{"id":37262,"date":"2026-06-03T13:01:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/?p=37262"},"modified":"2026-06-03T13:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T13:04:13","slug":"protect-your-website-from-negative-seo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/protect-your-website-from-negative-seo\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Your Website from Negative SEO"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"37262\" class=\"elementor elementor-37262\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-6edb5ff e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"6edb5ff\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-10ba99e e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"10ba99e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-72715f6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"72715f6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Objective<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-691587c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"691587c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This blog aims to clarify what negative SEO entails, teach readers to recognize the indications of a negative SEO attack, and provide them with the precise measures to safeguard their websites from negative SEO and maintain their rankings.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48e212b elementor-widget elementor-widget-toggle\" data-id=\"48e212b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"toggle.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-7641\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-7641\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Key Takeaways<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-7641\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-7641\"><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Negative SEO is a deliberate attack on a competitor&#8217;s search rankings using black-hat tactics.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sudden backlink spikes, ranking drops, and scraped content are the main signs of a negative SEO attack.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Search Console, Ahrefs, and Copyscape are the main tools to detect.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A robust and well-diversified backlink profile will weaken the threat of negative SEO attacks.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reporting, disavowing, and DMCA requests are your primary recovery actions.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-2def576 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2def576\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2e8163e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2e8163e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9ea1c7f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9ea1c7f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Protect Your Website from Negative SEO with Experts from SEO Discovery, Starting at $250\/month.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f2a7aaf elementor-align-left animated-fast elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"f2a7aaf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/free-digital-marketing-consultation.php\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Book a Free Audit<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-1920af1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"1920af1\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-d9044ae\" data-id=\"d9044ae\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e0a3cbc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e0a3cbc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building strong organic rankings takes months or even years of consistent effort. Yet that progress can be threatened not by your own mistakes, but by someone else&#8217;s deliberate external actions designed to damage your search visibility. This is the reality of negative SEO, and it is something every website owner should understand and prepare for.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-911d8ef elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"911d8ef\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.google.com\/search\/docs\/essentials\/spam-policies\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Google Search Central<\/a>, Google&#8217;s algorithms can automatically ignore many spammy backlinks, making modern negative SEO attacks more focused on hacking, content scraping, and technical sabotage.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-84d4428 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"84d4428\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Understanding negative SEO meaning is your first line of defense. The term stands for intentional harmful strategies aimed at lowering your site&#8217;s position and reputation by third parties. You may not even realize it when the attack happens. A website, whether it belongs to a law firm, local shop, or online store, can affect people. Yet, having the proper awareness, means, and plan, one is able to identify risks at the beginning, respond quickly after a hack, and know how to prevent negative SEO from causing significant harm.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-bd1246b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"bd1246b\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-background-overlay\"><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3b058ae\" data-id=\"3b058ae\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-143e7f2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"143e7f2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Table Of Contents<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b471d33 elementor-icon-list--layout-traditional elementor-list-item-link-full_width elementor-widget elementor-widget-icon-list\" data-id=\"b471d33\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"icon-list.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"elementor-icon-list-items\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#one\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">What is negative SEO?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#two\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">What are negative keywords in SEO?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#three\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Is negative SEO illegal?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#four\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Signs of a negative SEO attack<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#five\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">How to protect your website from negative SEO<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#six\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">What are the negative impacts of AI Overviews on SEO?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#seven\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">How to remove negative SEO<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#eight\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">How to report negative SEO to Google<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#nine\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">How SEO Discovery built a stronger SEO foundation that increased organic clicks<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#nine1\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">Protect your website and grow with SEO Discovery<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"elementor-icon-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#ten\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-icon-list-text\">FAQs about negative SEO<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ecd26d6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ecd26d6\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"one\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-cc3cd0b\" data-id=\"cc3cd0b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d7bbd3e elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d7bbd3e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What is negative SEO?