Why Black Hat SEO is like the Dark Side of the Force

Star Wars is a quintessential story of good versus evil. The dark side of the force offers limitless power—and even though Darth Vader’s suit is pretty much the greatest uniform ever, it also means he’s half machine. The light side of the force requires self-discipline, training and a lot of patience. In essence, the force is a great metaphor for SEO, where black hat SEO and white hat SEO are fighting for search engine ranking positions instead of Luke’s soul. But Luke wins in the end, and even Darth Vader realizes the error of his ways. Practicing white hat SEO is the only way to go to come out unscathed.

Just like the dark side of the force, engaging in black hat SEO can be very tempting. Black hat techniques like buying links and article spinning are quick and easy. They don’t require any time commitment and very little individual attention or critical/creative thinking. And the numbers definitely look more impressive. A black hat SEO practitioner could get your site 10,000 links in the first month and shoot your site to the top of the SERP.

Chances are it’s also a lot cheaper than the rates of the white hat SEO professional. A lot of black hat SEO companies outsource client work to foreign countries. However, the old adage of “you get what you pay for” for holds fast in SEO. Those 10,000 links are going to come from completely irrelevant and maybe even dangerous sites to be linked to (like pornography and gambling sites). Any commenting/articles done with your company name is going to be written by non-native English speakers who don’t understand your brand or target audience. And while your site is riding high, enjoying the fruits of joining the dark side, the search engines’ algorithms are preparing to blow up your Death Star.

Sites that get caught using black hat SEO tactics (like the JCPenny SEO scandal as reported by the New York Times in February) suddenly find themselves facing the wrath of the search engines. Google quickly responded and JCPenny dropped substantially in the SERP. They had been ranking number 1 for “Samsonite carry on luggage” and within two hours of Google catching on, they had fallen to #71 for the same keyword.

Engaging in black hat SEO is an easy trap to fall into, especially if you are looking to do a little DIY SEO. I always tell people that they should read the Google and Bing Webmaster Guidelines before they begin any SEO activity. The Webmaster Guidelines clearly outline what the search engines do and do not allow. Regardless of what you think or what others have told you, these rules are the line in the sand for SEO. If they consider something black hat, stay away from it.