In the SEO world, the word ‘black hat’ brings lots of known methods to SEO that experts should not use. One such technique is “cloaking.”.
You’ve probably never heard of the technique of Cloaking, but you might be using it unintentionally for SEO. Know this: it’s a black hat technique.
In simple terms, Cloaking, for example, is when a website offers a page about cats to the audience and the same page but “cloaks” it as dogs for the crawlers. It is about misleading crawlers to rank higher or ranking on keywords they are not supposed to.
In this article, we will go over one of the most misunderstood tactics and how to prevent being penalized for unintended mistakes. We’ll go over common misunderstandings and provide auditing strategies.
So, let’s get right into it!
A. What is Dynamic Rendering?
Dynamic rendering is a method used to provide search engines and bots with a fully rendered version of your JavaScript-based website or single-page applications (SPAs) when they face difficulties executing JavaScript.
Search engines like Google and Bing often struggle with executing JavaScript, leading to issues with indexing your website.
Dynamic rendering addresses this by detecting search engine crawlers, such as Googlebot and Bingbot, and serving them a static HTML version of the requested pages with all JavaScript content already executed.
Here’s how dynamic rendering typically works, similar to how Prerender operates:
- The middleware installed on your server identifies search engine crawlers and sends a request to external servers (like Prerender).
- Prerender fetches all necessary data from your page and generates a snapshot of the fully rendered page.
- The static page is then sent back to the crawler through your server and cached for future use.
However, if the request comes from a regular user (not a search engine crawler), it follows the standard route, directing the user to your website as usual.
B. What is Cloaking?
Cloaking is one of the black hat SEO practices that involves delivering alternate material to search engines and users in order to influence Google’s algorithm and mislead them.
In essence, a website performs cloaking by using the user agent or IP address of the request to identify Google Bot and offer it a different page than users.
This not only violates Google’s policy, but it might also be hazardous! For example, cloaking might be used to fool Google into prioritizing a page with unlawful content or irrelevant keywords.
Using cloaking might result in your website being deindexed or permanently blacklisted.
Prerendering Isn’t Cloaking, According to Google
While dynamic rendering (prerendering) and cloaking may seem similar since they involve serving different versions of your site to Google and users, Google distinguishes between the two.
According to Google, “Googlebot does not classify dynamic rendering as cloaking. Googlebot will not consider dynamic rendering to be cloaking as long as it provides identical material.”
Here lies the main difference.
Cloaking isn’t solely about the process itself but also about its intent. When utilizing a benefit like Prerender, you’re make a static version of your webpage, but the content remains consistent for both search engines and users.
You’re simply skipping the rendering process on Google’s servers. However, using prerendering or dynamic rendering incorrectly, even unintentionally, could lead to cloaking penalties.
Furthermore, error pages generated during dynamic rendering will not be considered cloaking; rather, they will be handled as regular error pages.
In terms of offering distinct content to users and crawlers, displaying an Italian page to people while sending a Spanish page to search engines may be considered cloaking.
C. How to Avoid Unfair Cloaking Penalties
Because of the way dynamic rendering works, numerous things can go wrong, causing your website to inadvertently violate the cloaking requirements. To keep your site safe, keep the following points in mind:
- Check for hacks
Hacking websites with excellent traffic and then disguising their pages is a popular strategy employed by evildoers to direct visitors to their primary sites.
If you have recently been hacked or are unsure why you are earning a cloaking penalty, this might be one of the explanations.
Check your website for any strange redirection and perform a comprehensive backend audit to guarantee that no remaining scripts are concealing your users.
Note: It is also typical for hackers to utilize cloaking to make it more difficult for you to identify the attack. Checking for cloaking processes on a regular basis is a smart practice.
- Partially Rendered Pages
Cloaking refers to the disparities between what search engines and users see. The issue with partially rendered websites is that some of the material is missing, which may lead Google to believe you’re attempting to fool them. When utilizing Prerender, there are two common reasons why this occurs:
- Page rendering times out – Prerender’s default render timeout is 20 seconds. However, it may increase. If your page does not render entirely by that time, Prerender will store it in its present form, resulting in a partly drawn page.
- Page issues – Things like your CDN limiting any non-standard requests (and so blocking Prerender) or having a geo-blocked can create rendering problems since Prerender won’t be able to access the files from your server.
- Look for Hidden Text
Most of the time, your JavaScript script may be modifying some of your text characteristics, causing hidden text troubles. These features are still picked up by crawlers and are considered keyword-stuffing attempts, which may result in ranking penalties.
Cloaking can also be considered if enough concealed components cause your dynamically produced website to diverge from what visitors view.
The good news is that you can detect hidden content on your websites using a program such as Screaming Frog.
- Uncached Changes
Keeping in mind the primary contrast between dynamic rendering and cloaking, there is an obvious difficulty that may arise with continually changing sites.
Because of how Prerender works, it will only get your page the first time it is requested by a search crawler after you install the middleware. This initial rendering process will take a few seconds, resulting in a high response time.
Prerender will then use the cached version of the page to prevent negatively impacting your site’s speed.
However, what happens if you alter the page half or completely? Google will obtain an older version of your page, which may be seen as cloaking.
D. Summarizing What is Dynamic Rendering and Cloaking
Dynamic rendering and cloaking are closely connected ideas in terms of website SEO and search engine visibility.
Dynamic rendering is the process of serving fully rendered versions of JavaScript-heavy websites to search engine crawlers in order to ensure appropriate indexing, whereas cloaking is the process of serving alternative content to search engines and users, typically with malicious intent.
It’s critical to grasp the difference between dynamic rendering and cloaking, as dynamic rendering tries to increase website accessibility for search engines while not breaking search engine policies.
However, accidental differences between the produced content for search engines and users might still result in cloaking penalties.
Website owners can improve their search engine visibility while remaining compliant with search engine rules by properly deploying dynamic rendering techniques and checking for any cloaking issues.
Suggested read: JavaScript Caching and Its Impact on SEO Performance
E. Common FAQs on Dynamic Rendering And Cloaking
Why is dynamic rendering necessary?
Dynamic rendering is required to ensure that search engine crawlers can effectively index and interpret the content of JavaScript-heavy web pages. It improves website presence in search engine results pages (SERPs), which can boost organic traffic.
What is the difference between dynamic rendering and cloaking?
Dynamic rendering involves serving fully rendered versions of JavaScript websites to search engine bots to improve indexing while cloaking involves presenting different content to search engines and users, potentially violating guidelines and leading to penalties.
What are some common challenges with dynamic rendering?
Common challenges with dynamic rendering include:
- Ensuring complete page rendering within the specified timeout period.
- Addressing errors such as CDN blocking non-standard requests or geo-blocking, which may prevent dynamic rendering services from accessing necessary files.
- Monitoring for changes in search engine guidelines and adjusting dynamic rendering practices accordingly to maintain compliance.