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-24a61e7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"24a61e7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Simply put, negative SEO is when someone, typically a competitor, intentionally uses underhanded tactics to lower your website&#8217;s search engine ranking. They aim to get Google to penalize your site, all while the perpetrator stays hidden.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some of the most frequent negative SEO attacks include<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Toxic Backlink Bombing:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Loads of spammy links directed at your site to get you algorithmically penalized.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Content Scraping:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Your articles are copied and republished across low-quality sites to create duplicate content problems.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Site Hacking:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Injection of concealed spam links in your source code or changing meta tags without your knowledge to divert your SEO authority elsewhere.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fake Reviews:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Flooding your Google Business Profile with fake negative reviews to harm your brand image.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Crawl Budget Manipulation:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Using fake bot traffic to throw off how often Google indexes your pages.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><b>Here&#8217;s one big reality: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Negative SEO does not work effectively against websites that have a large number of credible backlinks. In fact, the better your SEO, the more difficult it is for someone to attack you.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-f6d147f e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"f6d147f\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-484ab6a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"484ab6a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e6cf70f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e6cf70f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Worried About Toxic Backlinks or a Ranking Drop?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d77d343 elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d77d343\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our SEO audits and authority-building campaigns identify and neutralize threats before they escalate.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?phone=919888066659\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-aad2816 elementor-align-left animated-fast elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"aad2816\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?phone=919888066659\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Talk to an Expert Today<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-9a19baa elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"9a19baa\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"two\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-30da15a\" data-id=\"30da15a\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-940bdc7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"940bdc7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What are negative keywords in SEO?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bd89f83 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"bd89f83\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what do we mean by negative keywords in SEO? That&#8217;s a tricky question for many site owners. In paid search, negative keywords are the terms you More exactly, exclude them from your ads so that you don&#8217;t get clicks from people who are not really interested. For organic SEO, the same principle applies during <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/keyword-research-guide\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">keyword research<\/span><\/a><b>:<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">by<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">getting rid of words that bring the wrong kind of visitors or cause your main pages to compete with one another, you can safeguard your plan. Knowing how to find negative keywords in SEO means checking Search Console for terms that have received several impressions but have not resulted in worthwhile user engagement.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-5dd77be elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"5dd77be\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"three\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-170aa67\" data-id=\"170aa67\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-22c342d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"22c342d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Is negative SEO illegal?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f8d029 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7f8d029\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, it depends on the method used. Pointing spam links to a competitor&#8217;s site is mostly unethical and definitely a violation of Google&#8217;s guidelines, but it remains legally ambiguous. But website hacking is a crime under legislation like the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in the US. Other environmentally harmful acts like fraudulent DMCA takedowns and commissioning DDoS attacks are illegal no matter the location.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-eb1b023 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"eb1b023\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"four\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7e3d9bb\" data-id=\"7e3d9bb\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-707a6bc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"707a6bc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Signs of a negative SEO attack\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0a58a40 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0a58a40\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spotting <\/span><b>signs of a negative SEO attack<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on time can save you from a long recovery process instead of only a quick fix. The checklist below comprises the ways to detect such attacks:<\/span><\/p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><b>Warning Sign<\/b><\/p><\/td><td><p><b>Where to Check<\/b><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sudden rankings or traffic drop<\/span><\/p><\/td><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Search Console, Google Analytics<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spike in new toxic backlinks<\/span><\/p><\/td><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ahrefs or SEMrush, Referring Domains report<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unexpected jump in indexed pages<\/span><\/p><\/td><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GSC, Pages, Indexed section<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your content appearing on other sites<\/span><\/p><\/td><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Copyscape, Google Alerts<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Security warnings on your property<\/span><\/p><\/td><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GSC, Security and Manual Actions tab<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surge in negative fake reviews<\/span><\/p><\/td><td><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Business Profile dashboard<\/span><\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In case several signals manifest simultaneously, you should consider it a coordinated negative SEO attack and react immediately.