Spammy website dominating SERPs! Why!?
-
Hey guys,
I've recently noticed that a series of EMDs have been setup to completely spam an extensive set of keywords - and it seems to be working.
All of the URLs are keyword targeted with tons of keyword variations. And they're getting massive ranking preference over a number of more established websites.
These are just an example of some of the domains;
And then there's loads of local targeted domains such as;
Again, all of these are getting high ranking with what seems to be duplicated websites. It's pretty bizarre.
Will Google penalise these sites? Surely they will?
-
It really isn't that simple though, is it?
We're always at the mercy of Google's Algorithm and, unfortunately, the search engine is still in a certain state that it can still give preference to websites that don't have great content. In fact, websites with rubbish content.
-
I agree with EGOL, why focus on what these low-level spammers are doing, wouldnt it be better to focus on the BEST content you can create for that clients target customer and aim to make your client the BEST company in that industry?
Great Content = Great Traffic = Great Customers = Great Conversion = Great Profits = Great Client.....it really is that simple!
-
I agree with Irving, "It's just a matter of time until they get penalized." - lots hope its not that long.
Yes, this is it.
I read many of your posts on here, and if I was to ask you if I should do what they a have done with a site, I would guess you would say no - you need to create great content, lots of really great content and post it directly to your own site etc etc - right?
That is what I am doing every day on each of my sites.
For information sites I am trying to make the best page on the web for that topic.
For retail sites I have product pages that are about like everyone else's page - maybe a bit more wordy... but then I have lots of information pages that I try to make the best-on-the-web for that topic.
I attack everything with that method... and pay very little attention to the tricks that others are doing. It takes my eye off of the ball.
-
I don't think it is that simple.
They are a known scam out fit, operating under multiple names and ripping customers off. There are countless cases online of customers being scammed by using these sites. However, seemingly they create a new domain, and get ranked.
Thats fair enough, if they are able to do that they should be SEOs, however, its a clear scam, with replicated sites. Sites with no links, poor content and new domains - great SEO
And is that in-line with what is perceived to deliver rankings? Egol, I read many of your posts on here, and if I was to ask you if I should do what they a have done with a site, I would guess you would say no - you need to create great content, lots of really great content and post it directly to your own site etc etc - right?
So, how can a site, or rather multiple sites like this, with zero content, zero links (some have anchor text rich links from forums) and new registered domains, mostly on the same server, beat long established, big name companies in the UK (and no, not sites I have worked on) within days of registering a new domain, and then, not only stay there, but move up the rankings?
Its not that simple.
I agree with Irving, "It's just a matter of time until they get penalized." - lots hope its not that long.
-
I like Irving's answer... my initial impression is...
These are not EMDs. If you are not beating them then they have either earned their positions or you haven't.
I think it is that simple.
-
A further check reveals that the operators of these sites appear to be scam artists. I've checked and they own over 200 domains, many of them registered this year, all with similar EMDs.
There are also many many sites with customer reviews compalining about being scammed by them: http://www.reviewcentre.com/Kitchens-and-Bathrooms/Kitchen-Units-www-kitchenunits-co-reviews_1463360
So, is Google's algorithm really that advanced if these can operator and push out legitimate sites?
Should we all just become spammers in this case?
-
In terms of reporting them, I've noticed that Google only allows you to produce a spam complaint for one URL at a time. Is there a way to add multiple URLs?
-
Well, for one particular competitive keyword they've steadily been climbing from page two, one, and are now in position number three.
I know what you mean about the payday loan sector too. That search is even more spammy than this industry.
-
If you have only recently noticed them then i guess they are fairly new and exploiting their honeymoon preiod with search engines. As Irving says I am sure they will be penalised soon.
We work with a brand that operates within the UK Payday Loan sector and we see spam sites being created on a daily and hourly basis. Using several illegal methods to get links they tend to gain top rankings for a few days / a week before Google gets on top of them.
If you want to try and raise these to Googles attention prior to this you could file a spam report through Webmaster tools.
-
It's just a matter of time until they get penalized. I see same phone number, same content, i'm sure same server.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
My website disappears off google!
So this might be kinda of a weird question... Every morning and night I check the ranking of a website that I am building.. The ranking has gone up a lot the last two months. It went from the fifth page to now the second page. I have a issue where some days I check Google my website is completely gone! I go through every page for my keyword and it's not there! After a couple of days of frustration I check again and all of a sudden it is there but now at a higher ranking... I went through the code to make sure there's a not a not follow code in the robots.txt page... Btw another weird thing is so then I look up my website on a google out of country like google.sg and I'm ranking first page like number 5 but again disappeared off google usa. Literally driving my crazy.. does anyone know why this could be? Btw the first time it disappeared I went into webmasters and sent a request because I thought I got penalized but they responded they could not find any spam and I was NOT penalized...
