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Article marketing: black/gray/white hat?

by hrolf555
10 replies
  • SEO
    • |
I have several keywords that I want to build sites around. I'm just REALLY paranoid about getting sand boxed. Add in the fact that I want to be able to point to, eventually, these sites as proof points that I know SEO; I want to keep everything above board. So my question to the community:

* Is article marketing considered blackhat, grayhat or whitehat SEO?

I define article marketing:

1. Writing an article(s) that is posted to my site.
2. Spin the same article(s) and post them to a 2.0 site(wordpress, etc...) with BL(s) to the main site for my keyword(s)
3. Spin the first article(s) again and again and post them to article sites, squidoo, etc... with their backlinks pointed towards the 2.0 site on point 2.

I'm really not certain where this lands on the SEO gradient.

Any thoughts or guidance?

Thanks!
#article #black or gray or white #hat #marketing
  • Profile picture of the author thedude916
    Article marketing is a simple and easy way to get some decent backlinks. You won't get sandboxed.

    Make sure your spins are quality though, or else big G might not give you credit for your links.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Hi hrolf555,

      You ask a good question, however did not provide enough detail to determine whether your methods are black or white.

      Article marketing, in and of itself, is not black hat, however some black hat methods incorporate article marketing as the delivery system for their black hat techniques. Syndicating content is not black hat, but could be used within a black hat strategy.

      Using spinning software is certainly not black hat, however many black hat techniques involve spinning software and spinning syntax.

      None of the things you mention point specifically to black hat methods yet they each and all could be used in unethical ways, and thus considered black hat. For example, the very techniques you listed could be used to build bridge pages or doorway pages which are an explicit violation of Google's webmaster guidelines.

      We would need more specific detail about how you are implementing your techniques to place a label of black or white.
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  • Profile picture of the author auradev
    As long as the content reads well and makes sense when you read it, you should be good. The crap that some people are putting out that is nonsense garbage is what will get you in trouble.
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  • Profile picture of the author hrolf555
    * thedude916 thanks!
    * auradev Thanks for the input!

    * dburk those are some really good questions. I'll try and take them one at a time.

    I won't be spinning syntax. I'll be spinning the verbiage so it will look like: I like black{white|brown|gray|} dogs{cats|rats}. I won't be spinning the !,.? or whole sentence spinning. I'll make certain it all looks natural and makes sense.

    Forget doorway or bridge pages. Everything will link back to the visible content listed on the sitemap/navigation bars. I work with a small brick & mortar business right now. We were interviewing SEOs and one tried to sell us on doing doorway pages and putting unnatural phrases in the copy. These pages weren't linked up anywhere. I just refuse to do that.

    Does that help give you an idea as to my techniques. Like I said, I want to keep it strictly white hat.
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Originally Posted by hrolf555 View Post

      * thedude916 thanks!
      * auradev Thanks for the input!

      * dburk those are some really good questions. I'll try and take them one at a time.

      I won't be spinning syntax. I'll be spinning the verbiage so it will look like: I like black{white|brown|gray|} dogs{cats|rats}. I won't be spinning the !,.? or whole sentence spinning. I'll make certain it all looks natural and makes sense.

      Forget doorway or bridge pages. Everything will link back to the visible content listed on the sitemap/navigation bars. I work with a small brick & mortar business right now. We were interviewing SEOs and one tried to sell us on doing doorway pages and putting unnatural phrases in the copy. These pages weren't linked up anywhere. I just refuse to do that.

      Does that help give you an idea as to my techniques. Like I said, I want to keep it strictly white hat.
      Hi hrolf555,

      In my opinion, based on my own experience, spinning at the sentence, and or paragraph level is far more effective than just spinning synonyms. It seems that Google in particular is able to detect most spun content when it is limited to just synonyms. You need to do at least some phrase spinning and do it on nearly every sentence to get more than a few past the duplicate content filter.

      Google has made great strides in this area during the past 18 months and it seems to be an area they are currently focused on improving even more.

      Nothing you mentioned would be considered black hat in my opinion. Again, it really boils down to the exact details of how you are implementing this content. As long as your articles have value within the article, without having to visit another page, then you should be fine. But if your articles are just a 500 words of ad copy, or you have to click through to another page to find anything of value for the typical user, then your over the line.
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  • Profile picture of the author markowe
    Well, each to their own. Spinning is "black hat" to me, if we really must use such terms, as it fills the Internet with junk. Some people claim that they spin their content so well that it cannot be distinguished from a hand-written unique article. I don't believe them until I see it. On the other hand, nobody really reads most article directories anyway, they are just search engine fodder, so maybe it doesn't matter...

    For a legit bricks-and-mortar business I would prefer not to have that kind of content linking back directly to my site though... I would rather build quality properties in the first tier - a good Powerpoint on Slideshare, a decent video on Youtube, a short, informative PDF on Scribd - and then MAYBE backlink THOSE with the lower quality methods. I don't want to bring my offline business into disrepute really. For a 5-page niche site, though, obviously I am less discerning...
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    • Profile picture of the author dburk
      Originally Posted by markowe View Post

      Well, each to their own. Spinning is "black hat" to me, if we really must use such terms, as it fills the Internet with junk. Some people claim that they spin their content so well that it cannot be distinguished from a hand-written unique article. I don't believe them until I see it. On the other hand, nobody really reads most article directories anyway, they are just search engine fodder, so maybe it doesn't matter...

