If you’ve spent any time in the world of SEO, you’re probably already familiar with the terms white hat and black hat SEO, but did you know there is a third category? Another strategy, known as gray hat SEO, is less frequently discussed among Orange County web design and SEO specialists. But what precisely is it, and should you utilize it for your digital marketing campaign?

What is Gray Hat SEO?

In basic terms, gray hat SEO synthesizes black and white hat SEO techniques. Let’s start by going over the methods that each strategy employs.

White Hat SEO:

• It aims to enhance the web user experience.
• It uses locally pertinent keywords that have been researched.
• The primary keywords appear in the title and URLs.
• White hat SEO uses essential and secondary keywords.
• Including links to articles, your audience will find helpful and relevant.
• It is user-friendly on smartphones. This is crucial since it speeds up your website loading when 54.4% of all Internet traffic comes from mobile devices.

Black Hat SEO:

• Tries to trick search engines.
• It is not centered on the experience of humans.
• Utilizes a practice known as “keyword stuffing,” which is the practice of overusing terms on a webpage. (Who would want to consume an overcrowded sandwich? Never attempt to chew more than you can handle!
• Spam comments with links. Nobody likes that!
• In addition, your website will load more slowly if you use invisible text to conceal keywords.

Nobody wants to go to a spammy website that is intrusive and challenging to use. You don’t have to be an expert at a web design company in Anaheim to know that. Because of this, Google has, over the years, rolled out several significant modifications that penalize black hat SEO techniques so that they do not appear in the top search results. Google might even decide to blacklist your website completely. Humans, not machines, are your potential clients. Because you desire long-term, not short-term, results for your labor, you should never utilize black hat SEO. So, according to Irvine web design companies, is gray hat SEO truly the best of both worlds?

Gray hat SEO strategies include, for instance:

• Utilizing and purchasing dated or expired domains.
• Duplicate content posting.
• Using a tool for automating social media (e.g., SocialPilot).
• Sharing “clickbait” information, purchasing followers on social media, buying positive reviews of your company, or opening new accounts to write them yourself while pretending to be your clients.

Despite these strategies, we continue to oppose them. Gray hat SEO isn’t nearly as unethical as black hat SEO but isn’t nearly as successful. Gray hat and black hat SEO are both perfectly legal. Still, neither will assist you in running an effective online marketing strategy or bringing in the desired customer volume. Consider this: if you needed your automobile fixed, would you rather pay someone to do it cheaply and only provide temporary fixes or someone who works quickly and well so that you won’t need to see the technician again soon? 

Avoiding any Orange County digital marketing companies that employ gray-hat or black-hat SEO techniques is highly recommended. You don’t want to waste your hard-earned money on strategies that won’t enable you to succeed for the remainder of your professional life.

Nowadays, it is essential to have a solid online presence because the Internet is here to stay.

Because there is only one right way to do things, including Orange County SEO, Drive Traffic Media only supports and uses white hat SEO. Do not wait if you are eager to benefit from our moral and successful digital marketing strategies immediately! Email us at info@drivetrafficmedia.com or call (949) 800-6990 for a free estimate on our effective social media, SEO, and Orange County web design services.