We all want our websites to have good SERP rankings, and with the help of SEO, we’re able to utilize techniques that’ll help us achieve that. However, there’s this thing called SEO cloaking  that other websites take advantage of.

What is SEO cloaking? It’s a devious, unethical method, also known as a “black hat technique” which isn’t recommended by tons of certified SEO specialists. Have you heard of this method before? Most search engines are actually against SEO cloaking which doesn’t make it a viable option to improve a website’s ranking.

Regular website visitors don’t exactly notice this method as it’s done in ways not visible to the untrained eye. However, if you want your websites to rank higher, you can’t really cheat the system by doing this technique.

If you’re unfamiliar with SEO cloaking and worry if you’re unintentionally doing it, then keep reading ahead as we’ll show you what it actually means and the steps on preventing this from happening.

What is SEO Cloaking?

SEO cloaking is a type of technique used on certain sites by presenting a different URL to visitors and another one to search crawlers. Websites often do this technique to boost their ranking on the page results for certain keywords.

When a user enters a website that uses the cloaking method, its server programs a completely different version of the page for them to navigate in whereas displaying another kind to search engines.

The 5 Common Types of SEO Cloaking

There is more than one technique when it comes to SEO cloaking. It’s important to be aware of every single one in order to avoid getting penalized and give the users the best website experience.

IP Cloaking

This is when the website delivers different content based on the IP address. It taps into the technique of accessing the IP database and redirecting the user to the preferred page through a page that has a high volume of traffic and a good SERP ranking.

JavaScript Replacements

Browsers give you the option to have JavaScript enabled or not, so cloaking happens when the website offers two different pages–one for users who have JavaScript enabled and another for those who have it disabled.

Image Gallery Websites

Have you ever come across websites that have more images than text? Sites that display a lot of images compared to the actual content are another example of SEO cloaking. This is because the images are not scanned by search engine crawlers, whether the photo is relevant or not. This results in the websites being cloaked with content and keywords that’ll help elevate their ranking.

Hidden Text

This may be the simplest form of SEO cloaking as it’s mainly just adding more text and changing the font color similar to the website background to hide it in plain sight.

Text to HTML Trick

This method is utilized when there’s not enough content on the webpage. Instead of having a balanced text to HTML ratio, websites choose to increase the HTML ratio without increasing the content.

Why SEO Cloaking Isn’t Exactly a Good Thing

Cloaking in SEO isn’t a good thing because it’s a violation of Google’s webmaster guidelines because of the provision of false results to the users, ultimately giving them a low satisfactory experience–giving them different outcomes from what they’re expecting. 

Websites that utilize SEO cloaking get penalized for it and also get strikes from the SERPs. Regardless of the intention behind cloaking, it is seen as a form of deception that can leave your website with a bad impression, possibly even removing it.

How to Detect SEO Cloaking

Detecting SEO cloaking isn’t for beginners as more and more people partake in this practice, finding more ways to make it too obscure to notice. While there are websites and tools that can do the work for you so that it’s more convenient, it’s also helpful if you have an idea of how to detect it without the need for third-party programs.

How to Avoid SEO Cloaking

When developing a website, you’ll want to avoid SEO cloaking techniques as much as possible. The algorithm that search engines are not fans of SEO cloaking, regardless of the intent. Therefore, you’d want to keep away from the techniques as much as you can, if you want to rank your website in an ethical way. Here are simple and favorable alternatives to SEO cloaking.

Geolocation

Websites can be accessed by anyone from around the globe, which is why you want to focus on the location you’re targeting. Through geolocation, it allows you to develop multiple creations of the same page that adhere to the user’s current location. Be sure to follow the correct procedure otherwise, Google may still flag the site for SEO cloaking.

Flexible Sampling

Using flexible sampling prevents your website from being flagged for SEO cloaking. This occurs when users are able to access the initial content page without having to subscribe to the host site.

Rewriting URLs

Revamping your website’s URL to include keywords enhances the SEO readability of the site without making any huge alterations.

Conclusion

There are many, far better ways to obtain a high SERP ranking for your website without the need for SEO cloaking. You almost never need to cloak, if there’s an issue happening within your site then focus on solving that first in order to improve the visitor’s experience. It’s more effective and exerts less effort! 

The next time you ever think about unethically boosting your website’s ranking, take a moment to reflect if it’s really that worth it. Manipulating search engines can only take you so far before you get caught.

We hope you’re able to comprehend what SEO cloaking is and why it’s frowned upon. If you want to optimize your website without using black hat SEO techniques, reach out to us instead!