More Google Questions

[Michael Martinez]

Usually people consider something to be grey hat if it sounds sneaky but has not yet been specifically singled out by search engine guidelines as unacceptable.

[Steve20]

Grey hat = somewhere between black hat and white hat. Kinda like a grey area.

Literally, that's what Grey Hat means.

Can you elaborate more? Can I be penalized doing this grey hat thing?

Am I right? This Grey Hat is a technique that is not illegal but looks like a blackhat?

Still confused here.

[Michael Martinez]

There is really nothing illegal about so-called "black hat" SEO techniques. It's just that they violate search engine guidelines and may be cause for search engines banning or penalizing sites. However, those actions are discretionary, as the major search engines are known to tolerate some forbidden activities from major brand sites.

The search engines are asking Web site operators to be honest and compete with each other fairly so as not to mislead search visitors about what they can expect to find on a Web site. Whether the playing field is really level is another discussion altogether, but these guidelines are intended to protect the users' search experience (so they continue to use the search engines rather than find search alternatives).

On the other hand, if something seems a little sneaky but is not specifically forbidden, it's considered "grey hat" by a lot of people because it may eventually be forbidden, or is not yet widely accepted and implemented.

A lot of people are merely expressing personal approval or disapproval of various techniques when they apply these hat colors to ideas and one man's black hat may be another man's grey hat. I would take all color coding commentary with a grain of salt.

[Steve20]

Base on my research:

Grey Hat (or Gray Hat): Since the color gray is between black and white, logically Grey Hat SEO sounds like a label for the middle ground. But it’s not. Because White is pure white and grey is a shade of black, we have confusion. Some say Grey Hat is NOT White Hat and is just a shade of Black Hat. So let’s step away from the coor wheel and define Grey Hat as the practice of tactics/techniques which remain ill-defined by all that published material coming out of Google, and for which reasonable people (not White Hat SEOs, mind you, but “reasonable people”) could disagree on how the tactics support or contrast with the “spirit” of Google’s published guidelines.

source:
Black Hat vs. White Hat vs. Grey Hat SEO: The Definitive Guide - John Andrews - johnon.com

here is an example:
Blue Hat SEO-Advanced SEO Tactics How To Be A Gray Hat

[Steve20]

Base on my research:

Grey Hat (or Gray Hat): Since the color gray is between black and white, logically Grey Hat SEO sounds like a label for the middle ground. But it’s not. Because White is pure white and grey is a shade of black, we have confusion. Some say Grey Hat is NOT White Hat and is just a shade of Black Hat. So let’s step away from the coor wheel and define Grey Hat as the practice of tactics/techniques which remain ill-defined by all that published material coming out of Google, and for which reasonable people (not White Hat SEOs, mind you, but “reasonable people”) could disagree on how the tactics support or contrast with the “spirit” of Google’s published guidelines.

source:
Black Hat vs. White Hat vs. Grey Hat SEO: The Definitive Guide - John Andrews - johnon.com

here is an example:
Blue Hat SEO-Advanced SEO Tactics How To Be A Gray Hat