Are You Using Black Hat Tactics Without Even Knowing It?

If you're trying to improve your website's SEO, how do you know whether you're helping or hurting your chances of ranking?

Some tactics might sound smart. Maybe a freelancer suggested them. Maybe you saw them in a blog or a YouTube video. But the truth is, a lot of the quick fixes out there can quietly damage your site without you even realising.

I'm talking about fake reviews, keyword stuffing, low-quality content, spammy backlinks. These shortcuts might give you a short-term boost, but they’ll almost always catch up with you.

In this post, I’ll lay out some black hat SEO tactics that you might be using without even knowing it, explain why they’re risky, and show you how to keep your site on the right track.

No scare tactics, just honest advice to help you make sure you’re doing SEO the right way.

An image of an seo professional wearing a black hat looking shifty

What Is Black Hat SEO (And Why It’s a Problem)

Black hat SEO is basically the “get rich quick” scheme of digital marketing.

It’s all about trying to cheat the system to get your site ranking faster, instead of earning that top spot the right way.

The thing is, Google’s not stupid. Their algorithms are smart enough to sniff out dodgy behaviour, and when they do, your site will be penalised.

That could mean:

Dropping down the rankings overnight
Getting flagged for spam
Disappearing from search results altogether
Not exactly what you signed up for, right?

The trouble is, some black hat tactics don’t look dodgy on the surface. You might be doing them without realising, especially if someone else built, or is managing your site.

Here are a few to watch out for.

1. Keyword Stuffing

You’ve probably heard the term before, keyword stuffing is when you cram the same phrase into your content over and over again in an attempt to rank.
It looks like this:

“Looking for a plumber in Leeds? Our plumber Leeds team offers expert plumbing Leeds services for all your plumbing Leeds needs.”

No one wants to read that . . .

It’s clunky, it’s obvious, and Google’s not fooled. It looks like low-quality content, hurts the user experience, and will drag your site down the rankings.

Better approach:

Use your keywords naturally, once or twice in key places (like headers and intros), then write like a human. If it’s helpful for the reader, it’s usually helpful for SEO.

2. Posting Rubbish AI Content

AI content tools are everywhere now. And to be fair, they can be useful. But whipping up 20 AI-generated blog posts a month without editing or checking? That’s asking for trouble.

These blogs are often:

Thin (little to no real info)
Repetitive
Generic
Written for robots, not people

It's unclear whether Google is completely against AI content as it's impossible to stop it now that it's started, but one thing is for sure, they’re against bad content. If it’s just fluff to hit a word count, it’s not helping anyone, and it’s definitely not helping your SEO.

a waste paper basket full of rubbish ai content

3. Faking Reviews

This one’s a biggie. You might think a few fake reviews will make your business look more trustworthy… but it’s the opposite.

Google and review platforms like Trustpilot are cracking down hard on fake reviews, especially if they see a sudden spike or copy-paste jobs.

Even if you get away with it, it’s not a good look. People can usually tell when a review’s been made up. And once trust is gone, it’s hard to get back.

Better approach:

Ask real customers for honest feedback. A few genuine 4-star reviews are more valuable than a bunch of fake 5-star ones.

4. Dodgy Link Building

Links still matter, a lot. But how you get them makes all the difference.

There are still people out there selling SEO packages that promise “500 backlinks in 24 hours”, and that’s exactly the kind of thing that’ll hurt your website.

Here’s what to avoid:

Buying links (especially from low-quality sites)
Link exchanges with irrelevant businesses
Automated directory submissions or blog comment spam
Tools that create mass backlinks with zero strategy
These aren’t shortcuts, they’re time bombs.

Marco's Advice

You don’t need thousands of backlinks. You need the right ones. Focus on earning links from relevant, trusted websites; industry bodies, local directories, or people who genuinely like what you do.

