Confessions of a White Hat SEO Professional

White hat, black hat, grey hat SEO – What does it all mean?

And what’s with the white hat!?

These are questions my team and I hear often at our Brisbane SEO agency! Let me explain…

If you’ve ever come across me online or on social media, you’ll know that the white cowboy hat is part of my brand here at Front Page SEO.

It’s fun, a little quirky, and (let’s be honest) helps me stand out in cluttered social media feeds! 🤠

But there’s more to it than that. I wear my white hat to symbolise honesty, transparency, and integrity in an industry that can sometimes feel, well… a little murky.

What is White Hat SEO?

Believe it or not, in SEO (search engine optimisation), we actually use cowboy terminology.

I like to joke that the “www” in a URL stands for the “Wild Wild West”, not the “world wide web” – because that’s what it feels like sometimes!

Seriously though, “white hat SEO” refers to the ethical, above-board way of improving your website’s visibility in Google search results. It’s all about working with Google’s guidelines – not trying to trick the system. It’s the way we do things at Front Page SEO.

It involves creating valuable content, earning backlinks (not paying for them), and focussing on the user experience. Yes, it takes more time and effort, but it’s the only approach that delivers real, lasting results (and keeps your site out of Google’s naughty corner!).

The opposite of course is “black hat SEO“. Unfortunately, SEO agencies or professionals using these techniques, don’t tend to advertise that fact, let alone get around wearing a black hat! Many unsuspecting business owners have been burned.

The Truth About Wearing my White Hat

Now, while I happily wear my white hat on socials and when running SEO training or speaking at events, I’ll admit I’ve been a bit of a scaredy cat about wearing it to business networking events or conferences.

You see, some people in the digital marketing world love to claim there’s no such thing as white hat SEO. They argue that everything we do – even ethical link building – is really grey hat. And I didn’t want to deal with confrontation or controversy. Walking into a room full of strangers is challenging enough, without inviting debate.

But earlier this year, I decided it was time to be brave.

I began with baby steps: I started carrying the hat to networking events. Then, at a recent Common Grounds Women’s Business Network meeting in Brisbane, the lovely members insisted I actually wear the hat next time. One even messaged me before the next event to remind me!

So, I did it. I wore the hat to the next Common Grounds event – and the world stayed on its axis.

Emboldened, I wore it to a more traditional Chamber of Commerce event. I was nervous – would people think it was too much? Too gimmicky? But to my surprise, it really helped to break the ice. People came up to chat (which doesn’t usually happen), the photographer grabbed a few shots, and I made some genuinely valuable connections.

Now that I’m in the habit, I’ve realised that most of the time nobody asks why I’m wearing a white cowboy hat. People just accept it! 😅

Here’s to Wearing the Hat

That experience reminded me that sometimes, in business and in life, we need to put on our “big girl pants” (yes, speaking to myself here too!).

The smallest risks can bring the biggest rewards. And while we may not be huge risk takers here at our white hat SEO agency, it’s still important to ride the wave of progress and change.

So, my advice? Wear the hat. Speak up in that meeting. Put your face on your socials. Say yes to that speaking gig. Do that thing you’ve been scared to do.

Stand up for what you believe in and surround yourself with people who cheer you on – white hat and all! 💛

Interested in learning more about what a white hat SEO strategy could do for your business? We offer a FREE SEO checkup of your website so why not book yours today?