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-de7c435 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"de7c435\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"five\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-17409e0\" data-id=\"17409e0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9abe0aa elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"9abe0aa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to protect your website from negative SEO\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4d751d8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4d751d8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Below is a useful guide on <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how to protect your website from negative SEO,<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> divided into four main aspects.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e6c06f1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"e6c06f1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">1. Monitor your backlink profile\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7c09530 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7c09530\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An extremely popular tactic of negative seo is to purposely connect your site to a tremendous number of harmful, spammy backlinks. Here is how to protect your website from negative SEO through backlink vigilance:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set up weekly backlink alerts in Ahrefs or SEMrush and watch for spikes in spammy referring domains.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Analyze anchor text distribution. An unnatural flood of exact-match or irrelevant anchors is a big warning signal.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use the Google Disavow Tool carefully. Only submit a disavow file when you spot a clear, coordinated spam campaign, not for isolated junk links Google will likely ignore anyway.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep investing in legitimate <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/link-building-services.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">link building services<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to develop an authoritative profile so that a few hundred spam links become statistically insignificant noise.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c66c8f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2c66c8f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">2. Lock down website security\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8d90206 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"8d90206\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hackers looking to do you a negative SEO could, for example, add hidden spam links to your website, modify the canonical tags, or even create thousands of doorway spam pages under your domain. Here is how to prevent negative SEO through site security:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always keep your Content Management System (CMS), themes, and plugins up to the minute. Most hacks take advantage of vulnerabilities in outdated software.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make it mandatory to use Two-Factor Authentication on administrator accounts and restrict login attempts.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep track of your indexed page number in Google Search Console. An unexpected increase indicates, almost surely, that your site has been compromised.<\/span><\/li><li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schedule regular<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/technical-seo-audit-service.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">technical SEO services<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> evaluations to detect weak points before attackers can exploit them.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-dc06f81 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"dc06f81\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">3. Protect against content scraping\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7cc541a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7cc541a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Attackers steal your very best material and reuse it in hundreds of low-quality websites to get you into trouble for duplicate content with Google. Here are a few ways to protect your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/content-writing-services-india.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SEO content writing<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> investment:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use Copyscape regularly to scan for unauthorized copies of your articles.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make use of Google Alerts for unique fragments of your important pages so you can discover content scraping early on.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Publish and get crawled without delay. Google benefits the first publisher. A strong <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/why-internal-linking-is-important\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">internal linking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> network and an uploaded sitemap assist Google in crawling your fresh content quickly.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you find the exact scraping, you may submit a DMCA takedown notice via Google&#8217;s Copyright Removal tool.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-14906f9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"14906f9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">4. Build an unshakeable authority profile\n<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7cb3714 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7cb3714\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best long-term strategy for how to protect a website from negative SEO is straightforward: make your site so strong that it can&#8217;t be harmed. When you regularly use <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/guest-post-service.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">guest posting services<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, you acquire real editorial links from very authoritative domains in your niche. But <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/digital-pr-services.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">digital PR services<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, when perfectly done, bring branded mentions and trust signals, which make your site almost impossible to damage by external manipulations. And a strong <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/what-is-e-e-a-t-in-seo\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">E-E-A-T<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> profile will transform these authority signals from negative attacks into mere background noise.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-45198a6 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"45198a6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-64cc941 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"64cc941\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-168487e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"168487e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want a Full SEO Health Check?