Two plus two equals four! Grey hat alive and well

[leatherhidestore]

Rand is unquestionably much smarter than I however his pronouncements concerning the link building don't seem to hold true for some sectors of the online marketplace.  We sell upholstery leather and one of our main competitor runs the table with the most important search terms and has a total garbage backlink profile.  I don't know if there is some onsite magic they are working but they don't use brand name anchor text, links are not relevant to their products and most of their links are from high DA blogs, craps posts to .edu forums and no follow.

The point is, maybe black hat is out but a lot of what I see being rewarded out there suggests grey hat is alive and well.

[leatherhidestore]

Hi,

Yes, perhaps I am being overly critical of Rand's remarks.  However, the site I am referring to is a legitimate mid size company.  I do not know if they simply entrusted their seo efforts to someone who has promised quick rewards at a budget price?  However, they have been camped out at all the top spots for 4-6 months now. Perhaps Google's zoo will one day catch up with them (and their ilk) but it is cold comfort to a small family business owner like myself whose finances don't guarantee that we will be around for long haul white hat efforts pay off.  Maybe the message should be a little more nuanced....a little grey is okay but just don't over do it.

[chris.kent]

Additionally, I don't think they are getting the most benefit out of their website. Yes they may rank well in the serps and get traffic from Google. However, a good back link profile does more than help you rank. A good back link profile delivers traffic as well as link juice. If your competitors had a better back link profile there's a pretty good chance their traffic would convert better.

[Klarke]

I don't think Rand has ever said that going greyhat or blackhat doesn't work, or isn't alive.   The real question is ..for how long ?  Those doing Greyhat/Blackhat usually understand the risks and are content to reap the short-term rewards for as long as they can.  When they lose, they are start over OR they switch to the next thing that works.  There will always be that "next thing" that works for now.

What I think Rand endorses ..is a strategy where you're not chasing the algo or trying to artificially create popularity.  It takes longer, is harder ..but almost always is better way to go.