Unwanted SEO-ing by unknown third party

HairyKrishna · 06-12-2011, 08:13 AM

Hi, new to the forum

Long time reader, but never posted myself. But now I seem to be having a problem I hope other could share their insights on.

It may seem like a blessing: somebody is SEO-ing the hell out of my business website for a certain keyword. Problem is, I have no idea who it is. I never commissioned anyone to do so. Plus the person seems to be using rather shady tactics, such as semi-invisible links in footers on websites that seem to be hacked (the footers also link to other websites). Some of the webmasters have caught on and removed the footers.

It is a keyword I would like to rank for, but haven't been actively pursuing. My field (translation services) is quite competitive, but generally not an area where people have much SEO experience, at least not in my country.

It doesn't seem to hurt or improve my website. Or maybe it's just a matter of time. But I'm afraid the quick linkbuilding, followed by the links being quickly removed, may have a very negative impact at some point. I've read about 'Google bowling' before but figured it was a myth...

I checked my backlinks with SEO spyglass. No other direct competitors seem to be targeted. At first I thought it was a glitch, but Google Cache does show the link was on websites where the link has been removed.

Has anyone ever had this experience or advice on what to do?

Any help/thoughts would be greatly appreciated

markowe · 06-12-2011, 08:50 AM

Hi. I certainly raised an eyebrow at this as I am also in the translation services industry and agree that it is just not such a cutthroat business that people would resort to spam attacks, if that's what this is. I have recently ramped up some SEO for my translation business and certainly hope not to encounter anything like this! (it's not me, by the way, I doubt you are working specifically with Serbian and English

).

It certainly LOOKS like someone trying to discredit you both in SEO terms and in terms of your general reputation, though it's odd they would risk benefitting you by using desirable keywords - surely 'better' to use anchor text like "pr0n, v1agra" etc..!

Also, it's strange, you say you would LIKE to rank for those keywords, so you are not even ranking for them? So surely the page one competition would be a more obvious target?

Is there anyone obvious below you in the rankings that might stand to benefit, someone whose link profile also contains some questionable links like forum profiles etc., i.e. someone who knows about BH stuff? Hopefully the effort will not succeed - it's what everyone says SHOULDN'T happen (including Google).

markowe · 06-12-2011, 08:57 AM

P.S. Now that I think about it, this would seem like an attempt to damage your reputation first and foremost. If people start complaining that "your company" is hacking their sites for SEO benefits (hence they use of relevant keyword anchor text), you could end up with trouble from Google and who knows who else. Honestly, not sure what you do about something like that...

HairyKrishna · 06-23-2011, 04:56 AM

Thanks for sharing your insights

I think you have a strong point, but whatever the exact motivation, I strongly believe the person doing it had malicious intentions.

The keyword I'm ranking for at nr1 right now is "translation agency english", except in my language it's one word. The person who was building backlinks for me tried to do so for just "translation agency", which is much more competitive.

I noticed it did actually increase my rankings for "translation agency", so I was maybe on position 18 or something in Google. So with all the hundres of backlinks, that's all it managed to do... proving once again that unrelated footer links are not the way to go if you're serious about SEO.

But Google might get upset about them, so I just decided to contact all the websites that featured my links and explain the situation. Many replied they had no idea the links were there and thanked me for making them aware of it, and most have removed the links.

Fortunately this weird, weird, weird situation did not affect my rankings for my main keyword.

And while unlikely, if someone ever approaches me for Serbian translations, I'll send them to you

06-12-2011, 08:13 AM	#1
HairyKrishna Warrior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 7 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Unwanted SEO-ing by unknown third party Hi, new to the forum Long time reader, but never posted myself. But now I seem to be having a problem I hope other could share their insights on. It may seem like a blessing: somebody is SEO-ing the hell out of my business website for a certain keyword. Problem is, I have no idea who it is. I never commissioned anyone to do so. Plus the person seems to be using rather shady tactics, such as semi-invisible links in footers on websites that seem to be hacked (the footers also link to other websites). Some of the webmasters have caught on and removed the footers. It is a keyword I would like to rank for, but haven't been actively pursuing. My field (translation services) is quite competitive, but generally not an area where people have much SEO experience, at least not in my country. It doesn't seem to hurt or improve my website. Or maybe it's just a matter of time. But I'm afraid the quick linkbuilding, followed by the links being quickly removed, may have a very negative impact at some point. I've read about 'Google bowling' before but figured it was a myth... I checked my backlinks with SEO spyglass. No other direct competitors seem to be targeted. At first I thought it was a glitch, but Google Cache does show the link was on websites where the link has been removed. Has anyone ever had this experience or advice on what to do? Any help/thoughts would be greatly appreciated

06-12-2011, 08:50 AM	#2
markowe The Wordbay Guy War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 1,531 Thanks: 185 Thanked 315 Times in 191 Posts Social Networking	Re: Unwanted SEO-ing by unknown third party Hi. I certainly raised an eyebrow at this as I am also in the translation services industry and agree that it is just not such a cutthroat business that people would resort to spam attacks, if that's what this is. I have recently ramped up some SEO for my translation business and certainly hope not to encounter anything like this! (it's not me, by the way, I doubt you are working specifically with Serbian and English ). It certainly LOOKS like someone trying to discredit you both in SEO terms and in terms of your general reputation, though it's odd they would risk benefitting you by using desirable keywords - surely 'better' to use anchor text like "pr0n, v1agra" etc..! Also, it's strange, you say you would LIKE to rank for those keywords, so you are not even ranking for them? So surely the page one competition would be a more obvious target? Is there anyone obvious below you in the rankings that might stand to benefit, someone whose link profile also contains some questionable links like forum profiles etc., i.e. someone who knows about BH stuff? Hopefully the effort will not succeed - it's what everyone says SHOULDN'T happen (including Google).
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06-12-2011, 08:57 AM	#3
markowe The Wordbay Guy War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 1,531 Thanks: 185 Thanked 315 Times in 191 Posts Social Networking	Re: Unwanted SEO-ing by unknown third party P.S. Now that I think about it, this would seem like an attempt to damage your reputation first and foremost. If people start complaining that "your company" is hacking their sites for SEO benefits (hence they use of relevant keyword anchor text), you could end up with trouble from Google and who knows who else. Honestly, not sure what you do about something like that...
	eBay is full of HOT PRODUCT NICHES with low competition, just going begging! * Isn't it time you were making $$$ with eBay niche sites (like in the good old days)?! * Well now you can, and you don't even need to join the eBay Partner Network! CLICK FOR DETAILS!

06-23-2011, 04:56 AM	#4
HairyKrishna Warrior Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Posts: 7 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Unwanted SEO-ing by unknown third party Thanks for sharing your insights I think you have a strong point, but whatever the exact motivation, I strongly believe the person doing it had malicious intentions. The keyword I'm ranking for at nr1 right now is "translation agency english", except in my language it's one word. The person who was building backlinks for me tried to do so for just "translation agency", which is much more competitive. I noticed it did actually increase my rankings for "translation agency", so I was maybe on position 18 or something in Google. So with all the hundres of backlinks, that's all it managed to do... proving once again that unrelated footer links are not the way to go if you're serious about SEO. But Google might get upset about them, so I just decided to contact all the websites that featured my links and explain the situation. Many replied they had no idea the links were there and thanked me for making them aware of it, and most have removed the links. Fortunately this weird, weird, weird situation did not affect my rankings for my main keyword. And while unlikely, if someone ever approaches me for Serbian translations, I'll send them to you