What is search spam: types of search spam - how to identify them. Search spam What are the types of search spam?

Every year the number of sites hosted on the Internet increases exponentially. As a result, competition for a place in the TOP greatly increases (especially for high-frequency queries).

Webmasters and optimizers are forced to use a variety of methods to promote their own sites (their resources) in an ever-increasing competition.

And some of these methods are partially or completely prohibited by search engines.

Many users know firsthand about spam in their websites, but not everyone knows about search spam.

Search engine spam – what is it?

The common name for prohibited optimization techniques that some webmasters sometimes use is search engine spam.

This name is due to the fact that search results are spammed with pages with irrelevant content due to the use of dishonest promotion methods. In other words,

search spam is when a user’s request produces content that does not correspond to this request (in the user’s opinion) and which should not be in the TOP (in the search engine’s opinion).

The presence of such spam pages in search results negatively affects people’s attitude towards search engines and reduces their level of trust.

Types of search spam

What is considered search spam? Let us list its main types.

1. Stuffing content with keywords and phrases

The text itself, as well as descriptions of pictures and video files, meta tags, etc., can be filled to capacity with keys.

All this is done in the hope that the search engine algorithm will consider the page more relevant to these keywords. In fact, this method of SEO optimization has not worked for a long time. Webmasters who use it are more likely to get a ban for their site than to increase its position in the search results.

1. Automatic redirect

This is an instant redirection of users from one page to another.

In this case, when visiting a page of a website, a person is instantly redirected to another site.

Often the user does not even have time to notice the redirect itself (since it happens automatically and very quickly). Most often, after a redirect, a person ends up on a page with advertising content that is spammed with links.

1. Cloaca

In this case, for each of the promoted pages, the webmaster creates two versions at once.

• The first version of the page is intended for search engines,
• the second version is for ordinary users.

Thus, cesspools are different content for search engines and for users.

A special mechanism tracks who exactly visits the site - a search engine robot or an ordinary person. Based on this, one or another version of the page is displayed.

The page for search engines is very carefully optimized, it does not contain all unnecessary elements and details, but there are a lot of keywords for search engines. The page for ordinary visitors is made normal, as convenient and beautiful as possible (in terms of design and appearance).

And it seems like “the wolves are fed and the sheep are safe,” that is, the search engines are happy and the users are happy. But in fact, by using cesspools, the webmaster deceives the search engine, which, in turn, does not forgive such things and bans “forking” pages.

1. Swaping

This term means a complete replacement of the content of a website page immediately after its successful indexing in search engines. The primary task of a webmaster or optimizer using swap is to fill the page with unique and high-quality content, promote it in search results and get good traffic from search engines.

Then, after the next update (periodic update of the search engine), the webmaster completely changes the content of his page. Instead of unique content, text appears there, stuffed with keywords and links to promoted resources (sites).

It is clear that with the next update, search engines will detect the substitution and pessimize the page. But until then, it will continue to collect traffic (visitors), being in the TOP for some time.

1. Invisible text and links

• You can use very small fonts,
• you can make the font color and page background color the same (for example, white text on a white background),
• You can use special CSS styling rules to mask links.
• You can insert single-pixel images containing a link, etc. into the page.

How search engines fight search spam

Search engines do not like search spam not only for deception, but mainly because search spam misleads the user, the user remains dissatisfied and therefore leaves (may leave) to look for information on his request to another search engine. Search engines fight for their users, so they try not to disappoint them and provide only high-quality information in response to their requests.

This approach implies an irreconcilable fight by search engines against search spam. Search engines try to find spam, remove it from their database and punish (ban) such a site or page.

As for the ways to detect search spam, there are only three of them.

1) Automatic

In this case, search engine spam is detected using search engine algorithms. Based on the signs of a particular type of spam, a search is made for sites that use dishonest methods of promotion, and their subsequent pessimization.

2) Semi-automatic

In this case, the task of search algorithms is to search for suspicious sites and pages. The final decision on whether to ban or pessimize a site is made by the moderator () of the search engine.

3) Manual

Here, checking the site for involvement in the use of search spam from beginning to end is carried out by a moderator (assessor). Most often, such checks occur on the basis of complaints received from the owners of competing sites.

Promoting a website in search engines is task No. 1 for any webmaster and optimizer. After all, the number of site visitors and, ultimately, the profit brought by this site depends on high positions on queries. You can achieve good positions in search using permitted or unauthorized methods, the latter includes search spam, or as it is called at Google - “webspam”.

