Negative SEO Is It Real? Am I Affected? What To To?
The SEO Industry is one of the most dynamic forms of online marketing. Over the past two years, the industry has changed so much that is hardly recognizable for those who used to be the Masters of competitive Google ranking
In this article, we explain what black SEO means and explore some of the dynamic changes that Google has had to perform on their algorithms in order to curb the vice. Negative SEO is a child of black hat SEO. Negative because black hat SEO (underhand methods) was getting harder and harder to execute with any meaningful results.
So what is negative SEO?
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| Negative SEO |
Negative SEO may be defined as the practice of using unethical SEO techniques in order to negatively impact or sabotage a competitor’s google rank. It is a demonstration of just how far people are willing to appear first on search result pages by taking out the competition.
How do I know if it is negative SEO?
Oftentimes webmasters will not realize that they are being hacked because the fake modified sites are placed in other directories where only Google bots can see them. When your customers try to reach you they might be redirected to the fake website with modified content and spammy links.
Does Negative SEO Really work?
Yes, negative SEO is a real threat to many websites large and small. Ways in which malicious people can harm your rank include but are not limited to: hacking your website, buildings permalinks, copying your content, creating a fake social profile, and malicious damage to backlinks structure of your website.
Who Pays For Negative SEO?
When you think you are under attack, always ask who benefits and that ought to point you straight to the offenders. It could be a disgruntled customer, employee or the competition.
There have also been reports of White Hat and see all companies requesting that black hat SEO tricks be used on their behalf to squash the competition.
How To Prevent Negative SEO
As with many Internet-security problems, prevention is better than cure.
- Do Set up Google webmasters tools email notification
- Keep an eye on your backlinks profile
- Guard your best backlinks with your life
- Secure a website from malware and hacking
- Constantly check for plagiarized content
- Put your a-game on social media
- Track your website speed
- Consult your SEO expert before buying backlinks
- Avoid making enemies online
- What to do in case of a negative SEO attack?
When attacked you need to stay calm, it's important. These are internet hits men of some sort and you can be sure that they will try to cover their tracks. There are sophisticated techniques that you can use to trace the source of your attack but that is the kind of diversion that the attacker intended. First, you need to get back online. The following are steps that you can take to mitigate the effects of negative SEO and reverse your plight
Step 1: Know Thy Enemy
It may sound obvious but not every snarl-up of the traffic to your site may be related to negative issue SEO. It's only a probability and to be sure you have to check with special tools like SERPed.net and semrush.com to pinpoint the source of the upswing in your backlinks. If you receive a huge number of links to malicious sites containing scraps of your content blended with unrelated content, then it is highly probable that you are under attack.
Step 2: Remove Links
The Google disavow feature allows webmasters to pick out websites that are linking back to them and tell Google not to consider the links when ranking them. This makes a powerful tool that webmaster tools enjoy using but it comes at a price. If you disavow legitimate domain it is permanent such that no future benefits will be accrued from backlinks from the site.
Step 3: Report
It might actually be a good idea to report negative SEO in the webmasters' forum all directly contact John and see if they can help you resolve the situation at Google. However, a majority of cases reported as negative as you turn out to be a false alarm.
Step 4: Rapid Quality Content Cures Negative SEO
Sometimes the best defense is an offensive. To remain competitive you need to create high-quality content that is uniquely engaging for your audiences really fast. Picking up picking yourself up dusting and soldiering on is your best bet of getting back on Google's good books. You need to show your audience is that you are phenomenal and your contributions to the internet have positive impacts on livelihoods. There will always be bad guys out there who are willing to take shortcuts to get ahead but it is the masses the good ones that do nothing that is to blame.
Step 5: And A Strong Social Media Profile
A strong social media presence will help you recover faster from such an attack. Your profiles should help you reach your customers and assure them that you're back on track. It is small businesses that suffered the biggest blows but fortunately, they are also the ones that are able to connect with their customers on a personal level.
Why Negative SEO May No Longer Work
Negative SEO has no future in search result pages ranking. Google is working tonight to ensure that people who work hard at SEO get to keep their catch. Luckily for the average web user, Google has been at the forefront of developing the latest algorithms to suppress manipulative and malicious link building. Attackers hardly have the luxury of time when planning their attacks. Most of the linking work is unnatural and easily detectable. So Google remains vigilant in finding and suppressing such efforts.
The bottom line is that Google works hard to make sure that your competitors cannot harm your ranking. They are special tools built for this and included in every update since Penguin of 2012. Do you trust them? Do share your thoughts, experiences, and concerns below.