White Hat or Black Hat SEO Techniques

Do you know what is 'Hide & Seek'?

If 'No'.

Let me give you a clue.

It is a game that you might have played in your childhood days.

What is SEO?

The same theory relates to SEO.

It is all about searching a website through a search engine on the internet.

SEO is an optimization process (clue) that helps search engines in identifying or verifying, indexing and crawling a specific website available on the internet. This technique helps in improving the visibility of the website or web page on the internet.

SEO pays attention to the keywords typed into search engine, how search engines work, what people search for, and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience.

It includes On Page Optimization techniques as well Off-page Optimization techniques.

How to SEO?

We can primarily categories SEO techniques into following two broad categories:

1. White Hat Techniques
2. Black Hat Techniques

White Hat Techniques:

White Hat means pure techniques. It means to follow those guidelines which are widely approved by search engines for optimization purpose and involves no deception. The following ensures the white hat technique:

1. Use of quality content in the website;
2. Proper use of heading element;
3. Use of meta tags and meta description;
4. Quality inbound links;
5. Use of social media:  Facebook, g+, Twitter, Linkedin, Digg, Reddit, etc;
6. Email marketing (Mailing to subscribers only) i.e. not spamming;
7. Use of Blogs (Google's blogspot, Wordpress, Yahoo's Tumblr, Quora and linkedin plu etc.);
8. Adding URLs to Web Directories as ODP, Yahoo Directory, etc.;
9. Use of Content Management System;
10. Optimization of videos and pictures
11. Optimum use of relevant key words.

Black Hat Techniques:

This technique is contrary to the White Hat Technique. It is not indexing but spam-dexing.

Following are some of the black hat techniques:

1. Hidden Content: The hidden text, either written in a tinny font or of same colour of the web page or hiding it within html code such as "no frame" sections, alt attributes, zero-sized HTML Divs, and "no script" sections.
2. Meta Tags Stuffing: Using unrelated Meta tags to the website's content.
3. Incorrect use of Meta Description: Description is promotional and contains a specific keyword only. It should be descriptive in two to three sentences.
4. Gateway Pages: Designed for search engines not for end users.
5. Scraper Sites: Developed with the use of various programmes designed to scrap search engine results
6. Link Farming : To list links of unrelated web pages.
7. Link Spamming
8. Use of Link Building Softwares
9. Buying Expired Domains
10. Cookie Stuffing: Placing an affiliate tracking code on the users computer without his knowledge.
11. Forum Spaming: inserting links to the editable websites.
12. Comment spaming
13. Spamming in Blogs
14. Mirror websites
15. URL Redirection 

Read Also: Learn On-Page Optimization

1. Voice Search on Google Search,  
2. Learn On Page Optimization,
3. Custom Search Engine, 
4. Google Algorithm-Autocomplete

Why We Choose Google's Custom Search Engine?

It’s my privilege to introduce you with the topic of custom search engine i.e. CSE.  I feel that you may be aware of search engines and their functions, but if not, we should learn about search engines before learning about CSE:

Search Engine:  It is quite difficult for a layman to find out the relevant information on www (W3) in absence of any search engine as there are trillion of web pages on W3. All these web pages contain certain information for its users.  Search engine helps us to ascertain/search the actual information available

Search Engines

on internet.  However, they can crawl and index a website only if that website has added their Meta verification tag, etc.  The html Meta tag of a search engine can be ascertained with the help of its Web Master.  If you are not interested to add any Meta Tag, etc. in your website, you may opt to add or to suggest your website’s URL in the most appropriate category of DMOZ - the oldest website directory.  A user should strictly follow DMOZ guidelines while suggesting their website.

There are many search engines in W3 e.g. Google, Yahoo, Baidu, Excite, Ask, AOL, Soso and Yandex, etc. However, Google is the most popular search engine on W3 with a market share of 68.9%.

What is the use of a Custom Search Engine?

CSE helps your users to search any information on your website as well as on W3 also.  Perhaps, you may have observed many websites and blogs, which have their own search boxes but maybe you are not aware of their functionality and benefits. Such type of search box is called Custom Search Engine i.e. CSE and it helps to search any information on a specific website or blog.  The CSE in the name of a specific website helps to develop its brand.

Custom Search Engines

It facilitates your users not to open a new search engine time and again to find out any information.  It makes your website users’ friendly.  One of the best advantages of CSE in a website is that it helps to grow significant keywords for your web pages.  More the significant keywords bring more the chances of promoting your website in search results for those relevant keywords.  The search engine may take clue from their significance for its Autocompletion algorithm. The Autocompletion is a magic feature of search engine that promotes further a website in its search results.

