Black Hat SEO Techniques to Avoid

You can’t beat the algorithm.

Every time search engines like Google refine their algorithms, they sweep away pages that tried to cheat the system. Sustainable strategies that follow Webmaster Quality Guidelines put your law firm site on the path to those coveted first-page and first-result search engine slots. Meanwhile, black hat SEO techniques doom your website into oblivion sooner or later, probably sooner. So what are these techniques that can trip up your business’s visibility?

What is Black Hat SEO?

Black hat SEO is a set of tactics that artificially inflate a website’s ranking in a search engine. These tactics violate the guidelines and terms of service of all major search engines, including Google.

Why Should I Avoid Black Hat SEO?

These techniques are unethical and ineffective. Law firm websites may jump up the rankings at first, but the algorithms are constantly being refined. When black hat techniques are detected, sites are penalized with a drop in rankings. You’ll end up with much less visibility than your site started with.

Secondly, many of these techniques impact user experience. Your site will be shown to uninterested people who will keep scrolling. Existing clients may be irritated by an unprofessional-looking site with pages of keyword-stuffed gibberish. Does higher visibility really matter if you lose your client base?

Techniques to Avoid

Not all black hat techniques are obviously unethical. They can trip up people new to SEO optimization who are still working out their attorney SEO marketing strategy. Avoid these tactics or risk the algorithm turning on your site.

• Keyword Stuffing: Excessively repeating keywords, hiding them in the margins or wedging them into paragraphs where they don’t belong.
• Automatic Duplicate Content: Creating multiple pages with the same content in each one.
• Hidden Text: Another form of keyword stuffing, this time hiding them by changing their color, font size, or placement.
• Gateway pages: Multiple pages tailored to specific search strings, all funneling users to one central page.
• Cloaking: Showing different content or URLs depending on if it’s a search engine bot or a real human making the inquiry.
• Buying-Link Schemes: Paying another site, often with higher visibility, to link to your web page.
• Link Farms: Hiring a group of websites to all hyperlink to your site for a fee. These farms contain no legitimate content, only paid links out.
• Misusing Structured Data: Manipulating search engine bots with tactics like fake 5 star reviews, giving the bot a deceptive idea of what content’s on a page.
• Sneaky Redirects: Redirecting pages from an old, indexed version of the site to a different URL with different content.
• Negative SEO: Dragging down your competition’s rankings by making it look as if they use black hat SEO techniques.

What Now?

You can’t beat the algorithm, so join forces with it. Don’t rely on black hat techniques, the modern version of a shady get-rich-quick scheme. Partner with experts who know the ins and outs of law firm SEO services. Here at Law Firm Sites, we use only sustainable and ethical strategies that work with, not against, the search engine. Contact us today to learn how our experienced team can raise your lawyer SEO visibility and keep it high.