jpg[/img]

- Da Pimp Yo - Mar 11, 2009

Yo home dawg..

WHAT DA FUCK IS DAT?

Im talkin bout pimpin purple hatz like wit sparkles n what not playa

- Agent Orange - Mar 12, 2009

Thank god, he's banned

- Daltronic - Mar 31, 2009

bumping for complete awesomeness
if I could rep you, I would. 5 stars

- n3xus - Mar 31, 2009

nice tut man. /bumping

* - ZaLs - Jan 14, 2010

Excellent Dude !! mind blowing explanation :XD

* - bradcamry - May 18, 2011

Black Hat SEO techniques should be avoid. Its are really dirty ways of marketing. I prefer white hat SEO techniques. Black Hat SEO spread spaming all-over.
article submission

* - manojmimo - Jul 2, 2011

thank u very much for the guide. cheers. :)