Is it blackhat to use a link/content locker?

samiejg

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 14, 2013
Messages
1,177
Reaction score
98
I just wanted to double check with you guys as I'm considering putting it on a website I'm trying to keep whitehat. Also, is it very frowned upon by users? Like will they just think it's spam even though there is a legitimate file download?
 
There's really no definitive line between black/white hat and I wouldn't advise going into IM with this mindset.

Just go into it using your gut and use whatever works.
 
Yeah, why does it even matter whether it's "blackhat" or "whitehat"?

Some people won't like that they can't get everything for free, but those aren't valuable visitors anyways...
 
Well.. I guess for me I just want to make sure that Google doesn't penalize me in any way because of it. I can get around the users getting annoyed by it. But don't want to messup my chances of ranking well.
 
escape the term blackhat and whitehat from your mind. Just keep in mind the term quality. If you focus only quality work than none of the algorithm updates will lose your ranking, traffic, etc.
 
I understand these terms more like a measure of getting penalized probability. If I call a site "blackhat", I mean it was ranked using unnatural techniques and may be penalized in the future. If it is "whitehat", it will more probably stay alive.. Content locking is just a monetization method.
 
It is aggravating for the user but if the content you are locking has value it will be worth it to them to fill out the
offer or whatever you have them do. And no it is not consider blackhat just a method to make money on any site.

-RK
 
It is not blackhat at all to use a content/url locker! It depends on the stuff the visitor receives for doing so. If he gets what he was comming for, then its ok (ofc when its not fake or dcma thing)
 
Back
Top