So, what is “Black Hat SEO” anyway?  Black hat refers to the usage of practices that are against the terms of service presented by major search engines. This includes spamming the internet in an attempt to manipulate both users on the internet and the search results.

One method of Black Hat SEO is called “Keyword Stuffing”.  

Keyword stuffing is the process of cramming numerous keywords into a site. These keywords can be in the meta tags or visible on the text of the site. Webmasters that keyword stuff often believe that by loading their sites with keywords they will in the end rank better for all of these keywords in search engine results. Keyword stuffing, however, often has a negative impact on keyword rankings.

Including Keywords Without Stuffing
Including keywords in a natural way and not stuffing them in either the visual pages of a site or in meta tags is far more practical. By narrowing down the keywords a webmaster intends to target and then writing reader friendly text with these keywords sprinkled in is a much better way to gain keyword rankings. In the past keyword stuffing may have provided results but search engines have come a long way and now they can easily detect keyword stuffing and spamming.

Types of Keyword Stuffing
Keyword stuffing can be meta tag stuffing where a webmaster crams keywords into their meta tags in an attempt to get these keywords to rank in search engine results. Keyword stuffing can also be invisible text which is where a webmaster makes the long list of keywords the same color text as the background so it is not seen by readers. Neither of these processes will be likely to help a site gain rankings.

Another method of Black Hat SEO is called “Hot Linking”

Hot Linking is when you display video files or image files on a web site when the files are actually on another site’s server.  Hot linking is also known as inline linking, leeching, piggy-backing, direct linking, offset image grabs and bandwidth theft.

Why Do People Hot Link
If you display images or video files on your site that have been developed and appear on another site you’re using someone else’s bandwidth. The act of hot linking is considered unethical unless you have received permission from the site owner you are taking the image from.

Ranking a site in major search engines takes hard work but using approved methods are the best decision. After the site is ranked it can lose it’s rankings overnight if caught using spam techniques. However, if a site is ranked using only ethical techniques it does not run the risk of getting banned or receiving a penalty.  Use these black hat techniques at your own risk.