If you open the “License to use the Yandex search engine”, then clause 3.7. This license defines search engine spam as follows: “Search spam” is an attempt to deceive the Service’s search engine and manipulate its results in order to change the position of a particular website in search results. Websites that use “search spam” may be lowered in ranking or excluded from the Service database due to the impossibility of their correct ranking.— Thus, Yandex regulates webspam as deception of the PS and manipulation of search results, without specifically saying what kind of manipulations are meant.

The Google Corporation includes the well-known department Webspam Team, which is commanded by the well-known Matt Katz and this department is engaged in the fight against search spam. One of the latest creations of this department is the Google Penguin filter, which has made a lot of noise since the spring of 2012.

Google classifies the following as webspam, among other things:

• Doorways
• Hidden text and hidden links
• Link exchange schemes
• Masking and hidden redirect
• Pages filled with irrelevant keywords
• Pages or domains with almost the same content
• Link exchange schemes

For all this, the site can be lowered in ranking or even thrown out of the search databases. Google recommends reporting sites that use illegal search spam methods through this page. It is possible that in this way someone is getting rid of competitors in search results.

From the above, you can understand that webspam is the manipulation of content and links in order to obtain high positions. There are a lot of methods of webspam as such, and there is no point in listing them all in this article.

Spam rate

When ranking sites, an indicator such as the spam rate of an individual web page and the entire website is used. This coefficient is constantly recalculated depending on the incoming data and affects the ranking in conjunction with other factors.

Link search spam

Link webspam most often includes:

• Creation of sites (site networks) specifically for links
• Link exchange
• Trash links from comments
• Unmoderated links
• Links hidden
• Cross-cutting links not related to the subject of the site
• Purchased links with key entry
• Links for manipulating PR and TIC

Text search spam

Text search spam most often comes down to keyword spamming

• page text
• headers
• meta tags
• links
• presence of ks in the domain
• etc.

In conclusion, it is worth saying that search engines have always been determined to fight search spam and this fight continues to this day. Moreover, the successes of search engines in this matter are visible to the naked eye. But it’s up to you to decide which promotion methods to choose for your websites.

Rand Fishkin on anchors and the future of links

Hello everyone!

Each of us is familiar with the word SPAM. Moreover, everyone has encountered it and seen what it is. For example, in your email, in SMS messages, and almost everywhere. This concept also applies to the search results of Yandex, Google and other systems.

Search spam is sites or pages created for the purpose of manipulating search results. And, as a result, deceiving users and search engines.

Since the ranking of sites in search results is influenced by many factors, manifestations of search spam “put pressure” on them and the web resource quickly takes high positions. Simple re-optimization, in other words.

Basically, on such resources it is impossible to find an answer to a search query, or it is possible, but difficult, but it’s easy to catch a virus or “accidentally” install, for example, Amigo 😀

Types of search spam

There are several obvious manifestations of search spam:

• Oversaturation of text content with keywords;
• Reference "explosion". A sharp increase in the number of external links to the resource;
• Re-optimization of meta tags, ALTs of images;
• A large amount of useless content;
• 100% copying of content from other sites;
• Promotion by behavioral factors.

Each of us can “sin” a little and over-optimize or simply suddenly purchase a large number of external links. All of the above is punished by search engines, usually by exclusion from the index or forced demotion in the search results. So be extremely careful when promoting your resource.

You can read more detailed information about penalties for a particular violation in Yandex.

Special ones are responsible for tracking the actions listed above. For example, if you made a mistake in forming a link mass, then with your own hands you increase the chances of getting into Minusinsk. For example, it is responsible for spamming text.

Once you fall under the filter, it will be very difficult for you to regain the trust of search engines - you can spend a lot of time on this: from a month to several years. Moreover, it is often impossible to return to the previous positions in search results.

To avoid falling under the filter, you just need to follow certain requirements:

1. Link only to high-quality resources that are interesting to your visitors;
2. Do not abuse too much advertising. Also, you cannot place “shocking” advertising;
3. Use external links sparingly. In details ;
4. And finally, don’t deceive your visitors.