How to Create Google's Custom Search Engine?

Simply, follow the following steps to create a search engine for your website or blog:-

1)      Go to Google’s website of CSE;

2)      Click at ‘New Search Engine’;

3)      You should add your web address in ‘Site to Search’ box.  The website shall be submitted in a (www.crispwriters.com/*) form to include all URLs of www.crispwriters.com or crispwriters.com.  For including all sub-domains of a website, you should submit as *.crispwriters.com/*. For including all URLs that contain the word ‘articles’ *.crispwriters.com*articles ;

4)      Select your language;

5)      Name your search engine;

6)      Then click create your own search engine;

7)      For excluding any website : 1) Go to main page of CSE, 2) Click Setup, 3) Click Advance option in Basic Tab, 4) To exclude a specific URL, type the specific URL and to exclude Multiple URLs, use Exclude sites in bulk.  At the end, please don’t forget to click save.

8)      You can now use ‘CSE Creation from Keywords Tools’ also. This tool helps to create a search engine that can search specific websites or specific web pages on a specific topic. It allows adding maximum 50 keywords of 100 characters each which best define or describing the topic. The keywords can be words or phrases.  Multiple keywords should be separated by commas. CSE supports only ascii characters for keywords. The link to create CSE from keywords tools is: ‘https://www.google.co.in/cse/create/fromkwsetname’;

9)      When you click on ‘Expand Keywords’ you will find that each keyword has been expanded and grouped in many groups.  You can review each group by clicking on it and if that group is not required, you may delete the specific group.  However, you should add a specific keyword to remove that in ‘Negative Terms’;

10)   If you choose to upgrade your CSE, you can make money by connecting your account to Google Adsense. Whenever any user clicks on an advertisement shown in your search results, Google will share its revenue with you.  It also helps to immediate index URLs as per the indexing quota. You can purchase upgraded CSE by paying $100 per year to $ 2000 per year for search queries from 20000 per year to 500000 queries per year respectively;

 Read Also: 

1. Voice Search on Google Search, 
2.  Autocomplete - Google Algorithm,
3.  Learn On-Page Optimization.

Voice Search on Google's Search Engine

Voice Search on Windows

Voice Search is an application of Google that allows its audience to search anything on it without typing a text in the search box.  If you cannot type and cannot spell correctly, it would be comfortable for you to search the keyword or phrase through Voice Search that helps to break the language barrier. This application works on iOS, Android and Chrome browsers of laptops and desktops. Google’s Knowledge Graph has powered the application. 

The application also answers the questions and you can hear them. You just keep the volume at higher level to listen the answers of your questions.

Voice Search 

Voice Search on Mobile

You can download the application from Google Play Store (www.play.google.com) at free of cost.  If you wish to install the application through Google Play Store from your computer, you should first link your Google account to your Android device in case you are using Android Mobile.   However, all the Android Devices come with Google Play Store.  Similarly, we can use it on iPhones and iPads, etc.

A user has to tap the icon of ‘Search Voice’ - a mobile application - and the application will immediately start to search the keywords or phrases.  But before starting a search, the application does recognize your voice for authenticity.

 Read Also:

1. Autocomplete, 
2. SEO, 
3. Custom Search Engine
4. White Hat or Black Hat SEO Techniques

Google Algorithm – Autocomplete

Internet is a source of information and its prime objective is to educate.  Google is the largest search engine that searches exact information on trillion of web pages available on the Internet

 which uses different algorithms, approx 200 types, to refine its search results.  Algorithm is a computer programme to take a query from you and to put forth an answer to a particular query.

One of the above algorithms is ‘Autocomplete’. What does it do and how does it do?  Let’s examine. Autocomplete means word completion.  We press keys of different characters on our computer’s keyboard to search specific information in Google’s search box.  Google start to apply its intelligence from the first impression of the key in its search box. It suggests you all the common options available, which have been chosen frequently, with the impression of the first key in its search box.  You can find maximum 10 options at a time in the search box for the related query but you have to opt for one, mentioning ‘I’m Feeling Lucky’.   You can see a sign ‘>>’ after ‘I’m Feeling lucky’.  If we click that sign, we will be directed immediately to the relevant website or webpage.

If you want to search ABCD, Google’s intelligence search will function in A B C D form i.e. we have to create impression of the first key as ‘A’, the next impression will be ‘B’ and so on. It might be possible that with the first impression of ‘A’ only, Google quickly provides an option of ABCD.  Web developers are also using Autocomplete option in their websites using html, asp.net and jquery, etc.  But, it is not mandatory for them to follow Google’s suit.

