My Black Hat SEO Strategy for 2026 — What I’m Testing

[martinbrook]

I’ve been playing around with different black hat SEO methods and wanted to share the framework I’m currently testing.

I’m not interested in throwing thousands of random backlinks at a website and hoping something sticks.

My approach is more like this:

1. Pick a low-to-medium competition keyword

I first find keywords where the SERP isn’t dominated by huge authority sites. Easier SERPs make testing much more measurable.

2. Build the money page properly

Even when using aggressive SEO, the target page still needs good search intent, topical relevance, internal links, and useful content.

3. Create supporting pages

I build a cluster of related pages around the main keyword and use internal linking to push relevance and authority toward the target.

4. Use tiers instead of blasting the money site

Rather than pointing every link directly at the main domain, I experiment with supporting properties and secondary layers.

The idea is:

Supporting Layer → Authority Layer → Money Site

This gives much more control over link velocity and anchor distribution.

5. Keep anchor text diversified

I don't want every link using the exact-match keyword.

I usually test a mixture of:

Brand
URL
Generic
Partial match
Long-tail
Exact match

Then monitor how rankings respond.

6. Indexation is part of the test

A backlink doesn't help much if it never gets discovered or indexed.

So I track which types of pages and links actually get indexed and which ones don't.

7. Scale only after seeing movement

This is the part most people skip.

I don't immediately create 50,000 links.

I test a smaller batch → monitor rankings → analyze impressions/clicks → adjust → then scale.

The goal isn't simply to create more links.

The goal is to identify which signals are actually moving the SERP.

---

Current experiments​

Right now I'm testing:

• Tiered backlinks
• Expired domains
• Parasite-style pages
• Programmatic supporting content
• Entity-based optimization
• Internal linking patterns
• Anchor-text ratios
• Different link velocity patterns

I'm keeping track of everything in a spreadsheet because otherwise it's impossible to know what actually caused the ranking change.

I'd like to hear from other BHW members:

What black hat strategy are you currently testing?

More importantly, what are the actual results?

Niche + strategy + timeframe + ranking movement would be much more useful than another “this method is ” post.

Let's share experiments and data instead of recycled SEO theories.

 

[HustleTong]

1. Pick a low-to-medium competition keyword

This alone is a good headstart imo
You might want to take a look at Google trends as well to make sure the SV is stable

 

[Starblazer]

You should also add a niche relevance factor and compare average authority of competitors so that the authority gaps filled by backlinks can be estimated. I'd also recommend checking if there are any niche leaders (top domains in the niche that popup everywhere in top 10 results), so that you can use them as the reference for your ranking improvements.

 

[Ares Marketing Agency]

that's solid approach tiers+proper money page still works better than just blasting links

 

[Larry Scott]

I’ve been playing around with different black hat SEO methods and wanted to share the framework I’m currently testing.

I’m not interested in throwing thousands of random backlinks at a website and hoping something sticks.

My approach is more like this:

1. Pick a low-to-medium competition keyword

I first find keywords where the SERP isn’t dominated by huge authority sites. Easier SERPs make testing much more measurable.

2. Build the money page properly

Even when using aggressive SEO, the target page still needs good search intent, topical relevance, internal links, and useful content.

3. Create supporting pages

I build a cluster of related pages around the main keyword and use internal linking to push relevance and authority toward the target.

4. Use tiers instead of blasting the money site

Rather than pointing every link directly at the main domain, I experiment with supporting properties and secondary layers.

The idea is:

Supporting Layer → Authority Layer → Money Site

This gives much more control over link velocity and anchor distribution.

5. Keep anchor text diversified

I don't want every link using the exact-match keyword.

I usually test a mixture of:

Brand
URL
Generic
Partial match
Long-tail
Exact match

Then monitor how rankings respond.

6. Indexation is part of the test

A backlink doesn't help much if it never gets discovered or indexed.

So I track which types of pages and links actually get indexed and which ones don't.

7. Scale only after seeing movement

This is the part most people skip.

I don't immediately create 50,000 links.

I test a smaller batch → monitor rankings → analyze impressions/clicks → adjust → then scale.

The goal isn't simply to create more links.

The goal is to identify which signals are actually moving the SERP.

---

Current experiments​

Right now I'm testing:

• Tiered backlinks
• Expired domains
• Parasite-style pages
• Programmatic supporting content
• Entity-based optimization
• Internal linking patterns
• Anchor-text ratios
• Different link velocity patterns

I'm keeping track of everything in a spreadsheet because otherwise it's impossible to know what actually caused the ranking change.

