Grey hat SEO is a type of search engine optimization (SEO) practice between the two extremes of white hat SEO, which is legal and following the guidelines, and black hat SEO, which is manipulation and against the rules. Grey Hat techniques let use loopholes of search engines without directly breaking the rules. However still they are dangerous and can get penalised when the algorithm can catch you.
Characteristics of Grey Hat SEO
- Grey Hat techniques may be considered deceptive, and as the name suggests, demand caution its use. These tactics are risky as they may one day be classified as ‘offensive’, although they are not overtly prohibited.
- Using Grey Hat SEO may give you a temporary boost in rankings. However, search engines are continuously updating their algorithms, which makes this tactic unworthy.Â
- Some industries, due to fierce competition in their niches, frequently rely on grey hat SEO to enhance their website rankings that cannot be achieved using white hat SEO methods.
Examples of Grey Hat SEO Techniques
- Buying backlinks means purchasing a link from a website or blog to manipulate search engine rankings. When caught, it is against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines.
- Keyword stuffing is when the desired keywords are used excessively to get a better ranking. As a result, the content produced is low quality and unnatural.
- Building several different websites that are linked together to pass link equity and manipulate rankings.
- Using exaggerated headlines or deceptive meta descriptions to inflate click rates on webpages, articles, etc.
- Creating spammy backlinks and duplicate content against competitors’ sites to harm their rankings.
- Spun or auto-generated content that uses software to create low quality and mass produced content.
- Expired Domain Manipulation – By using expired domains that already have authority, we make these domains pass that authority to a new website.
