In the previous post, we took a look at gray hat SEO techniques in general. This time, let us take a closer look at these practices and be a bit more specific.
Cloaking
Cloaking is the practice wherein the web site owner provides information to the search engines which is different from what the site actually contains. Obviously, this is a practice that reeks of deception. However, there are certain cases when this practice can be deemed acceptable. For example, if the web site has content that is available only to members then it could be acceptable. Then again, this practice can very well be abused. That is the main reason cloaking is considered gray hat SEO.
Paid links
We all know how important links are for SEO. That is why it is quite understandable that the practice of buying links can become questionable. Purchasing links for advertising purposes is fine. However, if you purchase links solely because you want in link-popularity, then it could be considered shady. In fact, the suggestion is that you work on links to increase your traffic and just consider the increase in link-popularity as icing on top of the cake.
Duplicate content
Duplicate content can be considered legitimate in certain cases but rarely. For example, indexing and abstracting web sites may have duplicate content. In most cases, though, duplicate content is considered unacceptable.
Bottom line: when in doubt, be on the safe side.
3 Comments to "Tactics Used in Gray Hat SEO"
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Directories that charge a fee to get your link listed is this considered paying for a link. That is technically what you are doing. Can you be more specific about what paying for a link actually is. Thanks
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Paying to be listed on a legit link directory (not a link farm) I don’t believe is dubious