With the advent of technology and dependency of customers to the internet, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is more important than ever. If you’re a startup business, having a carefully planned SEO strategy can become your edge to level out the playing field among your competitors.
If you’re an entrepreneur who disregards the importance of SEO, your business will likely lose customers and profit over time. In worst cases, your business might even be bankrupted. Regardless of the niche or size of your business, SEO can play a significant role in your success. This should be reason enough for you to generate and use a specific SEO strategy for your business.
But What Is Really White Hat SEO?
In its simplest sense, white hat SEO is a terminology used to describe the use of SEO strategies and techniques that focus on a specific target audience without compromising any search engine policies and rules. White hat SEO aims to improve human interaction online rather than merely focusing on a website’s SEO ranking.
Often called Ethical SEO, white hat SEO “plays by the rules” and doesn’t use any illicit strategies just to improve a website’s SEO rank.
A white hat SEO strategy is a long-term commitment and should only be used by a business who’s willing to make long-term investments to their websites. Some of the most common white hat SEO strategies include using appropriate keywords, tools for keyword analysis, link building, guest posting, and content writing. All of these strategies are primarily focused on satisfying a human audience. There are many online SEO tools available in the market.
After content writing, you can check the content via plagiarism checker that how much the content is unique.
What Are The Advantages Of Using White Hat SEO?
Businesses, especially those who are new and small, would want to gain customers and profit as soon as possible. After all, these are usually the most common reasons why someone would start a business.
But if you really want to achieve long-term success and make use of your investment in the best way possible, slow and steady is the best way to go – white hat SEO is definitely the best way to achieve that goal. To drive the point home, here are some of the advantages of using white hat SEO:
1. White hat SEO can cement your website in the SERPs.
One of the goals of these SEO strategies is for your website to earn a top spot on the Search Engines Results Pages (SERPs) once a user makes a query.
The higher your spot is, the better exposure your website can get. This is something which you can quickly achieve with black hat SEO strategies. As the name suggests, this is the counterpart of white hat SEO strategies which are used to beat the algorithm of search engines.
It focuses on a particular software and uses it to somewhat hack the algorithm of the search engine so a website can achieve a better rank in the SERPs. SERP rankings can be kept track of by using tools such as Zenserp. This might give your website instant success but not for long.
The algorithms of search engines change. What might work for your website today, might be useless after a few years. This is one of the most common setbacks when you use black hat SEO strategies.
Once the algorithms are tweaked, your website will not only be removed from its current ranking positing, but it will also fall down the pecking order. This can bring a lot of risks to your business.
White hat SEO, on the other hand, doesn’t give you any of these things. Because you’re following the policies set by search engines, your website will be cemented on the SERPs for the right reasons. Your website will be able to surpass the storms even if search engines are going through regular updates.
2. White hat SEO can be an excellent way to build networks with online users.
Similar to white hat SEO, black hat SEO can also be done through a variety of techniques. And among all of these techniques, spamming is still one of the most common and preferred by many.
This works by dumbing up the popularity of a website in order to increase its rank in the SERPs. A spammed website might look like it has a lot of followers or subscribers even when it doesn’t have any at all.
Having this kind of online presence might help entice real users, but over time, this can only more harm than good. Spamming can make your website very popular but in a bad light.
White hat SEO does the complete opposite. It focuses on promotional strategies which are directed to a specific target audience without compromising quality. It doesn’t make use of any spamming techniques. White hat SEO might require time (and a lot of patience), but this is a great method to win regular online users.
These users can become your loyal followers or subscribers and can eventually work as an extension of your marketing team. They can promote your website to their own social networks which can increase your traffic and expand your audience reach.
Related: A Guide To The Search Engine Practices
3. White hat SEO can help you earn a spot in Google’s good books.
Just like your own business, search engines are also a business which follows a particular set of rules and regulations.
Since every human being in the world uses search engines, Google, for example, utilizes policies and strong penalties to ensure that all businesses use the same SEO strategies. Because of this status quo, using black hat SEO is basically like waiting for a ban to fall on top of your head. You’re at risk for penalties when you use this kind of strategy!
Being penalized for using black hat SEO is one thing and getting back on your feet afterward is another. While the former might occur one time, the latter does not. Most often than not, it’ll take you years before you can regain your website’s SEO rank before the penalty. Recovering can be possible if you still have customers and profit after the ban.
