Digital marketing specialists have probably heard of the term known as blackhat SEO. Blackhat SEO entails a website collection of strategies used to improve a website's or page's ranking in search engine rankings, but by means that violate the search engines' terms of service.

Essentially, blackhat SEO is a rapid route that may get your site to the top of search engine rankings quickly. However, these strategies are usually seen as manipulative, and search engines like Google can heavily penalize sites caught using them.

A popular blackhat technique is keyword stuffing. This entails loading a webpage with search terms or numbers to game a site's ranking in Google search rankings. They might appear in a list, group, out of context, or overlaid on the background.

Creating link farms is another common tactic. Here, sites are connected together in a circular network to improve the rank of all the pages in the circle. However, if a website is linked to from many irrelevant sites, it could also be penalized.

Cloaking is an even more extreme blackhat method. This is when different content is presented to search engines than to users, essentially redirecting users to different pages without their knowledge.

Despite the harsh consequences, why do people use blackhat SEO? The simple answer is: to achieve quick results. These tactics give websites the illusion of popularity, boosting them up the search results fast.

However, the gain is fleeting. Search engines now incorporate complex algorithms that identify these deceptive techniques. Once they're identified, penalties could include lower rankings or even being erased entirely from the search index.

As a consequence, many websites are embracing white hat SEO strategies. These are methods that aim to build a website's prominence in legitimate ways. Some methods are creating relevant content that provides helpful information to the reader, optimizing website tags, or creating a positive user interface.

So, while blackhat SEO may come across as a rapid way to increase your site's visibility, it's a perilous game to play. It's smarter to direct attention on whitehat SEO methods, that improve your website through legitimate means, consequently providing long-term success.