Search engines like Google are continuously working around the clock to ensure users can find relevant information. While giving preference to high-quality content and taking care of technical SEO factors is the best way to make a website SEO-friendly, unfortunately, some businesses engage in malicious practices like web spamming, jeopardizing their online presence and credibility.
Here’s everything you need to know:
Webspam refers to the practice of creating content to manipulate search engine algorithms and scale rankings on SERP.
There are many ways this is achieved, with the most common ones being cloaking, keyword stuffing, hiding text and links, doorway pages, and link schemes that make the website look rich in information and value-oriented.
But, search engines are continuously working on refining their algorithms. So when a website indulging in such black hat SEO practices is found, they are most likely to either get blacklisted or suspended.
Aside from website owners voluntarily indulging in these practices, there’s always a chance that spam comments may also contribute to the website being loaded with webspam.
Either way, the practice can significantly hamper a website’s potential to rank and make it challenging for a business to create a powerful online presence.
There are two types of webspam, here’s a quick overview:
These techniques usually involve using black hat SEO strategies to boost the page’s SERP rankings.
Common practices may include:
The practice involves showing an immensely resourceful and value-driven URL or web pages to the search engines, whereas the website visitors are shown a completely different set of content and URLs. The tactics aim at smartly fooling search engines into believing that the website has the information that visitors could be looking for.
Keywords are essential to make a relevant audience see a web page. However, in the case of keyword stuffing, the website may have used keywords excessively across the website, hampering readability and the potential to rank higher on search engines.
While ‘once upon a time’ keyword stuffing was the trend (because it used to work), things are different today, and repeatedly filling your content with keywords will hurt your attempts at ranking high on SERP.
It involves spamming search engines with queries related to one’s website or own business with the intention of boosting rankings. With search engine algorithms updating to identify such attempts, it is best to avoid this and keep your website from getting shadow-banned or, in the worst cases, suspended.
Copying content from top-ranking websites and republishing them on your website gets a warning notification from search engines (or the business the content has been copied from), resulting in a drop in SERP rankings as well as facing penalties or blacklisting.
Spamming other websites with irrelevant, excessive, or promotional comments that link back to your website will be seen as spam and stand a high chance of getting flagged.
Here are some malicious practices that are often hidden from website visitors but evaluated by search engines:
This practice involves adding hidden text on the website by turning it white; the intention is to add as many keywords as possible without them being seen by visitors. Nonetheless, as search engines use deceptive CSS techniques to identify such tactics, it is best to avoid them.
These tight-knit link networks automatically generate links and circulate them in the network as a source for high-quality backlinks. These links are artificial and can be easily detected by search engine algorithms.
Purchasing backlinks is extremely dangerous as not only is there a chance that these links can be spammy, but there’s also a risk that they could come from malicious sources that can jeopardize the credibility of your website.
The effect of webspam can show up as:
Here are the tried and tested methods to prevent your webspam from affecting your online presence:
Comments received on blogs and forum threads are common ways spam can show up independently, even when you are doing everything right. The best ways to avoid this are keeping your website updated, installing an anti-spam plugin, adding a reCAPTCHA plugin, and blocking IP addresses known for posting spam comments.
While using AI to produce content may seem like the best way to publish content consistently, the long-term effects will nullify every effort being made. Such content pieces are superficial, do not meet Google’s quality requirements, and always run the risk of being plagiarized.
Not only that, AI-generated can sometimes seem like a collection of the best content pieces put together, making it challenging for a website visitor to identify unique propositions being offered by the business.
Strictly avoid signing up for link farms or trusting networks that promise to build a strong backlink profile for your business overnight. Instead, curate a link-building strategy to acquire links from websites with high DA and credibility organically.
Aside from these, it is best to avoid excessive link exchanges, using automated programs for creating backlinks, including the same anchor text for every content piece, and even requiring links as part of a service contract.
The best way to signal credibility to search engines is by producing the highest quality content and keeping the website’s health in check by regularly auditing and ensuring technical SEO parameters are in adequate condition.
Webspam is notorious for its ability to generate quick results that are damaging and deteriorating in the long run. These practices are heavily disregarded and frowned upon by search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Besides, when a business is constantly engaging in using temporary methods to gain organic traffic, generate ROI, or even create brand awareness. As an online business, it is always best to take advantage of white hat SEO as it guarantees positive and sustainable results.