Black Hat SEO

Black Hat SEO—also known as “unethical SEO”—is a deceptive search engine optimization strategy that deliberately ignores search engines guidelines in order to manipulate rankings rather than provide a quality user experience.

To achieve their goals, hackers use practices such as link buying, invisible text, keyword stuffing, and spamming.

The term originates from American westerns, in which the villain often wore a black hat to distinguish him from the hero, who wore a white hat.