6 Black Hat SEO Techniques You Should Try (At Your Own Risk)

Black hat SEO still works.

Not forever.
Not safely.
But right now, if you understand the risks, it can work extremely well.

In this article, I’ll break down 6 black hat SEO techniques pulled directly from real-world testing, explain why they work, when they stop working, and how risky each one really is.

This is not theory.
These are tactics people are actively using today.

Why black hat SEO eventually stops working

Before getting into the techniques, you need to understand why black hat strategies die.

1. Everyone starts doing them

When a tactic is new, it works insanely well.
When everyone copies it, the advantage disappears.

This happened with PBNs, mass guest posting, and many link-building shortcuts. They didn’t suddenly stop working — they just became competitive.

2. Search engines crack down

Once Google, Bing, or AI-based search engines detect abuse patterns, they react.

Google is very explicit that tactics designed to manipulate rankings can lead to ranking drops or removal from search results:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies

The same thing is now happening — more slowly — with AI search engines.

Why black hat SEO works so well (when it works)

Black hat SEO works because it forces constant experimentation.

Instead of waiting for “best practices”, you:

• Test new signals

• Test new distribution channels

• Test what search engines haven’t patched yet

SEO tactics don’t work because they’re special.
They work because few people are using them.

Once they become common knowledge, they lose that edge.

Risk scale (read this first)

The 6 Black Hat SEO techniques

1. Sape links / hacked-site footer links (Extreme risk)

What it is
Links placed on hacked, high-authority sites, often hidden in footers so site owners don’t notice.

Why it works

• Extremely powerful domains

• Often sitewide links (footer appears on many pages)

• Immediate ranking impact

Why it’s dangerous

• Links can disappear overnight

• High chance of penalties

• Often illegal or borderline illegal

This is the fastest way to rank — and the fastest way to destroy a site.

2. Expired domains (Low to Medium risk)

[Image suggestion: expired domain SEO / Wayback Machine screenshots]

What it is
Buying a domain that previously existed, had real backlinks, traffic, and age — then rebuilding a new site on it.

Why it works

• You skip the “new site” phase

• Existing backlinks still point to the domain

• Aged domains tend to rank faster

How people validate expired domains

• Check the site’s history using Wayback Machine
  https://web.archive.org/

• Make sure it wasn’t used for spam, casino, or adult content

• Prefer niche-relevant history

This tactic works exceptionally well in non-English markets, where competition is lower.

3. PBNs (Private Blog Networks) (Medium risk)

[Image suggestion: private blog network diagram]

What it is
A network of sites you own that all link to the site you want to rank.

Why it works

• Full control over anchor text and placement

• High authority passed through links

• No outreach required

Why people fail

• Same hosting/IPs

• Same themes and layouts

• Obvious footprints

Google actively targets link networks using systems like SpamBrain:
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2022/12/december-22-link-spam-update

Done properly, PBNs can work for years.
Done poorly, everything gets wiped.

4. Buying reviews (Medium to High risk)

[Image suggestion: Google Local Guide badge]

What it is
Paying for reviews to boost trust and local rankings.

Why it works

• Reviews strongly influence local SEO

• “Local Guide” reviews carry more trust

• Social proof converts users

Common mistakes

• Using accounts from random countries

• Reusing the same reviewer profiles

• No geographic relevance

Google explicitly prohibits fake or incentivized reviews:
https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114

Buying reviews works — until it doesn’t.

5. Buying backlinks (Low risk if done properly)

[Image suggestion: guest post backlink example]

What it is
Paying for:

• Guest posts

• Niche edits

• Editorial link placements

Why it works
Links still matter.

Google often neutralizes bad links rather than penalizing sites outright:
https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/spam-updates

If links are:

• Contextual

• From real sites

• Placed naturally

…the risk is relatively low.

For agencies scaling content instead of chasing links manually, tools like Arvow focus on earning mentions and citations organically through structured content:

Internal links:

• https://arvow.com/

• https://arvow.com/case-studies

• https://arvow.com/llm-brand-mention-rank-tracker

6. CTR manipulation (Low to Medium risk)

[Image suggestion: SERP click behavior diagram]

What it is
Forcing user engagement signals:

• Search keyword

• Scroll results

• Click your listing

• Browse pages

Why it works
Search engines observe click behavior and engagement as relevance signals.

Tools commonly used:

• https://microworkers.com/

This tactic works best:

• Short-term

• On mid-competition keywords

• Combined with decent content

Risk comparison table

How this ties into AI search (ChatGPT, Grok, Perplexity)

Many of these techniques are now being tested against AI search engines, which:

• Pull from deeper pages

• Don’t require page-1 Google rankings

• Prefer structured, authoritative content

That’s why many agencies are shifting toward content-led authority systems and tracking AI mentions directly:

• https://arvow.com/llm-brand-mention-rank-tracker

• https://arvow.com/case-studies

Final thoughts

Black hat SEO is leverage.

Used carefully:

• It accelerates learning

• Finds blind spots

• Creates temporary advantages

Used recklessly:

• It burns domains

• Destroys brands

• Wastes assets

The smartest operators test aggressively, scale cautiously, and exit before saturation.