Implementing an SEO strategy tailored to your business helps you get consistent, quality traffic from search engines like Google. But, what if you get a big fat Google penalty despite staying on the right path? Negative SEO is still a threat in 2025 and beyond as there are always bad players in every industry.
As long as open source CMS platforms exist, there’s the potential to hack in and deploy some sort of link scheme that intentionally triggers a penalty. It doesn’t even have to happen on your website for you to fall victim to a negative SEO attack.
The good thing is you can take simple measures and stay vigilant to side-step any negative SEO attack, keeping your digital assets on the path to consistent growth. This post dives deep into the possible negative SEO tactics you should know about and how you can keep your website safe from them.
Let’s dive into the seedy underworld of negative SEO so you’re armed with the knowledge it takes to protect your website’s traffic.
Possible Negative SEO Attacks and Unfair Competitive Practices to Protect Yourself Against Online
Before you can implement the necessary protective measures, it’s crucial that you understand how someone can harm your site to make it less visible, or worse, vanish from search results.
- Malicious Backlink Building: Sabotaging a site with low-quality or spammy backlinks.
- Content Scraping and Duplication: Copying site content and posting it elsewhere to trigger duplicate content penalties.
- Fake Reviews and Negative Feedback: Posting false negative reviews on platforms to damage reputation and credibility.
- Website Hacking and Malware Injections: Compromising a site to inject harmful codes or content.
- Creating Fake Social Profiles: Misrepresenting a business or website on social media to damage its reputation.
- Removing Valuable Backlinks: Requesting link removal pretending to be the site owner.
- Click Fraud: Repeatedly clicking on ads to deplete advertising budget and trigger penalties.
- Redirecting Links to Competitors: Redirecting your backlinks to competitor sites to bolster their ranking.
- Keyword Stuffing and Over-Optimization: Adding excessive keywords to slash ranking by triggering a penalty.
- Negative PR Campaigns: Creating negative propaganda against the business using various channels.
Let’s get into the details.
Malicious Backlink Building
One of the most effective ways to hurt a website’s SEO, reputation, and organic rankings is by creating malicious backlinks. These are low-quality, spammy backlinks created by someone for the sole reason to sabotage your website.
The issue is that anyone can create these backlinks, especially competitors who want your place in SERPs. All they have to do is add your website’s link on a low-quality domain.
Common Concerns About Link Profiles in AHREFS
When I look through a website’s link profile in AHREFS, I’m constantly asking myself this one simple question: ‘Would this happen naturally if the site owner was not actively doing SEO?’
If the answer is Yes, the individual link or tactic is good for SEO. If not, it falls somewhere into this list and that indicates the site is likely to eventually land a penalty without corrective measures:
- Over-optimized anchor text
- Too many links from the same domain
- Sudden unjustified spikes in backlink acquisition
- High percentage of low-quality links
- Only having links from high DR or DA sites
- Unnatural patterns in link growth over time
- Inconsistent dofollow/nofollow ratio
- Large number of site-wide links
- Backlinks from too many irrelevant niche websites
- Decreased diversity in referring IPs
- Links from penalized or spammy domains
- Disproportionate ratio of homepage vs. deep page links
- Variability in link attribution dates
- Too many links with no organic traffic potential
- Lack of contextual relevance in linking pages
Never let your SEO look like SEO…websites get popular and earn links all the time in a very random way. There should be no pattern to it.
Building specific links all at once is one way you might implement an SEO attack on a competitor without even having control of their website.
Content Scraping and Duplication
This negative SEO tactic involves copying your site’s content and posting it on other online sources. This can trigger duplicate content penalties, potentially hurting your site’s SEO, reputation, and even conversions. For instance, let’s say you have a web page optimized for local window-cleaning search queries. A competing business copies all the content on your web page and creates a new one of its own. Their goal could be to outrank you with your own content or hurt your existing rankings by creating duplicate content issues for your site.
The problem is when there are two web pages with the same or even similar content, search engines like Google don’t have a way of knowing which one is original. Duplicate content can confuse search engine bots, leading to lost rankings for both versions. And yes, this is still the case today. Just Google song lyrics and you’ll see how much duplicate content gets served up on page 1 for certain queries:
Google doesn’t know or care who was the first to copy those lyrics over to their website. It’s not important to their algorithm to understand and bad actors can exploit that fact in certain niches.
Fake Reviews and Negative Feedback
Most people look at a business’s reviews and reputation before investing. Customer reviews provide an honest picture of your services or products. Unfortunately, not all reviews come from actual customers. It’s an open field; anyone can visit your Google Business Profile and leave feedback even if they’re not your customers. Google and other platforms like Yelp don’t have a 100% effective system to prevent fake reviews, making it crucial for business owners to manage their online reputation.
Here’s why fake, negative reviews can harm your business:
Tarnished Reputation
Unfortunately, people generally focus more on negative reviews than positive ones. If a business has 30 positive reviews, the 2 negative ones might send many potential customers away.
