Victoryvspgs

What is Cloaking

Posted: 22 Oct 2008 01:25 AM CDT

Cloaking is a search engine optimization technique used for presentation for different forms of content to various search engines and different presentations to the users. This is a deceptive method for hood winking search engines for the purposes of getting the desired ranks for desired keywords.

Cloaking is resorted to for the purposes of showing contents based on the request of IP address as well as the user agent HTTP header of the user. A user identifies search engine is exhibited a minutely prepared as well as optimized website for the purposes of ranking for desired keywords. If the user is non-search engine real websites content are shown to them.

This method is also used for evading users to visit various websites based on their description in search engines. For instance the users making an extensive search for a product may get clicked onto a website based on description as well as title for the website which is selected finally which involves the description in variation from the one described normally. In many instances you are requested to erase pornographic content of a website and bring about a lot of traffic in it.

There are certain search engines which consider cloaking as spam and this sort of behavior is against the edifice of good guidelines. Google webmaster cloaking methods as well as guidelines spell out the following.
• Cloaking for JavaScript – If any user uses enabled JavaScript it is shown one version while if the same user is using turned off JavaScript then it shows another version of a website.
• Header cloaking for HTTP referrer – If any user coming from a particular website they will be presented a cloaked version of a website based on the HTTP referrer.
• Cloaking for IP address – Cloaking system checks the IP address of the requestor. If the IP address of a search engine’s spider, the engine page will return. Cloaking uses IP address delivery, however so do other things such as geographical location for location based content. Cloaking uses IP address delivery, but IP address delivery is not itself cloaking.
• Cloaking for user agent – Based on user agent different versions of websites are delivered. If a search engine determines a script to gain access to a website based on the signature of its user agent it will show its cloak version of the website.
• Header cloaking for HTTP accept-language – It enables to show various language versions of a website without asking the users web browser language.
• Auto redirecting - Auto redirecting is also called as poor man’s cloaking. But it is not cloaking at all. This method is the same page is returning to all requestors, and does not make difference between search engine spiders and people.

Any type of cloaking with fraudulent purposes may result in prohibition of the search engines which makes you cautious when you are utilizing the services. Frequently, search engines hold cloaked pages by frequent visiting of search engines in timely intervals. The holders of the websites who use cloaking for securing their search engine rankings not to be taken unaware sooner or later. Supposing this process is identified web pages may be deleted temporarily or permanently from the list of various search engines.