<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3cd210d elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3cd210d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0Our team audits your backlinks, security, and content in one comprehensive report.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/free-website-audit-report.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0e5ad63 elementor-align-left animated-fast elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"0e5ad63\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?phone=919888066659\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Talk to Experts<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-d3132a8 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"d3132a8\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"six\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-47c10e0\" data-id=\"47c10e0\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-05b2052 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"05b2052\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">What are the negative impacts of AI Overviews on SEO?\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-27fd5ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"27fd5ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The negative impacts of AI overviews on SEO are a growing concern in 2026. Google&#8217;s AI Overviews give brief answers on the search results page, which unfortunately brings new issues for the publishers:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Decrease in click-through rates as people get their informational queries answered without a click.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content misattribution where AI extracts your content summary but does not channel traffic back to your website.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brand misrepresentation when AI Overviews wrongly describe your business or services.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The negative impact of AI on SEO affects thin, generic content the most. Turning to highly unique, experience-based content and specialist <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/ai-seo-agency.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">AI SEO services<\/span><\/a> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will safeguard your site from being replaced by AI, as it will be cited by AI.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b2c0074 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b2c0074\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"seven\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-5d6aa53\" data-id=\"5d6aa53\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-69f78d0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"69f78d0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to remove negative SEO\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d8e89fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d8e89fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Upon confirmation of a negative SEO attack, these are the steps you need to take to get rid of the damage caused by negative SEO:<\/span><\/p><ol><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Export your full backlink profile from Ahrefs or Google Search Console and filter by spam score.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Compile a disavow file listing all confirmed toxic domains in .txt format.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Submit the disavow file via the Google Search Console Disavow Tool.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">File DMCA requests for any scraped content through Google&#8217;s copyright removal form.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Restore any hacked files, remove injected spam links, and update all access credentials.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uploading your sitemap again in Google Search Console will request a new crawl of your site.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Watch your Search Console weekly for 60 to 90 days to track recovery.<\/span><\/li><\/ol>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-e9e1c88 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"e9e1c88\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"eight\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-29e8f69\" data-id=\"29e8f69\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5571cd2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5571cd2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How to report negative SEO to Google\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-19e1c6c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"19e1c6c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Negative SEO via official Google channels can be reported in these ways:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Spam Report:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Use Google Search Console&#8217;s Spam Report to flag coordinated link attacks.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>DMCA Takedown:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Send a takedown notice to Google via the legal removal form if your content has been scraped.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Reconsideration Request:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> This one can be issued via Search Console if you were hit by a manual penalty after you have rectified the violations.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fake Review Flagging:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> You can report fake Google reviews straight from your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/gmb-service.php\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GMB services<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> dashboard by marking each of them as violating the policy.<\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Always document everything with screenshots and dated exports before you report negative SEO to google.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7bbcc9a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7bbcc9a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"nine1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-140e8e8\" data-id=\"140e8e8\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fd9aa4c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"fd9aa4c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">How SEO Discovery built a stronger SEO foundation that increased organic clicks \n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b935c6f elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"b935c6f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1033\" height=\"516\" src=\"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/image-35-e1780491826561.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-37270\" alt=\"How SEO Discovery built a stronger SEO foundation that increased organic clicks\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9bce248 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9bce248\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A legal firm&#8217;s website has excellent content but very little visibility in search. In the three months before our involvement, it had only 53 clicks and 2,200 impressions. The average position was 11.1, and CTR was 2.4%, indicating that the site was virtually invisible.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By improving technical health, local visibility, content quality, and authority signals, SEO Discovery helped transform a nearly invisible website into a growing organic asset with significantly improved search performance.<\/span><\/p><p><b>Results Achieved in Just 3 Months<\/b><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">407% increase in organic clicks, growing from 53 to 269 clicks.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">586% growth in search impressions, increasing from 2,200 to 15,100.