A Guide to Gray Hat SEO To Boost Website Traffic

The world of search engine optimization (SEO) is getting more complex by the day, and that requires webmasters to pay close attention to the changes made to search engines. Adaptation is key if they want their sites to perform at the highest level in today’s ever-growing market.

If you already are acquainted with SEO, you probably know that the techniques and tactics used to improve traffic are divided into three categories: White Hat SEO, Black Hat SEO, and Grey Hat SEO.

White Hat SEO refers to the use of legal and ethical techniques and strategies to raise traffic and profit. It’s any SEO technique that follows the rules set by search engines.

Black Hat SEO, on the other hand, pertains to tactics and strategies that violate the terms of service set by a search engine, and using these is considered illegal and unethical, and can get your websites de-indexed by search engines.

But then there’s Gray Hat SEO techniques and strategies, which is what we’ll be discussing today. We’ll explain what Gray Hat SEO is and how you can use it to improve traffic.

What Is Gray Hat SEO?

The easiest way to explain what Gray Hat SEO stands for is to compare it to the same term that is used in law. When talking about something being in the “gray area” legally, this usually means that something is legal, but it’s considered unethical.

The same applies to Gray Hat SEO.

It alludes to the use of techniques that don’t violate terms set by a search engine but are generally frowned upon. These techniques also carry the potential to one day be made illegal and are not 100% safe. While not illegal, using Gray Hat SEO techniques come with a small risk of your websites getting red-carded.

There are a lot of myths and falsehoods regarding Gray Hat SEO methods, and many people confuse gray hat techniques with black hat, and vice versa. This is because gray hat techniques require a lot of creativity and work in order to get right. Here, we’ll list the basic techniques that you can use if you want to give this SEO method a shot.

Periodical Site Redesign

Designing a website is not an easy task, and it can consume a lot of time and money, so why in the world should you try to redesign it? Because it can push your site up the ranks.

When you redesign your site, you change the code, and search engines will consider this as fresh content. No need to change the whole site though, adding a search bar or tweaking the navigation or other elements slightly will do the trick.

Take Advantage Of Social Media Platforms

Social media is becoming more and more important, and many sites have risen to stardom (fake news sites, for example) thanks to these platforms. Adding some dummy sites on Facebook or Twitter to push out your content can do wonders. Liked, shared, and retweeted content ranks higher, so you can try and go slow or, like some, simply buy yourself some likes and followers and crank up those traffic numbers.

Trading Links

Automatic link exchange is a famous black hat technique, but doing it manually is a gray hat one.

When doing your research in your niche, you will find the big players, and you can learn a lot about how to approach building your sites, but you can also use these big players to pump up your traffic as well. How? By simply asking them to include some of your links in their content and, in return, you add some of theirs in yours. Linking to authority websites is a good technique that can put you on the map in a short amount of time.

Get Busy With PBNs

Creating Private Blog Networks is one of the most famous gray hat techniques used to increase traffic. You can create multiple sites with content that falls under the same niche as your main site, and it contains links to it.

One word of caution, however: be extra careful with these, as there is a fine line between using your PBN as a black hat or gray hat. You need to make sure all your sites don’t leave a footprint that can lead to search engines realizing that you’re behind it and risk getting your site de-indexed.

Spend some money on a PBN hosting service that uses CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) like LaunchCDN so that your network is safe and secure.

Final Words

SEO rules are not easy to follow, and dwelling in the gray area is not as bad or as risky as some like to claim. And since white hat techniques require a lot of time and money before you get a good return on your investment, these basic gray hat techniques can help you get your sites rolling.

But keep in mind that getting it right the first time is the key to a long and sustainable online business. Too many mistakes and your site will end up on the graveyard of de-indexed mavericks. So, play it smart!

Author Bio:

[thrive_testimonial name=”” company=”” image=”https://dsim.in/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Lily-Vallette.jpg”]Lily Vallette is an entrepreneur who heavily relies on the internet for her marketing and customer engagement strategies. As a neophyte in the business arena, Lily regularly signs up for online classes. Lily believes that the internet can be a powerful tool for her business to succeed. During her leisure, Lily writes articles on business and technology.[/thrive_testimonial]