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What is Cloaking in Search Engine Optimisation?

Cloaking in SEO refers to the practice of presenting different content to search engines than is presented to users. This is often done in an attempt to mislead search engines and improve the ranking of a website. However, cloaking is considered a black hat SEO technique and is generally frowned upon by search engines. In fact, it is explicitly against the terms of service of most search engines and can result in a website being banned from the search engine’s index. Instead of using cloaking, it is generally recommended to focus on creating high-quality, relevant content and using white hat SEO techniques to improve the ranking of a website.

In terms of search engine marketing, this is the act of getting a search engine to record content for a URL that is different than what a searcher will ultimately see. Most search engines have explicit rules against unapproved cloaking. Those violating these guidelines might find their pages penalised or banned from a search engine’s index.