Lower Google Rankings
Customer reviews on your GBP help Google gauge your business’s credibility. The search engine looks at your reviews while ranking you for relevant search queries. This means negative reviews aren’t only customer repellents but can also hurt your business’s search visibility.
Website Hacking and Malware Injections
This is probably the worst form of negative SEO attack on a website. In fact, someone hacking into your site may have another motive such as stealing customer data and destroying your business reputation. The attack may involve injecting malicious code or harmful content by gaining unauthorized access to a website.
For instance, hackers might replace your original content with spam text or fake ads. While this type of attack may not be as common, webmasters need to be careful as the stakes are super high.
The effects? Loss of organic traffic and/or serious SEO penalties. Not to mention the tarnished reputation in the eyes of your customers. You could even face legal ramifications for allowing user data to be leaked online.
Webology Case Study:
Creating Fake Social Profiles
Your social media presence might not directly impact your SEO, but it has an indirect effect. It helps search engines assess your credibility as a business owner.
The issue is anyone can create social media profiles in your business’s name, spread misinformation, and even mislead customers with the intent to damage your reputation. Fake profiles can also be used to scam your customers.
Removing Valuable Backlinks
This is another sneaky negative SEO tactic that involves impersonation and reaching out to website owners requesting the removal of valuable backlinks.
Imagine building high-quality backlinks from credible sources only to have them removed by a competitor. What do they gain by this? The authority of the linked site gets a hit as valuable backlinks get removed from their profile, allowing competitors to sweep in and take over your search engine rankings.
Keyword Stuffing and Over-Optimization
Over-using a specific keyword to boost a web page’s ranking is a bad SEO practice. Keyword stuffing is another way to sabotage your reputation. To add keywords or invisible text to your web page, someone first has to get access to your website. A successful hacking attempt is a prerequisite for this negative SEO tactic to work.
Security Measures to Keep Your Website Secure
The good news is that you can keep your website secure and protected from all types of negative SEO attacks. All you need to do is follow our security checklist below.
| Security Measure | Description |
|---|---|
| Keep WordPress Updated | Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins to protect against vulnerabilities. |
| Use Strong Passwords | Ensure that all user accounts employ strong, unique passwords and consider enforcing strict password policies. |
| Change Default Username | Avoid using the default ‘admin’ username and create unique administrator usernames. |
| Implement Two-Factor Authentication | Enable 2FA for all user logins to add an extra layer of security. |
| Install a Security Plugin | Use reputable security plugins to monitor and protect against security threats. |
| Enable Firewall | Set up a web application firewall (WAF) to block malicious traffic before it reaches your site. |
| Secure wp-config.php File | Move the wp-config.php file one directory above the WordPress root to make it harder to access. |
| Disable File Editing | Disallow file editing from the WordPress dashboard by modifying your wp-config.php file. |
| Regular Backups | Schedule regular backups of your site and store them securely to restore your site if hacked. |
| Change WordPress Database Prefix | Change the default database prefix to make it harder for attackers to guess table names. |
| Monitor Site Activity | Keep track of site activities using logging plugins to identify and review suspicious activities. |
| Enable HTTPS | Use an SSL certificate to encrypt data between the user’s browser and the server. |
| Limit Login Attempts | Restrict the number of login attempts to prevent brute force attacks. |
| Hide WordPress Version | Remove the WordPress version number from your site to make it harder for attackers to exploit known vulnerabilities. |
| Disable XML-RPC | Deactivate the XML-RPC feature if not in use to protect against potential exploitation. |
| Use CAPTCHA on Forms | Implement CAPTCHA on login and comment forms to reduce the chances of automated spam and hacking attempts. |
| Secure Hosting Environment | Choose a reputable hosting provider with strong security measures and support. |
| Implement Content Delivery Network (CDN) | Use a CDN to protect against DDoS attacks and improve site performance. |
| Set Correct File Permissions | Configure file and directory permissions so that no unnecessary users can modify them. |
| Regular Security Audits | Conduct periodic security audits to uncover and fix vulnerabilities promptly. |
Keep WordPress Updated
WordPress regularly releases new updates to make itself more secure and functional. If your website is using an outdated version of WordPress, hackers could take advantage of this vulnerability and harm your site. What you want to do is regularly check for new updates and keep your website updated to the latest WordPress version.
Use Strong Passwords
A weak password is easy to guess, making it easier for hackers to access your site’s backend. It’s your first line of defense as a website owner, so use these best practices when creating your password:
- Use at least 12 characters
- Combine uppercase letters, lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers
- Don’t use predictable passwords
Change Default Username
By default, WordPress assigns the username “Admin” to every website. Hackers can target it in brute-force attacks. What you want to do is create a new administrator account and change the username. Once you’ve created a unique username, log in and delete the old admin account.
Implement Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication requires you to verify your identity twice, adding an extra layer of security to your account. This means after entering your password, you’ll be required to enter a secret code received on your email or phone to access the site. So, even if someone guesses your password, they can’t log in without accessing your phone or email. An easy and effective way to set up two-factor authentication is by installing and setting up a plugin like Google Authenticator.
