There are major companies engaging in white hat tactics and ranking well in the search results. Sometimes, they use gray hat tactics that technically are not against Google's guidelines. They are shady strategies meant to exploit loopholes in Google's algorithm. The search engine will update their algorithm, which they do several times a week, once they become are of a loophole.
White Hat vs Black Hat Tactics
White hat techniques follow Google's established Webmaster guidelines. White hat strategies include creating link-worthy content and creating content to help or entertain visitors, not for search engines. Black hat SEO specifically goes against search engine terms. Black hat tactics include keyword spamming and scraping content without creating any additional value.
Black hat tactics help you rank faster, but there is a good chance you could incur a Google penalty. Black hat SEO is also cheap; you can buy quite a few backlinks pretty cheap on Fivver. White hat SEO costs more to implement and it takes longer to show results. With white hat SEO, you're safe and don't have to worry about algorithm updates.
Gray Hat SEO
Gray hat SEO consists of techniques that Google hasn't taken a clear position on. It can also mean vaguely defined strategies that people cannot agree on whether Google frowns on the practice or promotes it. Examples of gray hat strategies that can increase a site's ranking include buying aged domains, using clickbait and using spun content.
Most gray hat tactics provide a less than ideal user experience for visitors. Their cost and time to implement is often between white and black hat SEO. You cannot expect top rankings when your content attracts few backlinks and repeat visitors.
Naturally, white hat SEO is ideal, but many major companies incorporate a few gray hat tactics in the mix. For more information click here https://www.reddit.com/r/SEO/comments/mfjlvl/ifoundsomethinghugeinthelastfewmonths/.