Out in the open sea of SEO, it’s the small fish you should look out for. If you’re is outdoing your competition ranking-wise, chances are they might learn about a thing called negative SEO and start exploring the many practices out there to de-rank your website.
And let’s be clear on one thing: negative SEO is real!
If you have some really jealous competitors who would rather use unethical (yes, we said it) SEO practices than actually invest in quality SEO for their own website, you’d better be prepared.
And mind you, green-eyed competitors may not be the only ones trying to get at your website, so listen up:
Negative SEO includes as set of black-hat SEO practices typically used at sabotaging competitors’ rankings. From directing spammy links to a ranking page and duplicating content across the web to hacking or totally crashing a website, there are some really unsportsmanlike tactics that can make your skin crawl.
Still, no matter how rough the open sea might be, you will remain on a steady course as long as you know where to deploy your forces. For SEO, it means building an impenetrable website structure, creating a strong online brand identity, and forming a comprehensive SEO strategy that will include techniques for preventing and fighting negative SEO.
That in mind, here’s the breakdown of common negative SEO practices to watch out for.
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