What is Bait and Switch?
In SEO, bait and switch is a deceptive trick some websites use. It's a way to lure people to their sites dishonestly.
A website creates a page optimized for popular keywords or trending topics that lots of people are searching for.
But once that page ranks highly in search results, the owner swaps out all that content for something totally different that they actually want to promote.
Tricking Search Engines and Users
So they're using one topic as bait to get people to their page. But then they switch that content to the real topic they want to push, which is the switch part.
It misleads search engines and users just to drive traffic to the site.
For example, a site might create a page all about a hot celebrity rumour to rank for those searches at first. But once they get to the top results, that celebrity gossip gets swapped for something like product ads they really want people to see.
Not a Good SEO Strategy
As you can imagine, search engines really dislike this bait-and-switch behaviour. It goes against the guidelines of providing good search results and a good experience for users.
Google and others want transparency - not swapping content to trick their systems and deceive people. Websites caught doing this deceptive tactic can get penalized, which destroys their search rankings.
The Right Way
Instead of trying to bait and switch, the better approach is to optimize your site the right way with honest SEO practices. Create high-quality content on the topics and keywords actually relevant to your business.
Follow the rules, focus on providing real value to users, and you'll earn good rankings through honest effort rather than deception.
Trying to game the system with tricks like this can really damage your site's credibility. The ethical approach works better long-term.