I Have An SEO Question

Wait! Before you click that "post thread" button, read this thread first.

Here on Black Hat World, we tend to get a lot of repetitive threads where new members ask the same questions over and over again. In order to reduce the number of those threads on the forum (because let's face it, we're never getting rid of them), I've created this thread to answer some of those common questions we receive.

Now, I know you don't have all day to read long-winded responses, so I promise I'll keep the answers short and sweet.

The 20 Most Common SEO Questions

Index

What Is SEO?

What Is Technical SEO?

What's The Difference Between Black Hat SEO & White Hat SEO?

Where To Buy Links?

How To Build Links?

How To Do SEO?

What Are Web 2.0s?

What Is DA, PA, TF, CF, Etc?

Are Meta Tags Still Used?

What Is On-Page SEO?

What Is Off-Page SEO?

What Is Schema?

What Does It Mean To Be Deindexed?

What Are Dancing Rankings?

What Is Local SEO?

When Should I Start Doing SEO?

Where To Sell SEO Services?

What Are No-Follow Links?

What Are Do-Follow Links?

What Is A PBN?

1. What Is SEO?

SEO, which stands are search engine optimisation, is the process of optimising a website to appear higher in search engines.

2. What Is Technical SEO?

Technical SEO is an aspect of SEO that involves optimising the technical elements of a website for search engine spiders to better crawl and index your website.

3. What's The Difference Between Black Hat SEO & White Hat SEO?

White hat SEO is the process of strictly adhering to the Google Webmaster Guidelines to optimise a website. https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769?hl=en

Black hat SEO is the process of using tactics advised against in the Google Webmaster Guidelines (e.g., buying backlinks) to optimise a website.

4. Where To Buy Links?

We've got a whole marketplace full of link building services: https://www.blackhatworld.com/forums/seo-link-building.43/

5. How To Build Links?

There are many guides on the forum that cover this topic. Here are a couple of them:

https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/how-to-get-backlinks-from-google-cloud.1027657/

https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/how-to-rank-a-quick-guide-for-newbies.781273/

6. How To Do SEO?

Again, there are many guides here which cover this topic. A couple of them have been linked to below.

https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/3-years-on-bhw-the-only-seo-guide-thats-worth-your-time.873651/

https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/basic-seo-practices-for-newbies.198080/

7. What Are Web 2.0s?

Web 2.0s are sites that allow users to publish content (e.g., Tumblr, Weebly, Wordpress.com, etc). People use these sites to post articles before linking back to their main websites.

8. What Is DA, PA, TF, CF, Etc?

These can all be summarised as "3rd party metrics". That is to say, they're metrics that try to gauge a site's "value" (usually for backlinking purposes), but they aren't affiliate with Google.

The following links should answer any remaining questions you have about these metrics.

https://moz.com/learn/seo/domain-authority

https://moz.com/learn/seo/page-authority

https://majestic.com/support/glossary

9. Are Meta Tags Still Used?

Yes! Meta tags such as the meta description, no-follow, and no-index tags are still used.

For more information on meta tags, visit this link: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/79812?hl=en

10. What Is On-Page SEO?

On-page SEO refers to the process of optimising the elements of your website. At a basic level, this means targeting a keyword, adding outbound links, using H tags, creating an internal link structure, etc.

11. What Is Off-Page SEO?

Off-page SEO is the process of optimising the "off-page" parts of SEO, such as by building backlinks or in the case of local SEO, building citations.

12. What Is Schema Markup?

Schema Markup are tags you can add to your HTML code. More information can be found here: https://moz.com/learn/seo/schema-structured-data

13. What Does It Mean To Be Deindexed?

When your site gets deindexed, it no longer appears in the search engine you were previously ranking in.

14. What Are Dancing Rankings?

You'll see some members refer to their rankings as "dancing", meaning they're fluctuating between positions and even pages in the search engine results pages. You'll most often hear about dancing rankings after a Google algorithm update or a when a site is new. However, if you'd like to know more about it, read this article: https://moz.com/blog/ranking-fluctuations

15. What Is Local SEO?

Local SEO is a sub-category of SEO used by local businesses. The most notable difference between SEO and local SEO is the use of citations, which are name, address, and phone number listings in local business directories. These citations help local business rank higher in the search results for their region.

16. When Should I Start Doing SEO?

Ideally, as soon as you can. It's easier to do it when your site is still small rather than when your site has already become established.

17. Where To Sell SEO Services?

If you're a Jr. VIP or a marketplace seller, you can submit a marketplace thread here on Black Hat World.

More information regarding these membership levels can be found here: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/updated-bhw-member-levels.889577/

Jr. VIP Membership

If you have been a member of the forum for at least 60 days, and have made at least 100 posts, your $97 donation will promote you to a Jr. VIP membership, which allows you to access the hidden Jr. VIP forums and allows you to submit threads into the marketplace subject to marketplace terms and conditions.

Please note - it may take up to 7 days for your payment to be processed!

BHW Marketplace Seller

If you don't qualify for Jr. VIP but still want to submit a thread onto the marketplace then Marketplace seller is for you. Your payment of $499 permits you to submit a listing on the BHW marketplace subject to the standard marketplace terms and moderator approval. Please see marketplace for further details. Click here to learn more about the marketplace

18. What Are No-Follow Links?

No-follow links are links that have been appended with a "no-follow" meta tag. These links do not benefit your rankings in Google, although this doesn't mean they're worthless. Some people use them to diversify their backlink profiles and, in some case, solely for the traffic they might receive on the site their link is placed on.

19. What Are Do-Follow Links?

Do-follow links are links are just links that haven't been appended by a no-follow tag. These links transfer ranking power or "link juice" as some people refer to it.

20. What Is A PBN?

PBN stands for private blog network. A PBN, put simply, is a group of websites owned by an individual who uses them to build. Individuals who manage PBNs generally go to great lengths to make sure to cover up any footprints they might leave that suggests the sites are managed by them.

So there you have it. If your question hasn't been answered in this thread, then go on ahead and created that thread you were going to post.

BHW guide: https://www.blackhatworld.com/seo/read-this-before-you-ask-an-seo-question.1040158/