Understanding Negative SEO Attack
In the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), everyone aims to rank as high as possible in search engine results. SEO practitioners employ different strategies and methods, while adhering to white-hat tactics (legitimate SEO techniques). However, there are those who contemplate resorting to negative SEO attacks to potentially damage a competitor’s SERP rankings.
Negative SEO attack refers to a set of actions intended to harm a website’s search engine rankings. These actions can range from generating huge amounts of low-quality links to a website, to scraping and duplicating a website’s content and distributing it all around the internet. This method is considered black-hat SEO and is frowned upon within the SEO community, being unethical and against the policies of search engines like Google.
The Impact of Negative SEO Attacks
Negative SEO can significantly damage a website’s reputation and its ranking on search results. One common method used in negative SEO attacks is link bombing, which involves creating thousands of malicious links to a website, leading search engines to perceive these links as spam, thereby potentially damaging the website’s reputation.
Another common method is content duplication. Attackers copy the original content from one website and distribute it widely across different platforms on the internet. They do this with the intention of getting the original website penalized for having duplicate content across multiple sites.
On top of all these, negative SEO attacks can also involve hacking a website to change its content, or even jeopardizing its user experience by ruining its layout, navigation, or loading speed. These actions can lead to a significant drop in user engagement, leading to a decrease in site ranking.
Protecting Your Website from Negative SEO Attacks
Preventing a negative SEO attack requires regular monitoring and swift action. Here are some ways to keep your website safe:
1. Regularly Monitor Your Backlinks: You need to regularly check the website’s link profile. Numerous free and paid tools can help you achieve this. If you notice an unusual increase in the number of backlinks, consider it as a red flag.
2. Set Email Alerts: Google Webmaster Tools can notify you about any issues with your website. You can set email notifications for any security issues, server connectivity problems, and also when the website is being penalized for not being indexed.
3. Keep Your Website’s Content Secure: To prevent content from being duplicated, use a tool to regularly check your website’s content. If you find your content appearing on other websites, request the webmaster to remove it. If they fail to comply, you can file a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) removal request.
4. Promptly Disavow Harmful Links: If you find spam links pointing to your website, “Disavow” these links immediately using the Google Disavow tool. It’s a way of telling Google to ignore these links while it assesses your site’s ranking.
Negative SEO attacks, despite being unethical, are a reality that every webmaster has to be aware of. By understanding what they are, their potential impact, and how to safeguard against them, you can protect your website, keep your search engine ranking intact, and ensure your online business continues to thrive.