Search Behavior | | BecCan0 -
All pages were returning 404 for an hour. Will it impact the SERPS?
Hi, Due to a bug in my website system, all the pages were returning an 404 default page for a period of 1 hour. Can this event impact the SERPs of this site? (the site is heavily visited, more than 500k users coming from google every day, so I assume google crawls my pages every moment)
Search Behavior | | lucasms0 -
When auditing a website, when do you decide to delete pages?
Given that the Panda algorithm includes engagement and user experience, when would you consider deleting a page that has poor engagement and conversion metrics? For example, consider a page that ranks well organically and receives (relatively) decent traffic from search. However, this page has poor engagement metrics compared to other pages on the site, does not convert visitors as well as other pages on the site, and doesn't have any external links. Would you consider deleting this page? Which metrics do you use when auditing a site and considering a web page from removal (bounce rate, average time on site, pages per visit, linking root domains, visits, revenue per visit, etc.)? Are some metrics weighed more than others? What kind of thresholds do you use? Finally, is there a situation when you would choose NOT to delete pages, even considering the above?
Search Behavior | | SAMarketing0 -
How to optimize website for several US locations we service?
Hi, Our business has a few brick-and-mortar business locations, but it is servicing multiple big cities in the US, where we do not have a location, but we do business in though our independent agents (and we cannot use their locations).
Search Behavior | | SCLTeamShip
I have inherited the website, which has duplicate content for all the locations (cities and states), and I am worried about possible penalties. Every major city and state in the US has been targeted so far, but it seems pretty spammy to me- duplicate content, pages for all major US cities, pages for all states, etc. This is a B2C services website, and we can service anyone in the US. Example of pages: domain.com/services/service-from-x-city
and domain.com/services/service-from-x-state The goal is to rank locally for all the cities we are targeting. What on-page optimization should I work on besides unique content for each one? Should I consolidate some pages, and if yes, what do you recommend?
What overall strategies should I follow so I do not lose the traffic for the targeted cities?
Off-page, I am working on building local citations for these cities. Thank you.0 -
Visual Website Optimizer vs. Optimizely vs. Conductrics
I've always done my own A/B testing and haven't used a software package. I've heard a lot of good about Visual Website Optimizer. However, I like that Conductrics uses statistical modeling where the others don't. So what do you see as being the really big pluses? Note: I need to find a platform so that we can do testing faster and for more clients at a time... I just don't have the time to hand build and track each client's multivariation test. Thus the need for software. Therefore, ease of use, quick integration, and good analytics are important in my decision making process. Thanks in advance!
Search Behavior | | SteveTheWoodsman2 -
Google Webmaster Tools notice of detected unnatural links to our website
Hi, We have been using SEOmoz for a good few months now and have found it incredibly useful. Unfortunately however I think we may have slipped up a little bit as we have just received the following message in our Google Webmaster Tools: Google Webmaster Tools notice of detected unnatural links to http://www.refreshcartridges.co.uk/ I have a funny feeling I might know what the problem is but I'd like a confirmation before I potentially go off on a wild goose chase. We also own the domain name www.computerarticles.co.uk and recently started introducing the author at the bottom of the post along with both a link to the website homepage and a link to a deep, popular page on our website. For example, check out http://www.computerarticles.co.uk/twitter-time-saving-tools/ We genuinely didn't realise this was a bad thing and thought it would just provide Google with a way of deep linking straight in to popular areas of our site. I would really appreciate advice as to whether you think it might be these links that are causing the problem or whether there is something else that could be causing the problem. In the event it is these links that are causing the issue would you recommend removing the entire 'about the author' page (as we have published around 500 pages on that site) and simply put a link in the blog roll or simplify it to just link to the homepage. I appreciate in advance any help you could give. Regards Chris
Search Behavior | | ChrisHolgate0 -
Hi guys.. post-penguin my website coming in and out of serps every other day... what reason for that? ie. #11 --> #300+
We had one of the pre-penguin "unnatural links " messages in WMT - then Penguin hit April 24th/25th.. wee then set to work on Link profile... since 19th May we have had numerous search phrases come 'back' into rank pre-penguin for a day ie.. #5 - #10 and then drop the next.. ie 300+ this has been happening across a wide range of key phrases.... in fact it may well be that the key phrases are added to the serps 'briefly' or for a set amount of time... but our ranking checker checks daily so while it appears to be every other day in and out there may be another pattern... but the question is What is Google doing here and Why? any suggestions?
Search Behavior | | Geminineil1 -
Ranking multiple domains in the SERPS for same keywords?
Curious if anyone has had success ranking multiple sites with same whois and server info? We have a client who has purchased multiple businesses over the years in the same industry. Each site has a solid amount of link popularity already and good respected Brand. But I'm wondering with the whois info being the same and the same servers, if ranking for multiple domains will be worth attempting.
Search Behavior | | iAnalyst.com0