I'd like to hear from other BHW members:

What black hat strategy are you currently testing?

More importantly, what are the actual results?

Niche + strategy + timeframe + ranking movement would be much more useful than another “this method is ” post.

Let's share experiments and data instead of recycled SEO theories.

This is a solid framework. Tiered linking, combined with tracking actual indexation rates, remains the only effective approach to accomplishing this without wasting time.

 

[_Bryan_]

Headed in the right direction. Make sure to alternate between interlinking backlinks (linkwheel) and bottom-down (link pyramid) in order to reduce the footprint. Along with anchors, experiment with link placement too - homepage links are worth multiples of tertiary links, driving insanely more linkjuice. Authority is key, account for branding, domain stats & content quality.

This post reads like a LinkedIn write-up, tho I''m glad you've outlined clearly the next steps.

 

[_Bryan_]

This is a solid framework. Tiered linking, combined with tracking actual indexation rates, remains the only effective approach to accomplishing this without wasting time.

I disagree. Absolutism has no place in SEO - rather experimenting with creatively innovative ways which lead to higher SERPs, whether you're looking to rank a new website or an aged project. For example, I've noticed how Google tends to favour Guest Posts in established publishers against PBNs who are supported by secondary (third party) platforms which do end up looking unnatural in the long run.

 

[noneemurti]

hmmmmm nice,Interesting approach—curious to see what you’re testing and what results you get in 2026.

 

[cx3571]

Do you use redirected expired domains with good DR / TF in your strategy?

 

[rankvista]

As a newbie, I’d focus on controlled tests and tracking results carefully, since aggressive tactics can bring short-term gains but also serious penalties.

 

[alwaysrank]

Good tactics. Honestly, I don’t really see this as black hat SEO. It looks more like a proper white hat SEO process or framework.

 

[Lanlinks]

Your approach is good—test small, track results, and scale only what actually works instead of blindly building thousands of links.

 

[azmordo]

Yeah I like the testing approach. keeping everything tracked makes it much easier to see what's actually moving rankings instead of guessing.

 

[Nikolaos]

I’ve been playing around with different black hat SEO methods and wanted to share the framework I’m currently testing.

I’m not interested in throwing thousands of random backlinks at a website and hoping something sticks.

My approach is more like this:

1. Pick a low-to-medium competition keyword

I first find keywords where the SERP isn’t dominated by huge authority sites. Easier SERPs make testing much more measurable.

2. Build the money page properly

Even when using aggressive SEO, the target page still needs good search intent, topical relevance, internal links, and useful content.

3. Create supporting pages

I build a cluster of related pages around the main keyword and use internal linking to push relevance and authority toward the target.

4. Use tiers instead of blasting the money site

Rather than pointing every link directly at the main domain, I experiment with supporting properties and secondary layers.

The idea is:

Supporting Layer → Authority Layer → Money Site

This gives much more control over link velocity and anchor distribution.

5. Keep anchor text diversified

I don't want every link using the exact-match keyword.

I usually test a mixture of:

Brand
URL
Generic
Partial match
Long-tail
Exact match

Then monitor how rankings respond.

6. Indexation is part of the test

A backlink doesn't help much if it never gets discovered or indexed.

So I track which types of pages and links actually get indexed and which ones don't.

7. Scale only after seeing movement

This is the part most people skip.

I don't immediately create 50,000 links.

I test a smaller batch → monitor rankings → analyze impressions/clicks → adjust → then scale.

The goal isn't simply to create more links.

The goal is to identify which signals are actually moving the SERP.

---

Current experiments​

Right now I'm testing:

• Tiered backlinks
• Expired domains
• Parasite-style pages
• Programmatic supporting content
• Entity-based optimization
• Internal linking patterns
• Anchor-text ratios
• Different link velocity patterns

I'm keeping track of everything in a spreadsheet because otherwise it's impossible to know what actually caused the ranking change.

I'd like to hear from other BHW members:

What black hat strategy are you currently testing?

More importantly, what are the actual results?

Niche + strategy + timeframe + ranking movement would be much more useful than another “this method is ” post.

Let's share experiments and data instead of recycled SEO theories.

Great breakdown of what you're doing. I don't currently use any blackhat strategy, however, your post is very valuable for beginners.

 

[alimosa]

Yeah I like the testing approach here. I'd probably focus on one variable at a time though otherwise it gets hard to tell what actually caused the ranking change.

 

[ayufun]

This looks like what's working for most people