The Battle of Black Hat vs. White Hat
Black Hat, Commentary, Opinion, White Hat October 26th, 2007In order to see how these two sides potentially go about their business, let’s give a top black hat and a top white hat the same challenge. What if we gave each pro a simple website (same industry and page count) to optimize and market? The winner would have the most backlinks and traffic for their respective sites.
The black hat would autosubmit their site links to bulletin board systems, catalogues, forums, and guestbooks, receiving loads of traffic and backlinks. This strategy would be almost guaranteed to work but only for a week, if that, until Google figures it out and places the black hat’s domain in permanent solitary confinement. The white hat would bookmark, network, create content and submit to the social news sites, possibly breaking through on Digg receiving 100,000 hits in a twenty-four hour period. Each strategy would work well but it’s most likely that the black hat would walk home victorious at the week’s end. However, if we’re measuring success via staying power within the search engine indexes, the white hat would be the victor.
Many of us perceive black hat to be evil because of the ominous name and because black hat tactics usually aim to compromise the integrity of online properties for personal gain, an obvious moral disincentive. But is it really evil?
Your decision to stay within the white pastures or go hunting in the black forests boils down to a moral and social decision. If you’re a good white hat, over time you’ll build a solid reputation. You’ll be respected in the community and have various companies knocking on your door requesting your services. Hopefully you’re adding valuable or interesting content to the internet. Even though your efforts are propelled by a paying client, your content is still good, interesting, educational, and respected. Over time you’ll make good money and you may establish yourself as an industry expert.
If you’re a good black hat you’re pumping sites and making a quick dollar. You’re in it for the cash and you could care less if catzforum.com is having serious spam problems. You’re in it to buck the system and you feel that Google is blacker than the blackest of hats. You’re not doing it to build a reputation; you’re doing it to buy that lovely beach house in Monaco and the rare Aston Martin you’ve always wanted.
So…who are you? Black hat, white, or maybe a bit of both?
Industry References:
SEO Black Hat Brain vs. White Hat Brain
My boss is obsessed with Black Hat SEO
White Hat Vs. Black Hat
October 26th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
Ok, Brendan, I want to thump you in a friendly way for riding the coattails of the easiest paradigm to blog about in human history: good vs evil. It’s not that it ought not to have been broached again but that the analysis is so superficial.
Let me ask you this… why is the black hatter automatically EVIL? Perhaps what you’ve witnessed, or heard, of black hatting is from the least well-adjusted amongst us who are doing it, for example, out of some long-standing dislike of authority?
Or as on over-compensation for a general feeling of powerlessness. Sure, the money is nice but there’s a “you can’t tell me what to do” feeling that comes with it and the allure for many refugees of social angst is often irresistable.
But, perhaps there are those who use it not for evil, but just as an occasional BOOST to their business? Perhaps they use it to generated leads in a very targeted niche and later, regardless of what happens to that original site, they refer those referrals to similar niche ventures in their white hat arsenal?
After all, my friend, did Google ever ask you if they could spider your site and make money from it? Some things in moderation are just fine. For survival still goes to the fittest and being able to thrive under all conditions with a toolbox well-stocked with diverse tactics is being pretty darn fit.
Regards,
Sam Freedom
ps Brendan, you might find this related piece of interest. Get Out Your Vaseline, Folks…
October 26th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
I find black hat and white hat equally fascinating and in my post it reads, “Many of us perceive black hat to be evil”. If you think it’s evil then that’s your perception and decision.
And I love how you say the “analysis is so superficial” yet it was enough to get your goat and post a thesis of a comment.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:42 pm
Black Hat is white hat taken to the limits, but I like white hat anyway.
October 26th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Ok, you cracked me up with the final sentence. I’ll leave it alone.
I think it’s safe to say that Black Hat SEO, in it’s most basic form, is simply opportunism. Since every person can’t be a top expert, in his or her chosen field, there are varying opportunities to get a little juice now and then.
After all, those who are relatively new to any scene are entering a mix with people who have been in it for ages. Black Hat allows that quick boost for the newcomer to get up to speed.
It’s the extent to which it is employed that makes it seem evil or not to that aforementioned perceiver.
Regars,
Sam
ps. I’m subscribing. See y’round.
October 27th, 2007 at 10:17 am
It all comes down to whose definition of “black hat” you use. Google might have a big list of practices that are on their “black hat” list, but at the end of the day, how these practices get on to that list is by being deceptive.
Deception is the key word here. Will I, as a user, feel deceived when I get to your site ? Will Google be deceived into thinking that your site is more popular than it really is ? If Google think you’ve tricked them then they are going to penalise you. If Google think that you have added something worthwhile to the internet then you will probably be rewarded.
There’s nothing “evil” about automation. If you can automate something mindless and repetitive then good for you. If you automate something that should involve human thought and is beyond the capabilities of a simple script, then a real human will be able to tell the difference.
October 28th, 2007 at 11:44 am
It’s like taxes…you take what they give you so long as it’s legally defensible.