Install a Security Plugin
If you’re on WordPress, a good security plugin can act as a shield for your website. These plugins can automate several security tasks, such as:
- Malware scanning
- Blocking suspicious activities
- And more
Wordfence is a good security plugin you can rely on.
Enable Firewall
A firewall acts as a security guard standing at the entrance of your website. It blocks suspicious activity and prevents harmful traffic from reaching your website. Some hosting services offer built-in firewalls. If not, you can install one yourself with a security plugin like Wordfence.
Regular Backups
You can lose your website’s data for several reasons – having a backup file you can upload to your site and restoring it to a previous version is always a good idea. You can use a WordPress plugin like Updraftplus to have backups of your site in case anything goes wrong. All you’d need to do in case of data loss is upload the backup file and your site will be restored.
Pro tip: Schedule automatic backups (Daily or weekly) to ensure minimum data loss in case of a breach.
Enable HTTPS
HTTPS protects the data exchanges between a visitor and your site. Install an SSL certificate so that hackers can’t intercept sensitive information like passwords. When your site is protected with an SSL certificate, it appears safe to visitors as well, building trust.
To get the “Secured” status for your domain, you can either purchase an SSL certificate or create a free one on platforms like Cloudflare and Let’s Encrypt. A domain with an SSL certificate installed has “https://” instead of “http://.
Limit Login Attempts
A popular way to access and hack any site is by guessing your password and entering multiple combinations in quick succession, also known as brute-force attacks. By limiting login attempts, you can protect your site from unauthorized access. This means if someone enters an incorrect password multiple times, they’ll be blocked out. On WordPress, you can use a plugin like “Limit Login Attempts Reloaded”.
Use CAPTCHA on Forms
CAPTCHA (Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart), as the name suggests, is designed to differentiate bots from human users. People often use bots to send spam messages through website forms and inject malicious code. A simple CAPTCHA can help prevent these bots from doing any such activities. It works by requiring users to complete a small task to verify that they’re human. This can include typing specific texts or identifying images. On a WordPress site, you can let a plugin like reCAPTCHA by BestWebSoft take care of this.
Secure Hosting Environment
An important reason to choose quality hosting services is that they offer strong security features and protect your site from server-level threats such as:
- Unauthorized access
- Malware injections
- And more attacks
Therefore, while choosing your hosting service provider, look at some important qualities like:
Daily backups: Backups at the hosting level means you won’t have to worry about creating them yourself. If, for any reason, you lose your website’s data, you can restore it quickly and easily.
Regular updates: Check if they use the latest versions of the technology like PHP.
Webology offers reliable hosting, so you won’t have to worry about your site’s security.
Conclusion
Negative search engine optimization may not be as common as positive SEO, but it’s still a threat a website owner should not take lightly. From fake reviews trying to tarnish your reputation to malicious backlinks, we’ve talked about virtually every type of negative SEO attack you can face in 2025 and beyond. More importantly, if you’ve read this far, you now have a list of protective measures you can take to keep your site secure and on a path to consistent, long-term growth.
Frequently Asked Questions About Negative SEO Tactics
Q: What is negative SEO and how can it impact my business?
A: Negative SEO refers to malicious activities, such as link spam, that aim to damage your site’s credibility and lower its search engine rankings. These attacks can result in reduced organic traffic, harm your business reputation, and necessitate proactive measures to safeguard your online presence.
Q: How can Webology help protect my site from negative SEO attacks?
A: Webology assists in mitigating the risks associated with negative SEO by offering comprehensive SEO strategies, regular audits, and advanced tools like Screaming Frog and SEMrush. These resources enable you to analyze and monitor your backlinks, identify malicious activities, and improve your site’s credibility and ranking.
Q: What are common types of negative SEO attacks I should be aware of?
A: Common negative SEO attacks include malicious backlink schemes, content duplication, and hacking attempts targeting your site’s linking structure. These acts can devalue your site’s credibility and impact search engine rankings. Understanding these threats helps in effectively countering them and preserving your site’s reputation.
Q: How does Google handle negative SEO activities?
A: Google uses sophisticated algorithms, including the Penguin algorithm, to detect and neutralize malicious backlinks that threaten your site’s rankings. By blacklisting manipulative domains and offering tools like Search Console, Google helps webmasters protect their content integrity and maintain positive search engine visibility.
Q: How can SEO tools enhance my site’s security against negative SEO?
A: SEO tools Like AHREFS and Moz provide a comprehensive audit feature that identifies toxic links and other threats to your site’s search engine performance. By continuously monitoring your site’s safety, these tools offer proactive solutions to safeguard your business reputation and ensure sustained search engine ranking, helping you maintain a positive digital presence.
Do you need help constantly monitoring your website’s security and search engine performance? The team at Webology offers full service SEO and hosting solutions to keep your site safe and optimized for maximum visibility. Contact us today to learn more about how we can protect your content integrity and maintain a strong online presence. Don’t let negative SEO tactics harm your business reputation online.
