What is SEO ???

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the process of improving the visibility of a particular website or a web page in a search engine's free, organic, editorial or natural search results.

Various techniques are used for search engine optimization, or SEO. One way to define these techniques is with Hat terminology: one is White Hat, second is Black Hat and the last is Gray Hat.

Let’s see them one by one.

About White Hat:

To improve a Web page's position in a SERP (search engine result page), you have to know how search engines work. Search engines categorize Web pages based on keywords -- important terms that are relevant to the content of the page.

White hat SEO utilizes techniques and methods to improve the search engine rankings of a website which don't run afoul of search engine (e.g. Google, Bing, and Yahoo) guidelines.

Some white hat SEO techniques include: high quality content development, website HTML optimization and restructuring, link acquisition campaigns supported by high quality content and manual research.

Example of White Hat techniques

Content

• Researching relevant keywords, both short tail and long tail keywords
• Including keywords naturally in page titles, headings, link anchor text, other page content, and alt tags
• Studying analytics reports and fine-tuning the content to further optimize it for targeted keywords and to help direct traffic to relevant pages
• Adding fresh content regularly

Coding

• Using correct HTML markup (for example, heading tags) so that search engines can identify headings and other types of content correctly
• Making sure that all the code is valid (or at least won't stop search engine bots)
• Creating site maps so that every page is linked to and search engine bots can crawl every page
• Using CSS to separate content from markup and thus increase keyword density by having less markup to crawl

Linking

• Creating quality content that other people will want to link to
• Asking to have directories and other relevant websites link to the site
• Optimizing pages for social media in the hopes of attracting social media links
• Arranging for link exchanges with relevant sites (considered by some to be gray hat SEO)

About Black Hat:

Some people seem to believe that on the Web, the ends justify the means. There are lots of ways webmasters can try to trick search engines into listing their Web pages high in SERPs, though such a victory doesn't usually last very long.

Black Hat SEO exploits weaknesses in the search engine algorithms to obtain high rankings for a website. Such techniques and methods are in direct conflict with search engine guidelines.

Some black hat SEO techniques include: link spam, keyword stuffing, cloaking, hidden text, and hidden links.

Example of Black Hat techniques

Content

• Keyword stuffing
• Overusing keywords in comment tags, alt tags, and meta tags
• Placing keywords in hidden text (hidden from people, that is) by making their font color the same color as the page background
• Overusing keywords in visible text, to the point where their repetition is apparent to readers

Deceptive content

• Doorway or gateway pages: pages that are stuffed with keywords but that only search engines see because people are redirected to the page with the real content
• Cloaking: displaying different content to search engines than to people by identifying visitors via IP or via other methods

Linking

• Link farms: pages with unrelated links solely for the purpose of creating more links to target pages
• Spamming forums, blogs, and other social media sites with links (search engines might not penalize sites for this, but it's considered unethical)

About Gray Hat:

The work of most search engine optimization companies, however, operates in a gray area, aptly named Gray Hat search engine optimization. Whether by design or pressure from clients to deliver results, many search engine optimization companies try to deliver solutions and results for customers by utilizing techniques which don't quite cross the line into black hat SEO, but are well outside of what would be considered white hat search engine optimization.

Gray hat search engine optimization is recognizable by 'affordable' pricing, since the search engine optimization company has to reduce cost by resorting to questionable techniques in order to deliver results, instead of highly involved campaign activities.

Example of Gray Hat techniques.

Content

• Having a keyword density that's high enough to sound unnatural but not at the level of black hat keyword stuffing
• Publishing duplicate content at different sites

Links

• Link building where relevance is less important
• Planned three-way linking
• Using paid links

Quick SEO Advice

Search engine optimization is not any kind of magic, and cannot perform wonders. Good SEO takes a lot of hard work and planning to produce useful and long-lasting results. If the results you are being promised are too good to be true, they always are.

Always remember that content is king.