What is Webspam?
Webspam refers to any content created to manipulate search engine rankings. It is also called spamdexing of black hat SEO. There are multiple types of spam, such as email and image spam. So, webspam specifically refers to spam that occurs on the web.
Webspam involves content-creation and link-building techniques that violate Basisbeginselen van Google Zoeken guidelines and spam policies. They could cause Google to demote the rankings or deindex the site or sites involved.
Webspam typically takes two forms: boosting and hiding.
Boosting is done to make the content appear more helpful than it is. For example, keyword stuffing. Hiding, on the other hand, is the act of concealing boosted content from search engines. Examples of hiding techniques include cloaking, hidden text, and hidden links.
Why Bloggers Should Understand Webspam
Bloggers must understand webspam because of the severe implications it can have on their rankings. Google takes webspam seriously and puts a lot of effort into finding, removing, and preventing them from appearing on search results pages.
Google is continuously improving its algorithm and systems to identify webspam. It has several teams and an algorithm called SpamBrain dedicated to identifying webspam.
It has also released major algorithm updates dedicated to combating webspam. One such update was the Penguin Algorithm update, which demoted the rankings of many sites engaged in webspam.
Google also frequently updates its spam policies, which means SEO practices that were not previously considered spam may now be considered as such. For example, parasite SEO became a black hat SEO technique when Google released the site reputation abuse update.
The implication of this is that white hat SEO techniques may become black hat and webspam over time. This means a blogger could engage in webspam without realizing it. This could cost a blogger their rankings and visibility on search results pages.
Google typically issues sites engaged in webspam with a manual actions penalty. Depending on the severity of the webspam, Google may demote the rankings of the specific webpage, directory, or site. In the most severe cases, Google will remove the site completely from search results pages.
Types of Webspam
Spam can be broadly classified into content and link spam. Content spam typically involves the manipulation of the content, while link spam involves the manipulation of the links pointing to the content. Google regularly releases spam and link spam updates to target both types of spam.
1 Content Spam
Content spam involves the manipulation of the content to trick Google into believing a piece of content is more helpful than it is. Some common content spam techniques include:
- Zoekwoord vulling
- Hidden text
- Verhulling
- Deuropening-pagina's
- Scraped content
- Machine-generated content
- Misleading functionality sites
Keyword Stuffing: Keyword stuffing is the excessive addition of keywords into visible text, code, anchor text, alt text, meta title, en meta description. In extreme cases, the keywords are added to the point where the content becomes unintelligible to the human reader.
Hidden Text: Hidden text refers to text hidden on a webpage. This could be done by making the hidden text the same color as the background. That way, the text will be invisible to visitors but visible to search engines.
Cloaking: Cloaking is the black hat SEO technique of presenting different content to visitors and search engines. The content displayed to search engines is usually relevant and of better quality than what is shown to visitors.
Doorway Pages: Doorway pages are webpages that rank for high-quality keywords on search results pages but then redirect visitors to another webpage when clicked.
Scraped Content: Content scraping is the theft of content from other sites. It is typically done using scraping software, and some bloggers may slightly modify the content to hide the fact that the content is stolen.
Machine-Generated Content: Google permits AI content insofar as it is helpful and has some human input. However, AI content without human input is generally considered spam since it is usually unhelpful to visitors.
Misleading Functionality Sites: These are sites that rank for specific keywords on search results pages but then contain different and sometimes unrelated content. For example, a site ranking for online scientific calculators but contains ads about a casino instead.
2 Link-spam
Link spam is the manipulation of backlinks to trick Google into thinking the site is getting more backlinks than it is. Google typically releases link spam updates to target sites engaged in link spam. Some common link spam techniques include:
- Betaalde koppelingen
- Koppel boerderijen
- Verborgen koppelingen
- Link exchanges
- Private blog networks (PBNs)
Paid Links: Google forbids sites from selling links for money or other favors. Advertising links should be marked using the sponsored link attribute.
Link Farms: Link farms are a group of sites that link to one another. The sites typically belong to a single person and are used to improve the rankings of the sites that are part of the farm.
Hidden Links: Hidden links are links hidden in obscure locations on a webpage. One technique is adding links to images, obscure symbols, or punctuations. The links and their anchor texts may also have the same color as the background,
Link Exchanges: Google permits sites to engage in link exchanges. However, it can penalize sites for engaging in aggressive link exchanges, which occurs when a site repeatedly exchanges unhelpful and low-quality links with other sites.
Private Blog Networks (PBNs): Private blog networks are a group of blogs that link to another blog. The site they link to does not typically link back to any of them in order to hide the fact that they are engaged in a link scheme.