White
hat and black hat, are terms often used to describe the aggressiveness of
internet marketers or website developers, especially regarding practices used
to get search engines to give a high ranking to websites (SEO). But what do the
terms mean? It depends on who you ask. There are at least three ways to
understand white hat vs. black hat practices.
v White hat is considered
entirely ethical, while black hat is considered unethical. Gray hat, then,
would be something in-between: ethical to some, but perhaps not to others.
v A white hat marketer is not
at all aggressive in promoting a product, service, or website and chooses to
let traffic develop naturally. (In reality, there are probably no white hat
marketers if you look at it this way.) A black hat marketer, then, is extremely
aggressive in promoting a product or website. At this end of the spectrum is
the danger of unethical practices. (There are a large number of these out
there.)
v White hat practices are just
shrewd methods of working within the current system, doing anything that is
acceptable to search engines. Black hat marketing, then, would mean using
tactics that flout the search engine rules while trying to avoid getting
caught.
