Some people will say that having no SEO is bad, but there is something worse than that: negative SEO. Negative SEO essentially destroys your brand, and being caught with negative SEO will surely be the demise of your business. Unfortunately, such SEO efforts aren’t generally done by you. Rather, they’re done by your competition in an attempt to bring you down! So, by being aware of their tactics, you can fight off negative SEO to ensure your business remains successful.
That said, a common negative SEO tactic competitors will employ against you is SEO spam. Here’s what it is:
What Is an SEO Spam?
To put it simply, SEO spam happens when a competitor intentionally sends back low-ranked links to your website, pulling your website’s rank down. Of course, this may sound simple to begin with, but the tactics can evolve quite drastically, making it hard for you or the search engine to catch them in the act.
What Types Of SEO Spam Are There?
There are various types of SEO spam, some of which are outlined below:
1. Blog Comment Spam
One of the most common types of SEO spam is blog commenting and posting. This type of spamming takes the form of leaving low-quality comments on blogs and articles or posting low-quality content on blogs. This is generally the easiest type of situation to identify and the easiest to correct.
2. Link Spam
Link spam is somewhat similar to blog comment spam, but it’s more difficult to identify. This type of spam is usually done by purchasing links, either 100 or more links, to your website. The links won’t generally carry any value, but they may still harm your search engine ranking.
3. Doorway Pages
Doorway pages are another form of spamming that is hard to pinpoint but easy to identify once you know what to look for. A doorway page is a page that is designed to rank for a specific search engine or keyword but is made to be highly optimized for that keyword. Doorway pages are generally created to manipulate SERP while giving the user no experience with the page.
How Do I Avoid Negative SEO?
As we’ve talked about, negative SEO is something you must be very aware of if you’re interested in running a successful business. Luckily, there are ways to avoid negative SEO. In fact, there are three easy ways to avoid negative SEO:
1. Secure Your Website
The first thing you need to do is ensure your website is secure. This means making sure all your links are secure and that you’re not commenting on or sharing content about your competitors. After all, if you’re caught leaving low-quality content on your competitor’s websites, you’re only making your own website suffer.
2. Ensure You Use Google Webmaster Tools
Google has a very useful tool called Webmaster Tools. Using this tool, you can see where your website ranks for any given keyword and essentially check if there is any malfeasance being done against you.
3. Be Aware Of Negative SEO
The final thing you can do is simply be aware of negative SEO. This means making sure you’re aware of the tactics and how they can hurt you. Additionally, it’s important to make sure you have a solid reputation on the web and be aware when a competitor is attempting to tarnish it.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has enlightened you on what SEO spam is and how it can hurt your business. Still, all is not lost. By using the tools available to you, staying away from negative SEO, and keeping a positive reputation, you can ensure your business is successful and even expand your business’ reach!
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