White hat SEO will not give you any of these risks. Since you’re adhering to all of the rules set by search engines, you’ll be at ease knowing that you’re not violating anything. You won’t be conscious of your online activities. In short, white hat SEO can make your website stay safe from penalties and being banned.
4. White hat SEO can actually save you time and money.
There’s no question as to how fast you can experience the results of black hat SEO. This can create a lot of shortcuts against a search engine’s algorithms just to achieve a higher SEO rank.
However, since black hat SEO requires violating algorithms, you’ll have to exert time and money in order for your efforts to work. Commonly, black hat SEO uses techniques namely keyword stuffing, doorways, and hidden texts just to work.
You’ll need a lot of money to implement and maintain these strategies because search engines also update their security parameters on a regular basis. The algorithms of search engines are fast-paced, and if you’re using black hat SEO, you’ll have to keep up with the times.
You won’t have to make these investments when you opt to use white hat SEO. Strategies used for white hat SEO doesn’t violate any rules which means that you don’t have to be pressured to keep up with any algorithms.
With white hat SEO, you’ll just have to learn the strategies, practice, implement and you’re good to go. You’ll only make necessary adjustments once a search engine updates its algorithms.
5. White hat SEO can provide healthy website ranking.
There are many reasons why white hat SEO provides healthy website ranking. Aside from adhering to the policies and rules set by search engines, white hat SEO can is also less risky and can provide more stable results.
Sure, these results might not come as quick as black hat SEO, but the former can grow steadily over time. White hat SEO can provide better results which can last longer. The benefits of white hat SEO can be described better with this maxim: “Slowly but surely.”
6. White hat SEO will never tarnish your reputation.
Going against the algorithms of a search engine can speak volumes about your brand. If you’re a business who doesn’t follow by the rules, what will your customers think about your legal compliance?
Or your integrity and honesty as a business? If this kind of news is publicized, don’t expect that your business will ever earn any customers or profit, as well.
Black hat SEO is very risky which means that its consequences are also grave. This can become the reason why the reputation you’ve built for years will be gone in an instant. Everything you’ve invested in your business will go down the drain.
You’ll never tarnish your reputation if you use white hat SEO. Since these strategies require playing by the rules set by search engines, you’ll be able to operate our business in full confidence. Adhering to these rules can make you earn brownie points in the eyes of the public and your target audience, as well.
7. White hat SEO has less legal danger.
Blackhat SEO isn’t just risky because it doesn’t follow the algorithms of search engines; it’s also risky because there are actually government legal regulations which cover such matter.
Yes, you’ve read that right – there are search engine regulations against the illegal use of property. Since black hat SEO basically involved this kind of process, these strategies are usually a direct violation of these regulations.
Facing any legal responsibilities can become the reason why your business will hit rock bottom. White hat SEO adheres to the algorithms of search engines and legal regulations so you can be sure that your business will never experience any of these legal dangers.
8. White hat SEO strategies can be shared easily.
When you’re running a business, you want every employee to be adept with the different processes in your business. You want them to be versatile, so whenever a certain employee left the company, someone can immediately take their place.
This can happen when your businesses adapt to white hat SEO. White hat SEO strategies are transparent strategies which usually involve page rank improvement, branding, and networking.
Since you’re confident you’re not violating anything – no matter if it’s the algorithms of search engines or legal regulations – you can easily share these white hat SEO strategies to all of your employees. Doing this ensures longevity with your SEO efforts.
But when you’re used to adapting to black hat SEO strategies, for sure, it won’t be very comfortable for you to share your processes to your employees.
This is especially true if you’re still a neophyte in a particular market. What will your employees think of you? And since news travels fast, how can you immune your business from negative publicity? Yes, black hat SEO can bring so many risks to your business.
How Can You Experience The Benefits Of White Hat SEO?
White hat SEO can do wonders for a business. It can improve different aspects of your business simultaneously. It can be a perfect solution for businesses which doesn’t have enough resources to invest in expensive strategies.
However, before your business can actually experience the advantages of white hat SEO, you have to pay attention as to how you’re going to adapt to these strategies. You have to be keen on your decision because misusing white hat SEO strategies can also result in long-term damages for your business.
Because more and more businesses are in need of professional white hat services, several companies have opened and offered this kind of service. Omega SEO, for example, is just one of these companies. These companies employ trained and experienced contractors who can help your business utilize different white hat SEO strategies.
