In the world of SEO, you can choose to wear one of the three hats: the white hat, grey hat or black hat. The color you choose identifies the methods that you use in order to obtain a good ranking on the SERPs.
- White hat SEO techniques are accepted by Google and are, in fact, following Google’s Webmaster rules 100%. It’s the recommended way to drive traffic to your site. Nevertheless, this strategy requires a lot of time in order to see the first results.
- Black hat SEO techniques are methods that are banned by the search engines and if you get caught you’re definitely getting penalized and deindexed. It’s very likely to get to Google’s first page in no time, however, the chances to be shut down are also much higher. So, you are risking a lot if you decide to use black SEO techniques.
- Grey hat SEO techniques are somewhere in between the two. Grey hat SEO techniques aren’t fully accepted by Google, however, you can get good rankings which will eventually last for a while.
In this article, we decided to talk about grey SEO techniques in particular, and help you better understand which grey SEO techniques are effective. So, for those of you who want to implement grey hat alongside white hat, read through to find out the most effective grey hat SEO technique for your website. Just to stay on the safe side, we also advise you to consult an SEO professional.
- Cloaking
Cloaking is a method by which the content presented to search engines differs from the content which is presented to a particular website’s users. This is quite a risky grey hat SEO technique that breaks Google’s rules. Cloaking includes changes in the meta-information, as well as altering the IP address of the website.
Cloaking is also done through doorway pages which are pages stuffed with keywords, whose purpose is to attract search engines and trick them into visiting a site.
- Buying Expired Domain Names
Did you know that buying expired domain names can be more worthy than buying new domains? This is because expired domains already have a linking history behind them which gives you a potential advantage. What is important when following this grey hat SEO technique is that you should look for reputable, high-quality domains from your niche. Getting a domain name that wasn’t penalized in the past is also important because it’ll weigh you down and prevent you from reaching your SEO goals.
- Building a Private Blog Network (PBN)
Creating a Private Blog Network (PBN) is a technique that consists of building a network of multiple websites with the purpose of providing backlinks to your main website. All of these websites are yours and you’re the one who has control over when and how your site will get authority. When Google notices that several websites are linking to one site, you’ll automatically get a higher SEO ranking. Also, you can get some help from SEO Company Warrington to gain more audiences and boost your website’s presence in a fast way.
If you choose a PBN in order to make it to Google’s first page, you have to be careful. If you get caught in trying to build a false sense of authority for your website you’ll get penalized and your whole PBN will get deindexed. This way you’ll lose money, time and all of the effort you’ve put into it.
If you want to try out this technique, it’s crucial to consult a professional, or at least talk to someone who already has experience with building Private Blog Networks. At Private Blog Network, you can educate yourself on using a PBN for your SEO and check out some of the recommended professionals to talk to.
- Update and Lengthen Your Old Content
Giving “life” and a fresh perspective to your old content is always a worthy endeavor – it’s the best of practices to update all of your content every once in a while. No matter whether the content on your website is excellent or not, it should be adjusted to the most recent trends. This way you’ll be able to keep up with your competitors and your content will remain a source of value for your visitors. Something which was “in” 5 years ago, nowadays may be totally obsolete. So, keep track of the updates in the digital world and make sure you incorporate them just so your content is SEO optimized and relevant at all times.
For instance, blog posts which are beyond 2,000 words have more chances to get a higher ranking. But don’t just force yourself to have only lengthy content. You should have articles which are short as well, from 500 to 800 words – those can give you points for variety and bring in more audience. Just, whatever you do, bear in mind that you need to “invest” in some lengthy and quality content which will bring search engines and real traffic to your site as well.
- Multiple Social Media Accounts
Multiple social media accounts for the same brand, social media automation and buying followers are the most commonly used grey hat SEO techniques. Social media also has a lot to do with your rankings, and that’s why finding ways to “succeed” there is important.
- If you have multiple social media accounts for your business on several platforms, then you’re increasing the exposure and the chances for more traffic as well. For instance, if your business is about healthy food, you can have several accounts on Facebook which will lead your customers to your product or content. One can be named “Healthy Food and Nutrition”, the other “FitLife”, etc.
- Social media automation includes the tools which will follow 1000 accounts and unfollow them in the blink of an eye. This is a great technique in order to trick more people into visiting your account and finding something more about your business.
- The third grey hat SEO technique for social media is buying followers. However, be aware that those fake followers can’t offer you engagement, which is one of the biggest ranking factors on social.
If you think that these grey hat SEO techniques are harmless and can bring you more organic traffic and improved rankings, why don’t you try some of them and see whether they’ll work for you?