We've experimented with paying for backlinks, the quality and relevance felt very random. For young sites, it will seem very tempting but for the same price you could put together a digital PR campaign that targets your industry. This will give you a much bigger boost than a handful of bought backlinks.

5. Spinning or Copying Content

Copying other people’s content, even “rewriting” it with a tool, is another tactic that sounds easier than doing the work.

But Google wants original, helpful content. Not reworded fluff.

If your content’s copied (or even just too close to someone else’s), you won’t rank, and worse, you could get a manual penalty.

If you’ve got old pages that were “borrowed” from somewhere else, it might be time for a refresh.

6. Faking Expert Authors

This one came up at BrightonSEO and caused a bit of a stir.

Some businesses are now creating fake experts. AI-generated author bios, made-up credentials, and completely fictional people to make their content look more trustworthy.

It’s all designed to tick the EEAT boxes (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) without actually having any of those things. Even if it’s giving you a boost now, it’s not worth the risk. Google’s algorithm is constantly evolving, and it’s getting better at spotting signs of manipulation. What works today might get flagged tomorrow. If Google decides your content lacks real expertise or, worse, is intentionally misleading, your rankings will take a serious hit. Recovering from that kind of penalty isn’t quick, and in some cases, your pages might never fully bounce back.

And from a user perspective, if your content looks like it was written by a so-called “expert” who doesn’t actually exist? That’s a massive red flag. Trust drops, bounce rates go up, and the whole thing backfires.

Better approach:

If someone’s giving advice on your site, make sure they’re real. That could mean tapping into your internal team and encouraging them to share their expertise, or bringing in genuine guest contributors who know the topic inside out. A few quotes from real people go a long way. Add names, a bit of background, maybe a link to their LinkedIn or credentials, anything that helps Google (and users) trust what they’re reading.

You don’t need a made-up expert. You just need someone who actually knows what they’re talking about.

Why It Matters: Good SEO Is Good for the User

Here’s the golden rule: if your content, structure, and site are helpful to the actual person visiting, SEO usually follows.

That means:

Clear info that answers questions
Fast, secure, mobile-friendly sites
No shady tricks or hidden agendas

Google wants to serve users the best content, so if you put people first, you’re already halfway there.

How to Fix or Avoid Black Hat Tactics

Not sure if your site’s been caught up in any of this? Here’s what you can do:

Check your backlink profile

Even though Google now handles most low-quality backlinks automatically, that doesn’t mean you should ignore your backlink profile altogether.

Keeping an eye on who’s linking to your site is still important. It helps you:

Spot any unusual patterns (like a sudden spike in backlinks from dodgy or unrelated sites)
Understand which content is naturally earning links
Identify any links pointing to broken pages (so you can fix or redirect them)
Keep tabs on potential spam or security issues

Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Google Search Console let you see where your backlinks are coming from and whether they’re helping or hurting. You might not need to disavow links manually anymore, but you do need to stay in the loop, especially if you’ve had issues in the past or notice rankings dropping without explanation.

Think of it like checking your bank statements. You might not find anything dodgy every time, but when something is off, you’ll want to catch it early.

Audit your content

If it sounds robotic or was written just for Google, rewrite it for real people. If you’re not sure where your site stands on this front, our content audit service can help you.

Be picky with SEO help

If someone promises “instant results” or “Page 1 in 7 days”, run away. Proper SEO takes time and care.

Use Google’s own tools

Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and Analytics give you everything you need to spot issues and track improvements. Google also has SEO best practices which are generally a good rule of thumb when it comes to what is considered "good" SEO.

Final Thoughts

If you’re trying to grow your business online, don’t fall for shortcuts. Cheating Google may be tempting, but it’s never worth the risk.

The good news? You don’t need any of it.

Focus on helping your users, creating useful content, and building a solid, trustworthy website, and you’ll already be miles ahead of most.

If you’re not sure whether your SEO is helping or hurting, and want someone to take a proper look, we’re here when you need us.

Get in touch and let’s make sure your SEO’s working for you, not against you.