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Average keyword position improved from 11.1 to 7.3.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Higher visibility for valuable legal search terms, driving more qualified exposure.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stronger competitive positioning against established law firms in the market.<\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A more resilient SEO foundation, better equipped to withstand algorithm updates and potential negative SEO threats.<\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a6eee58 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a6eee58\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Protect your website and grow with SEO Discovery\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b6652ad elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b6652ad\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Negative SEO is a real threat, but the right strategy can significantly reduce its impact. Websites with strong technical foundations, quality backlinks, and proactive monitoring are far more resilient against malicious attacks.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At SEO Discovery, we help businesses strengthen their online presence through expert SEO, technical optimization, and long-term growth strategies. With 22+ years of experience and a proven track record across industries, we know how to protect rankings while driving sustainable organic growth.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-9a7cb76 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"9a7cb76\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-de46340 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"de46340\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0e17d26 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0e17d26\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3>Do not wait for an attack to act. <\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36e1b3b elementor-widget__width-initial elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"36e1b3b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Start building your SEO fortress today.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-27994c0 elementor-align-left animated-fast elementor-invisible elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"27994c0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_animation&quot;:&quot;fadeIn&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-sm\" href=\"https:\/\/api.whatsapp.com\/send?phone=919888066659\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Start Growing Today<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-54cbcbd elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"54cbcbd\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\" id=\"ten1\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-598d9ad\" data-id=\"598d9ad\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d636e1b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"d636e1b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">FAQs about How to protect your website from negative SEO\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1200033 elementor-widget elementor-widget-toggle\" data-id=\"1200033\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"toggle.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1881\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1881\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">What is negative SEO?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1881\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"1\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1881\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Negative SEO refers to the use of dishonest techniques by individuals who want to damage a rival&#8217;s search engine standings. These methods may include harmful linking practices, stealing content, and hacking websites.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1882\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"2\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1882\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Does negative SEO still work? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1882\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"2\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1882\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Negative SEO tactics hardly affect sites with a strong, varied backlink profile. Google is regularly updating its algorithms to identify and disregard manipulative behavior, so maintaining your site&#8217;s authority is the most effective way to protect yourself.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1883\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"3\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1883\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Is Negative SEO Still a Thing in 2026? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1883\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"3\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1883\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Really, negative SEO is still on the move in 2026. Strategies have been modified, but backlink bombing, content scraping, and fake reviews continue to be a threat to unprotected websites.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1884\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"4\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1884\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Can bad backlinks hurt my rankings? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1884\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"4\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1884\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes. A sudden and well-coordinated influx of toxic and spammy backlinks can activate Google&#8217;s spam filters, and a manual penalty may be applied, resulting in a major loss of rankings.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1885\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"5\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1885\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">How do I detect attacks? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1885\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"5\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1885\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep track of backlink spikes through Ahrefs, observe the number of indexed pages in Google Search Console, and create Google Alerts for your main content phrases as a way to detect attacks early.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1886\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"6\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1886\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">How do I stop competitors from harming my website? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1886\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"6\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1886\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Establish a healthy backlink profile, make sure to keep your CMS updated with 2FA enabled, do backlink monitoring on a weekly basis, and immediately detect scraped content with the help of Copyscape.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1887\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"7\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1887\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">Should I use Google's Disavow Tool? <\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1887\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"7\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1887\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only resort to it if you have found a concerted spam campaign. Google will generally discredit all those random trash links on its own. Besides that, disavowing indiscriminately can do more harm than good, Mainly to your already existing quality links.