Cloaking is a black hat SEO method that hides one set of information or URLs from human visitors while showing another set to bots. As such, it’s an attempt to manipulate search engine results by hiding relevant information.
You’re breaking Google’s rules and getting hit with a Google Penalty when you cloak. There will be a more significant decrease in traffic, interaction, and conversions due to a Google Penalty.
Websites and web pages use cloaking to trick search engine spiders into believing the content is distinct from what it is, increasing the page’s relevance and thus the website’s or web page’s search engine rating. Here are a few instances of SEO cloaking:
Provide graphics/ Flash files to visitors while telling search engines that the website is HTML text. Keywords in the contents are displayed exclusively for the search engine spiders requesting the page and not for human visitors.
Search engine optimization (SEO) cloaking: What are a few typical cloaking methods?
Web admins often present diverse material to visitors and search engines to improve their search engine rankings. Let’s dive down to business and figure out how web admins typically index their sites. Cloaking might offer a temporary SEO boost, but it’s crucial to track SEO performance ethically using white-hat techniques to avoid penalties and ensure long-term success. A search engine indexes a website according to the page titles, meta tags, and many other SEO tactics.
Because of this, web admins use the cloaking approach to improve the effectiveness of the following foundational SEO strategies:
1. Hidden Text
This cloaking SEO strategy involves adding more keywords to pre-existing content and rewriting it so that the original meaning is hidden.
For SEO purposes, some websites hide keywords or other material from human readers by making it the same color as the page’s background, which the search engines’ crawlers can still detect.
2. Websites that were developed using Flash
Following SEO best practices, flash-based website development is discouraged. However, many websites are created entirely in Flash or that employ flash for specific functionality.
These webmasters don’t bother re-coding their sites in standard HTML; instead, they provide specialized, content-heavy pages to spiders. Online viewers are given access to the actual website, which includes flash pages. Cloaking in SEO is generally frowned upon, but understanding emerging ERP trends can help businesses strategically position themselves for organic growth.
3. Email cloaking
Cloaking an email includes changing the sender’s address and name so that only the receiver knows the actual sender.
4. The ratio of text to HTML
Having a high “TEXT to HTML ratio” is something search engines favor for website optimization. The website’s pages must have more textual content than HTML tags.
A lower text to HTML ratio is indicative of a website with minimal content or one that mostly features brief pieces. Web admins, in such cases, often hide content to conform to search engine optimization best practices rather than redeveloping the site from the ground up.
5. Websites With Picture Galleries
Websites that function primarily as online photo albums typically feature fewer words and more visuals. The photographs, even if relevant, are not indexed by search engines. Web admins hide their sites with material and keywords to boost their search engine rankings.
What Can You Do to Prevent Cloaking?
With the detrimental effects of cloaking on a website’s speed and authority, it’s essential to keep an eye on it and ensure you’re not violating any restrictions:
- Check the contrast on all your pages to ensure it’s at least 4.5 to 1.
- Check for JavaScript-hidden text on your site. It has to be completed by hand. Delete it and replace it with HTML if it is detected.
- Seek for CSS-hidden text to see whether your site has any. Screaming Frog is only one example of a gadget that can be used in such a situation.
Which Methods, Like Cloaking, Are Allowed?
Even though there has been some misunderstanding about their legality, Google now recognizes the following content distribution methods as acceptable and will not result in a penalty.
1. Geographical position
Google uses a technique called “geo-location” to show people tailored search results depending on where they are in the world. Take Google as an example; how it appears to a person in the United States will vary from how it appears in the United Kingdom.
2. Redirecting of URLs
SEO-friendly URLs are created by adjusting the URL’s visual look to include relevant keywords and make the URL easier to read.
3. Variable Sampling
Those who follow a link from Google to the specified page are given access to the site’s first page of material without having to sign up for a paid account. A wall is set up after the first page.
Does SEO Cloaking Make Sense?
Cloaking is an unapproved SEO tactic that goes against Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and is therefore regarded as a black hat method. If you’re wondering if cloaking would help your website rise in the search engine ranks, we say no. The search engine will spider your site several times from various IP addresses.
Complex and stringent algorithms are used to help uncover cloaking on your webpage. Cloaking SEO tactics, such as those outlined above, can have your website banned from Google and other search engines. Keep a closer eye on Content Writing Company if you want to optimize your website without using Black Hat SEO methods like cloaking. Cloaking in SEO offered a shortcut to ranking in the past, current trends of digital marketing emphasize ethical practices and user experience, making it a risky and outdated tactic.
Author’s Bio:
Harsh Dutta is the Founder of Content Writing Company – Italics. He is a seasoned entrepreneur, Digital Marketer, and Professional Copywriter with a heavy passion for digital marketing.