The benefit of this algorithm is that a user has to type few letters; less than what is required, for a particular search and they will find quick suggestions which help them to save their time by typing less.  This algorithm also helps to correct the spelling errors.  You start to type a wrong spelling and Google will suggest you the most frequently used spelling for the related query.  Also, it repeats the results for its users. It means if you have searched something on Google while you are signed in keeping your search history on, Google will try to provide the exact web results that you have already searched for. 

One of the features of its intelligent search is that it provides immediate answer to a question.  For example: if you type 1Kg is equal to how many pounds, you will find the exact answer i.e. 2.2046 below the search box.  It will hardly take less than a second to answer your query.

The Autocomplete algorithm helps Google to note down the data on any keyword.

The algorithm helps to control spam to a great extent as it allows user to report to Google, if they experience unwanted and unrelated results on the search engine.

 Read Also: 

1. Algorithm - Mathematics of SEO
2. Algorithm - Programming (Fundamentals)
3. Page Rank, HITS and SALSA - Algorithms
4. Voice Search on Google Search,  
5. Learn On Page Optimization,
6.  Custom Search Engine, 
7. White Hat and Black Hat Techniques

SEO : Learn On-Page Optimization

Search Engines

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is about improving the visibility of your website through the organic or algorithmic search results. A website can receive sizable number of targeted visitors from search engines, if that website appears more frequently in the search results. You may be surprised to see that there are countless search engines available on W3, but, the major search engines are Google, Yahoo and Ask. Though Google is the most sought after search engine, but their relevance is sometimes region specific.  These search engines are also known as universal search engines because they can search images, videos, academic information, industry specific vertical search, news and local search, etc. 

SEO can targets all kinds of targeted keywords searched on any search engine.

Use Descriptive Meta Tags




One or two short paragraphs or a sentence can be used as descriptive Meta tags. Search Engines may use Meta tags as snippet for your web pages.

Search engines may pick your web page, if they observe that the content in your meta tag is more relevant to the query. However, search engine upgrade your website in search results, if your website is registered with Open Directory Project (ODP) and its Meta Tag description are also submitted in ODP.

1) Meta Tag content should be unique on each web page.
2) Meta tags should describe and inform about the relevant web page.
3) Meta tags should be written primarily for the targeted audience.

An example of Meta Tag is given below:

<meta name="Description" content="SEO Basics: learn On-Page Optimization">


URL Normalization
Simple and informative Uniform Resource Locator (URL) help in understanding the content of the website keep it better organized and help search engines in better crawling of the documents. URL should be easy to memorize. e.g. URL of this website

Examples of URLs: www.crispwriters.com/articles/

www.crispwriters.com/blog/

www.crispwriters.com/content/

Navigation of the Website

For better navigation, you should choose your homepage as the root page of your website connected to all other webpages. The visitors can found links to navigate these. A website should be easier to navigate for the targeted audience.

Navigation helps to locate and to understand a website to search engines. We should use sitemaps as RSS feed to provide navigation chart for the search engines. Web Master of search engines generally ask for RSS feed etc. to navigate and to crawl relatively better. Search engine uses 'web crawlers' for crawling and indexing of the webpages on search engines. However, website owners can use robot.txt files of Webmasters to avoid crawling and indexing of any website.

   

Title Tags 

Website is a book which contains web pages (informative) to engage and convert users into prospective clients. Title tags are topics of those web pages to help search engines to locate the exact website for related search.We should maintain separate and unique title tags for each web page. Title tag create rich snippet in the search engine results. 

We should place title tags within <head> of html document.

<html>

<head>

<title>SEO: learn on-page optimization. </title>

<body> the content about SEO basics</body>

</html>

• The content of title tag should invariably be accurately described.
• Title Tags should be brief but descriptive.
• The content of title tag should invariably be accurately described.
• Generic titles: Brand your products.

While choosing content for titles, we should avoid:-

• Choosing a title that has no relation to the content on the page.
• Using a single title tag across at all of your website's pages
• Using extremely lengthy titles, which are unhelpful to users
• Stuffing unneeded keywords in your title tags.
• Avoid disallowing robot.txt on your website

Algorithm

There are many webpages available on internet to provide typical information on a related query. It is a computer processes and formula to answer the related queries. There are hundreds of signals and clues from where search engine make a guess of what you really want.  The page rank of a website, freshness of content about related information on the web pages and region are the main points that algorithm consider for better indexing of a website. 

Attract Customers

The prime objective of SEO is to attract clients towards your products. The content of the website determine, how longer you can engage your users. Higher the engagement of a user gives higher the chances of conversion of a user into a client.

Read Also: 

1. Voice Search,  
2. Autocomplete, 
3. Custom Search Engine
4. White Hat or Black Hat SEO Techniques