      For a legit bricks-and-mortar business I would prefer not to have that kind of content linking back directly to my site though... I would rather build quality properties in the first tier - a good Powerpoint on Slideshare, a decent video on Youtube, a short, informative PDF on Scribd - and then MAYBE backlink THOSE with the lower quality methods. I don't want to bring my offline business into disrepute really. For a 5-page niche site, though, obviously I am less discerning...
      Hi markowe,

      Perhaps spinning the way you do it is black hat , but how in blazes are you rationalizing content, as you put it, "cannot be distinguished from a hand-written unique article" as black hat?

      Come on, when you think about it, all content is made up of words and phrases that have been used and reused over and over. Essentially all "hand-written" content is just manually spun words and phrases. And if you used a computer or typewriter, it is not even truly hand-written any more, is it? Your not inferring that anything written on a word processor is black hat, are you?

      I share your sentiment on crappy content, but you don't need a tool to create crappy content, do you? And if the best written content is created with a tool, how does that make it black hat?

      My issue with your assertion is centered on the extreme over-generalization of the term "spinning". Since all readable content is made up of words spun together by the author, that puts every article that was ever written as black hat, based on your own reasoning. Or you are implying anything not written with pen and paper, anything written on a word processor or any other type of automation is black hat?

      Your reasoning seems to totally ignore the quality of the output as a basis for judgement.
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      • Profile picture of the author markowe
        Originally Posted by dburk View Post

        Hi markowe,

        Perhaps spinning the way you do it is black hat , but how in blazes are you rationalizing content, as you put it, "cannot be distinguished from a hand-written unique article" as black hat?

        Come on, when you think about it, all content is made up of words and phrases that have been used and reused over and over. Essentially all "hand-written" content is just manually spun words and phrases. And if you used a computer or typewriter, it is not even truly hand-written any more, is it? Your not inferring that anything written on a word processor is black hat, are you?

        I share your sentiment on crappy content, but you don't need a tool to create crappy content, do you? And if the best written content is created with a tool, how does that make it black hat?

        My issue with your assertion is centered on the extreme over-generalization of the term "spinning". Since all readable content is made up of words spun together by the author, that puts every article that was ever written as black hat, based on your own reasoning. Or you are implying anything not written with pen and paper, anything written on a word processor or any other type of automation is black hat?

        Your reasoning seems to totally ignore the quality of the output as a basis for judgement.

        Actually the quality of the output is ALL I have to go on as my basis for judgment! And the quality of 'spun' articles that I encounter every day is very much lacking in the vast majority of cases (OK, so maybe I am not spotting the stuff that is well done, because it's so darn good). It is precisely the idea that even an author writing a unique, standalone article is effectively 'spinning' the English language that I take issue with. I do not believe there IS an infinity of ways that the same thought can be expressed - in fact a writer carefully crafting a literary work of art may well conclude, when he is finally happy with his labours - that the way he has written it is in fact the ONLY way.

        Putting spinning, whether {manual|done by hand} or heaven forbid, automatically, on the same level as a good author writing a quality unique article I find a strange comparison, especially since most articles written for the purpose of spinning are crap to begin with! ("If you are looking for good baby blankets then you need to choose your baby blanket carefully" etc. etc.)

        Don't get me wrong, I do a LITTLE spinning sometimes, usually just the resource box, but there is always a trade-off. Either it will be readable but not particularly unique (I prefer this option), unique but not particularly readable, OR, possibly, it will be both, but will take an inordinate and impractical amount of time to do, and I just don't see many SEOs sitting down and approaching the spinning of an article like the next work of William Shakespeare.
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        • Profile picture of the author dburk
          Originally Posted by markowe View Post

          Actually the quality of the output is ALL I have to go on as my basis for judgment! And the quality of 'spun' articles that I encounter every day is very much lacking in the vast majority of cases (OK, so maybe I am not spotting the stuff that is well done, because it's so darn good). It is precisely the idea that even an author writing a unique, standalone article is effectively 'spinning' the English language that I take issue with. I do not believe there IS an infinity of ways that the same thought can be expressed - in fact a writer carefully crafting a literary work of art may well conclude, when he is finally happy with his labours - that the way he has written it is in fact the ONLY way.
          Alas, such limited imagination!

          I agree, some thoughts are best expressed in the simplest ways, however there does seem to be an almost unlimited number of ways to light the soul afire with magnificently beautiful thoughts, expressed with differing view points and styles, using metaphors, analogies and such.

          Spinning isn't just an article writing technique, it is the very essence of creativity. The the primary principle of creativity is the artful spinning of concepts. To be creative you must become a spinner. The more you reject spinning the less creative you become.

          Originally Posted by markowe View Post

          Putting spinning, whether {manual|done by hand} or heaven forbid, automatically, on the same level as a good author writing a quality unique article I find a strange comparison, especially since most articles written for the purpose of spinning are crap to begin with! ("If you are looking for good baby blankets then you need to choose your baby blanket carefully" etc. etc.)

          Don't get me wrong, I do a LITTLE spinning sometimes, usually just the resource box, but there is always a trade-off. Either it will be readable but not particularly unique (I prefer this option), unique but not particularly readable, OR, possibly, it will be both, but will take an inordinate and impractical amount of time to do, and I just don't see many SEOs sitting down and approaching the spinning of an article like the next work of William Shakespeare.
          LOL, I don't see an SEO approaching any article like it is the the next work of Shakespeare. However, it would be interesting to see who could do the best job of spinning Shakespeare's work, based on output of course.

          I hope you do realize that there are many SEO's that do take the time to produce decent content. In fact, many are of the school of thought that "content is king". It's not the tools, that make the difference, good or bad, it is how the tool, or technique, is used that makes all the difference.
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  • Profile picture of the author hrolf555
    Thanks for everyone's input. I've found it enlightening so far.
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