There are already enough talks on the web as how latest Google Penguin update is going to hit websites with dominant Black Hat SEO techniques, but it is more important as this new algorithm of Google is to make web user experience better. As varying estimates show in different speculations approximately a good 3% of websites catering to English speaking audience is going to hit by this new algorithm and this time the target is mainly the spammers and bad links, though there are other significant Black Hat SEO tactics like cloaking, keyword stuffing, hidden content, which are not going to be spared at all. Over the years Google's commitment to the web users are increasingly becoming evident through its webmaster guidelines and algorithm updates to put it into actual practice and this time Google Penguin update 2.0 is specific to fuse many previously relentless areas that just were working fine. So, as it Matt Cutts, Google's brain behind the latest algorithm update puts it, it is really going to go deeper, so much the better for web users.
Black Hat SEO - a definition
Before we venture to envisage the impact of Google Penguin update 2.0 on the tricky, back door techniques and misguiding schemes to come up the search engine ranks called as Black Hat techniques, we need to define it in its basic motives and characteristics. The abbreviation SEO as we all know stands for Search Engine Optimization meaning the technique of providing content based on the search title. Now if this technique of coming up the search engine ranks is motivated with only business objectives like web traffic, e-business, promotion and marketing, etc. and is devoid of any real value in relation to the search title then it is called as Black Hat SEO techniques. SEO techniques that are violating the webmaster guidelines are considered illegitimate and hence the term goes as Black Hat SEO .
To put it more accurately and simply Black Hat SEO techniques are more geared towards coming in the ranks of search engine and less towards the human audience who searches for unique content on the search title. You come in the search ranks without any valuable content, moreover by effect of coming up the search ranks you misguide the web traffic that visit your site with business promotion, product campaign or provide them specific business motivated content that otherwise do not have any relation to what they are looking for. Precisely that is what Black Hat SEO means in core characteristics.
Black Hat SEO techniques facing the wrath of Google Penguin
The encompass of latest Google Penguin update 2.0 is huge enough to go deep into the link schemes, business attributes, content quality and all SEO techniques to take under the scanner. As it suggests no single area of your site from now on is going to be unnoticed and left out from the Google algorithm that is committed to improve the web experience at the cost of many sites unsolicited back door activities and business interests. Here below we picked up some of the important Black Hat SEO techniques that are going to face the wrath of Google sooner or later.
- Keyword Stuffing
- Spam
- Cloaking and hidden content
- Link farming
- Copied content or content borrowing
- Bad links
- Doorway page
- Poor content and meta description
- Page Stuffing
- Disguised affiliated marketing Content
- Sending automated queries to search engine
- Automatically generated content
Keyword stuffing is nothing but stuffing a poor content with a disproportionate amount of keyword just to reach higher up the search page and gain better traffic volume. For a long time this was the most common Black Hat SEO tactics on the web that enjoyed great search engine results for quite a long time, but since Google particularly became proactive to eliminate such practices from search ranks, chances of gaining traffic through such trick is increasingly becoming low.
When rolling out Google Penguin update 2.0 it is considered as a move mainly to curb web spam all sorts of unsolicited automatic pop up messages that without adding value to the related search title just try to use the search engine for business objectives or promotional purposes. Spamdexing, the technique used by the sites engaged in this back door tactics to rank higher in the search engine is the primary target of Google algorithm.
This is another tricky practices that Google webmaster guideline is serious about in its constant drive to improve the web user's experience in terms of providing rich and unique content through the search engine. Cloaking refers to the practice of appearing in the search page showing the matching tagline to the searched title while the user goes to the site coming with something else. Something similar to this practice is luring the search engine and traffic through hidden content while in the end these sites are only geared to making some sort of business promotion, affiliate marketing or making profit by guiding traffic to third party sites. The party for such web behavior is perhaps over with latest Google algorithm actions to take shape.
This time links in your web page or content that connects to other web pages, sites or blogs is the greatest area of concern for Google, because a vast majority of Black Hat SEO practices simply originate from them. Link farming is one such common practice in which many web pages interlink with one another in a vicious circle just to get into higher ranking as many webmasters try to augment the relevance of the sites with multiple links. Instead of buying quality links or instead of effective links that are related to the presented content of the websites, if you are engaged in such practices to build up your link it is no more going to be tolerated.
There is no better way to infuse the wrath of Google on you than publishing copied content on a regular basis. Though copied content is no more a popular technique with less chances of surviving in the hands of search engine, publishing a similar content with slight changes in various places is common and it is not going to give you the same leverage as earlier as in the time to come Google will only go deeper to reduce the junk from its search pages. Another common practice between bloggers is to upload YouTube videos or news bites or animation copied from other sites just to look smarter and richer in content. If you are still depending on such false tricks, you will soon end up losing all your search engine credentials and traffic as Google is categorical about focusing on 100% original and unique content.
While many sites are not necessarily involved in link farming or more rigorous Black Hat SEO practices they still are vulnerable to the future Google actions because of their poor quality links. As Google webmaster guideline clearly specifies that you are only expected to be loaded with valuable links that can guide the reader to related pages links that add value to the search topics, otherwise links are considered low quality or bad links and are reason enough for your site ranked long way down the search result.
This is one of the most prominent and aggressive back door SEO tactics that Google Penguin update 2.0 is particularly serious about. A doorway page is nothing but eyewash that as soon as you see on the search page and clicks on it quickly guides to a different web address or page that has seemingly has no relation with the topics searched for. This has been a favorite tool for web marketers to hit the search page and getting away with misguided traffic, but soon enough it is going to reach its dead end.
Just think of those websites where on your search title a mere 3 lines of basic, half-fed information is provided with bold letter description and such content is just for gaining better volume of traffic only the end objective of which is some business promotion or marketing. Google is particularly serious about any hidden motive while trying to hit search ranks with poor content and so it is likely that many sites will suffer indiscriminately with such SEO attributes.
Page stuffing is one common Black Hat SEO tactics in which same content is published simultaneously on several interlinked pages to improve the chances of coming to search ranks. Just forget those chances of hitting search pages instead think how fast you can drop those pages with similar content before Google Penguin update 2.0 slashes all the pages along with the main site from the search ranks.
Websites publishing disguised affiliated marketing content are particularly vulnerable to Google punishments post Google Penguin update 2.0 post launch scenario. If you are marketing product make it open and give due credit to the promotional activity you are engaged with. For coming to general topic search page and lure the traffic do not hide your original intention behind the content, Google is cleverer to pin you down.
Sending automated query through software to increase the popularity of a search title and gaining higher ranks and traffic is another common Black Hat SEO tactics that is already outlawed and if practiced can attract severe punishment, even a blacklisting in Google search engine.
After all such fuss about original and unique content as the only viable way to rank higher in Google search page if you still believe in providing content that is generated automatically by software, not by human endeavor, then you are still living in a paradise of ignorant and can face any number of actions to get you out from search pages.