So instead of learning white hat SEO on your own, you can simply outsource this service from another company. But with the number of options to choose from, do you know which to hire? Asking the following questions to an SEO company might help you come up with a sound decision:
1. Can you show me examples of your previous work?
All SEO companies can tell you that they provide the best services in the industry or their customers were happy with their output. They can make all the claims they want just to create a facade of how exemplary their SEO companies. But if they can’t provide any proof, don’t believe anything they say.
As a customer, you should only work with an SEO company who can actually walk the talk. If an SEO company claims that they are the best in what they do, ask samples of their previous work. Assess if this is what you’re looking for in an SEO company. While you’re at it, ask the representative from the SEO company to share some success stories, too.
2. How long have you been in business?
An SEO company can’t operate for decades if it wasn’t able to entice and retain customers – how else can they fund the business on a daily basis? The track record of the SEO company should be one of the first questions you should ask.
This can give you an idea of the experience and the quality of products and services that the SEO company can offer. Usually, the longer the SEO company is in the business, the more experienced they are in handling different kinds of SEO-related problems.
They’ll likely have more experience in providing proven and tested solutions compared to SEO companies which just opened in your area or city.
If you need additional information to vouch for an SEO companies track record, ask recommendations from your friends and family. If they’ve worked with an SEO company in the past, they can help you determine which companies to hire and which ones to avoid.
All of their recommendations can help set your expectations about a particular SEO company. You can also utilize the internet for this purpose. The World Wide Web is a goldmine of reviews for SEO companies so take time to do your homework.
3. What’s your experience in my industry or market?
There are a lot of businesses operating today. Some might be in the same market as your business, but most of these are providing products and services to a different target audience. This diversity should be one of your considerations when hiring an SEO company.
Regardless if they have been operating for decades, if they weren’t able to work with a business similar to yours, hiring them would be worthless. They would be clueless about the problems which are unique to your market and ultimately, they would also be clueless about the solutions to provide.
4. How can I communicate with you?
Hiring an SEO company isn’t like magic wherein everything will fall into place once these professionals work with you. Their expertise can go a long way in solving your business’s SEO problems, but you’ll still need their pieces of advice every now and then.
If you’re meeting with a representative from an SEO company, inquire about how you can communicate with them. Are they comfortable in answering your calls any time of the day? Or would they prefer e-mail or personal meet-ups?
This information should be sorted out so you’ll know what to expect and how you can adjust your schedule accordingly. An entrepreneur will usually have a lot on their plate so you’ll need to make little changes in order to get what you’ve paid for.
5. How much will I be paying for your products and services?
Money will always be an important resource for every business. You’ll need money for your business to run smoothly. While hiring an SEO company might be a cost-effective solution, you should still be keen on the price you’re going to pay.
Paying for an overpriced or too cheap SEO company which can’t deliver results can be a waste of resources. Since you’re playing the role of a paying customer, you should only hire an SEO company which provides high-quality products and services within a reasonable price point.
Make sure that you come up with a budget for this one, as well. You don’t want to compromise your business’s operations just because you hired an SEO company, right?
6. What’s your preferred mode of payment?
There are now different mediums to pay. You can do it by cash, cheques, and online payments. Although cash might be one of the most preferred options by many companies, the SEO company you’re eyeing to hire might be an exemption.
Instead of assuming that they only accept cash as their mode of payment, ask what other payment mediun do they use. This will enable you to prepare financially for the cost of their services while reducing stress, too. You don’t want to prepare cash and later on find out that they only accept cheques from businesses, right?
While you’re at it, ask about the payment scheme, too. Inquire if they require full payment at the end of the project or they need down payment before starting the project. This information will help you better budget your finances throughout the entire project. This will also ensure that you’ll be able to pay in time, reducing any delay in the project.
It’s Easy When You Know How
If you want your business to thrive and grow, you should be more than willing to know and adapt to the different trends in the market. You should keep an eye to what your competitors are using, benchmark and then use it on your own.
The business arena is fast-paced, and if you don’t know how to ride the waves, your business will never be successful. Aside from making sure that all facets of your business are working perfectly, let white hat SEO become your ally.
Once you learned the ropes about this strategy, it’ll be easy for you to market your products and services, increase your business’s customer base and create a positive brand – factors which can help you become a successful business!
