Black Hat SEO refers to any sneaky or unethical tactics that can be used to trick search engines into ranking a site higher than it deserves. Think keyword stuffing, cloaking, or buying spammy backlinks.
It can work in the short term, but the risks are huge. Search engines are cleverer than ever, and if they catch you out, your site could be penalised, or even removed from results entirely. In contrast, White Hat SEO focuses on sustainable, best-practice strategies that keep your site safe and trusted.