You know all about the importance of SEO – but have you ever heard about negative SEO? This malicious practice is something that can affect your business and it can be a serious issue if you don’t catch it.
But what exactly is it – and do you really need to worry about it?
What Is Negative SEO?
Negative SEO is when someone else – often a competitor – attacks your domain to reduce its SEO effectiveness. This is usually achieved through doing something that Google has highlighted as bad SEO practice. This could include black-hat techniques like:
- Spam links to your website
- Comment spam
- Mass linking
- Links from suspicious sources
- Scraping content and publishing it on other sites
- Making fake social media posts
This kind of thing can land you with a Google penalty, which Google applies to companies that are practicing bad SEO tactics to prevent them from getting any SEO advantage.
Is It Really a Problem?
According to some, negative SEO is not a problem. As long as you are honest and don’t try to trick the system, you should be fine. Google also claims that negative SEO is very rare and nothing to worry about.
But others disagree. They claim that it can be particularly damaging for newer websites without much authority, or websites in very competitive niches, and that it can have negative consequences for the affected website, especially in the short term.
So while it might not be something to be overly worried about, you should certainly be on the lookout for it.
What Can You Do?
The best way to keep track of whether you are being affected by negative SEO is to monitor your backlinks regularly. A monthly audit is a very good idea, and you will quickly spot anything suspicious. If you suspect you are being targeted, start doing checks more regularly.
Google claims that it can spot incidents of negative SEO, and that it can stop it affecting you. However, it is better to check your links yourself. This is good SEO practice anyway because you will also spot good links, and this could lead to more opportunities for backlinking.
You could also make a habit of monitoring your brand mentions on social media and across the web. That way, if someone is linking back to your site using your name, or running a smear campaign by using fake posts or blog comments, you can catch them early.
Finally, don’t hire cheap and dodgy SEO agencies. Many of these use spam tactics that can have the same negative results, and it’s really just a way to shoot yourself in the foot.
Be Aware of Negative SEO
In summary, negative SEO is real, and it is something you should be aware of. But it is not something that should concern you too much – as long as you keep track of your links and your brand mentions.
Of course, as an experienced SEO agency that does not use any black-hat techniques, we will keep on top of all of this for you so you won’t have to worry about a thing.
As a specialist digital marketing agency consisting of a number of highly experienced digital consultants, Web Results Direct is expertly placed to support its clients with advanced, and strategic, digital marketing consulting services. To learn more contact us – call us now on 01483 429222.