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1888\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"8\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1888\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">How do I protect my content from being copied?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1888\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"8\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1888\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use Copyscape to scan for duplicate content, set Google Alerts for unique phrases, publish quickly, and file DMCA takedown requests for any confirmed scraping cases.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-1889\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"9\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-1889\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">What is an example of bad SEO?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-1889\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"9\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-1889\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, a competitor that sends thousands of links from gambling or adult websites to your domain with the anchor text being excessively packed with keywords is a classic case of a deliberate negative SEO attack.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toggle-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-title-18810\" class=\"elementor-tab-title\" data-tab=\"10\" role=\"button\" aria-controls=\"elementor-tab-content-18810\" aria-expanded=\"false\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon elementor-toggle-icon-right\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-closed\"><svg class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-off\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C85.961 64 0 149.961 0 256s85.961 192 192 192h192c106.039 0 192-85.961 192-192S490.039 64 384 64zM64 256c0-70.741 57.249-128 128-128 70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.741-57.249 128-128 128-70.741 0-128-57.249-128-128zm320 128h-48.905c65.217-72.858 65.236-183.12 0-256H384c70.741 0 128 57.249 128 128 0 70.74-57.249 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened\"><svg class=\"elementor-toggle-icon-opened e-font-icon-svg e-fas-toggle-on\" viewBox=\"0 0 576 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M384 64H192C86 64 0 150 0 256s86 192 192 192h192c106 0 192-86 192-192S490 64 384 64zm0 320c-70.8 0-128-57.3-128-128 0-70.8 57.3-128 128-128 70.8 0 128 57.3 128 128 0 70.8-57.3 128-128 128z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-toggle-title\" tabindex=\"0\">What strategies can I use to combat negative SEO online?<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-tab-content-18810\" class=\"elementor-tab-content elementor-clearfix\" data-tab=\"10\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"elementor-tab-title-18810\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monitor backlinks consistently, lock down site security, build high-authority links, protect your content with DMCA tools, and report confirmed attacks to Google promptly.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is negative SEO?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Negative SEO refers to the use of dishonest techniques by individuals who want to damage a rival&#8217;s search engine standings. These methods may include harmful linking practices, stealing content, and hacking websites.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Does negative SEO still work?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Negative SEO tactics hardly affect sites with a strong, varied backlink profile. Google is regularly updating its algorithms to identify and disregard manipulative behavior, so maintaining your site&#8217;s authority is the most effective way to protect yourself.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Is Negative SEO Still a Thing in 2026?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Really, negative SEO is still on the move in 2026. Strategies have been modified, but backlink bombing, content scraping, and fake reviews continue to be a threat to unprotected websites.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Can bad backlinks hurt my rankings?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Yes. A sudden and well-coordinated influx of toxic and spammy backlinks can activate Google&#8217;s spam filters, and a manual penalty may be applied, resulting in a major loss of rankings.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How do I detect attacks?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Keep track of backlink spikes through Ahrefs, observe the number of indexed pages in Google Search Console, and create Google Alerts for your main content phrases as a way to detect attacks early.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How do I stop competitors from harming my website?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Establish a healthy backlink profile, make sure to keep your CMS updated with 2FA enabled, do backlink monitoring on a weekly basis, and immediately detect scraped content with the help of Copyscape.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Should I use Google's Disavow Tool?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Only resort to it if you have found a concerted spam campaign. Google will generally discredit all those random trash links on its own. Besides that, disavowing indiscriminately can do more harm than good, Mainly to your already existing quality links.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How do I protect my content from being copied?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Use Copyscape to scan for duplicate content, set Google Alerts for unique phrases, publish quickly, and file DMCA takedown requests for any confirmed scraping cases.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is an example of bad SEO?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">For example, a competitor that sends thousands of links from gambling or adult websites to your domain with the anchor text being excessively packed with keywords is a classic case of a deliberate negative SEO attack.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What strategies can I use to combat negative SEO online?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"<p><span style=\\\"font-weight: 400;\\\">Monitor backlinks consistently, lock down site security, build high-authority links, protect your content with DMCA tools, and report confirmed attacks to Google promptly.<\\\/span><\\\/p>\"}}]}<\/script>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Objective This blog aims to clarify what negative SEO entails, teach readers to recognize the indications of a negative SEO attack, and provide them with the precise measures to safeguard their websites from negative SEO and maintain their rankings. Key Takeaways Negative SEO is a deliberate attack on a competitor&#8217;s search rankings using black-hat tactics. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":37269,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[953,954,955],"class_list":["post-37262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-search-engine-optimization","tag-how-to-protect-your-website-from-negative-seo","tag-negative-seo","tag-protect-your-website-from-negative-seo"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37262"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37274,"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37262\/revisions\/37274"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37269"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seodiscovery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}