Black hat , White hat and Gray hat SEO ; a simple overview.

 SEO ; Search Engine Optimization is a well known digital marketing method which is recognized as the major traffic creator to web sites. SEO helps to increase the quality and quantity of web traffic exposing to your brand, using "non-paid (organic) search results" , which makes your website appear in the middle of SERPs (search engine result page).

SEO is mainly based on "what" and "where" ; what the searcher needs and where you appear on the SERP. Therefore relevancy is the key indicator of search engine optimization. So the content you deliver must be relevant, unique and engaging in order to place in the top of the search results.

Therefore three types of SEO can be identified based on the actions or the methods used in the SEO process.

1 . BLACK HAT SEO (The unethical SEO)

The SEO process out of traditions or ethics is called as BLACK HAT SEO. Therefore using various methods that are suggested as illegal by google and other search engines and service providers are identified in black hat SEO.

Here are some of the BLACK HAT SEO METHODS that are commonly identified.

1. Key word stuffing.

    Using and stuffing the same keywords again and again in one  

    content.

2. Cloaking.

    Providing two pieces of content through one link or webpage,

    one for the search engines and another for the viewers.

3. Using private link networks.

    Using redirect links , paid links and link farms.

4. Providing poor quality content.

5. Abusing structured data.

6.Blog comment spamming.

There are many more black hat SEO  methods that can be used to rank high in a SERP but still it is considered as illegal and that can cause blocking, banning, reporting and removing your web from service providers. So it's better to keep away from such  practices and go through ethical and legal methods in order to achieve great.

2 . WHITE HAT SEO (The ethical SEO)

To work on a ethical and legal way in order to increase web traffic and ranking is called as WHITE HAT SEO. Therefore white hat SEO is simply 'ranking without breaking the rules' , improving ranking with maintaining the search engine's terms of conditions . So this can be identified as the exact opposite of black hat SEO . 

Here are  a few of the well known WHITE HAT SEO PRACTICES.

1. Providing quality contents and services.

2. Making your web easy to navigate with fast site loading and user friendliness.

3. Using descriptive and rich key words.

4. Providing real details and contacts.

5. Using permitted links.

Therefore by using white hat SEO , you can stay away from getting banned and it improves traffic to your website. Also white hat SEO helps to create an ethical, sustainable and a successful website and impressions. 

3. GRAY HAT SEO 

Gray hat SEO is a tactic that used to think out of the box without breaking the rules. So it means that it isn't something in between or beyond Black hat and White hat SEO's. 

"The practice of tactics/ techniques which remain ill-defined by published material coming out of google, and for which reasonable people could disagree on how the tactics support or contract with spirit of googles' published guidelines"

                                                                                          _ John Andrews

Therefore Gray hat SEO helps to get rid of the prohibitions but also without using any negative or illegal tactic. So this can be shown as a smart method of SEO which is barely used by the content creators and web developers.

Here are some of the GRAY HAT SEO TACTICS.

1. Purchasing links.

  ( though this is illegal ,one can  purchase a sponsored link with a third party which is hardly detected)

2. Producing review- niches.

3. Using native advertising and partnerships.

4. Paying for citations and listings.

5.Affiliate marketing.

So, Gray hat SEO isn't something in between White hat and Black hat SEO but a fine line between them.

Therefore as said before , there are three types of SEO methods which are used to increase web traffic and ranking. But a creator must know which is good and bad to use in order to achieve more and safe.