White hat techniques
- Researching what people search for, and creating content that answers it well
- Clear titles, headings and internal links
- A fast, secure, mobile-friendly site that search engines can crawl and index
- Structured data that describes the content accurately
- Earning links and mentions through useful content, partnerships and PR
- Showing real expertise: named authors, sources and first-hand experience
White hat vs black hat vs gray hat
Black hat SEO breaks search engines’ spam policies to manipulate rankings, for example with bought links or mass-produced content. “Gray hat” is a label for tactics in between, such as guest posting mainly for links; as policies tighten, they often end up treated as spam. White hat SEO avoids that risk by focusing on what helps the searcher.
Google’s guidelines
Google Search Essentials sets out the technical requirements, the spam policies and the key best practices. Google’s guidance on creating helpful, reliable, people-first content is the best summary of what white hat SEO aims for.