Other types of search spam

There are other types of search spam that you may also have encountered:

• Doorway sites are web resources that are actively promoted in the search engine in order to automatically redirect traffic to the advertising page of another site;
• Cloaking is pages and sites that provide different content to users and search engine robots in order to influence search engine rankings. In short, the robot sees one thing, and you see something completely different;
• Hidden text. Generating text content that is invisible to visitors, rich in a large number of keywords;
• Clickjacking is the placement of invisible elements on a website, when clicked on, some action occurs;
• Content of malware, viruses. A fairly common occurrence - a person enters , for example, request download driver for wifi modem and ends up on some site where he is asked to download this very driver. But instead of what he was looking for, a virus or some kind of malicious program appears on the computer.

All of the above are severely punished. If you encounter similar manifestations of search spam, feel free to write a complaint to Yandex or Google technical support - it will not go unnoticed.

Ultimately, to deceive the user.

Main types

• Unrelated to the content of the page, but popular in search queries, words in the “meta keywords”, “description” tags, for example “ sex», « freebie" As a result, search engines began to analyze not only special tags, but also the text of the site itself.
• “Pumping” text with keywords is an artificial increase in the frequency of a keyword or expression in the text and (or) the use of HTML markup elements (h1-3, strong, b, em, i) to artificially increase the weight of the keyword.
• “Invisible text” is text that is invisible to a page visitor, but is indexed by a search engine. Apply a text color that matches the background color, 1 pixel text, blocks of text, with the “display:none” style.
• Link spam - links that “inflate” the “link popularity” parameter and PageRank of the site. Since search engines, when responding to a request, are guided by the number of links available on other sites to a given resource, the idea arose to somehow increase the number of such links:
  1. Create small websites on free hosting, register them in a large number of thematic directories and link to the main one from them.
  2. Take part in the exchange of links.
  3. Buy links for money.
  4. Link spam from guest books, blogs, wikis, etc.

Search engines combat this by creating filters that include sites whose links are not taken into account when ranking.

• Doorways are intermediate pages created to increase the weight of the page for link ranking or to organize Google bombs. In accordance with doorway technology, a special doorway page must be promoted in the search index. And from this page redirect to advertising. One advertisement can have an unlimited number of doorways. Search engines respond by removing sites from their database that have automatic redirects. To which spammers respond with a simple trick: they ask the visitor to click on the “Login to the site” button or something similar.
• Masking, or “cloaking” - analysis of query variables, in which the search engine is given site content that is different from what the user sees.

Consequences of using search spam

• If early search engines could trust keywords and indications of update frequency, then, due to the active use of these methods to “deceive” search engines, later versions of search engines were forced to almost completely ignore these instructions, being critical of each of the pages of the site, which made it difficult to find “respectable” pages with rare content and specified keywords. For example, a page with the text of a medieval song and the keywords “Middle Ages, poetry, Eastern Europe”, which does not have a large number of links from other sites, and does not contain the words “Middle Ages, poetry” in the text, is unlikely to be found using these keywords.

There is a legend that search spam in small doses can effectively have a positive effect on website promotion. However, anything called spam cannot benefit consumers, and search spam falls under the category of gray SEO.

Search engines can recognize SEO spam. In this article, we will tell you what search engine spam is so that you don’t accidentally create it on your website.

Types of search spam

Search engine spam can be divided into four types:

• In the text of the article.
• In meta tags.
• In the links.
• In the domain name (yes, this even happens).

All these types of spam can be recognized by search engines, and if they are found on a website, it will be demoted in search results. Therefore, search spam should be excluded. Let's look at everything in order.

Spam in text

Search spam in the text of an article in philology is called tautology. In simple words, this is the repetition of the same phrases (words) to such an extent that reading becomes uncomfortable and sickening. This is where the term “” came from, which means the same thing.

Spam in text can be expressed as follows:

“We are a company that sells shampoos, and you can buy shampoos from us. We sell shampoos cheaply and deliver purchased shampoos. And you can also buy shampoo from us.”

Spam in the text appears because the author of the article tries to include too many key queries in the hope that this will have a positive effect on the ranking of the site. However, the result from this will only be negative. When writing an article, strive to make it easy to read.

Spam in meta tags

Spam in meta tags is the same tautology, only not in the article, but in the meta, that is, in the description and title of the article. If you use too many keywords in these parts of the page, you can get negative results.

If you consider the impact of meta tags on website promotion, you can understand that spam in them will lead to even greater negativity than in the text of the article.

Link spam

Internal linking is a good way to speed up site indexing. However, if you overdo it, the effect will be negative. So, if you create, for example, a dozen links to an article with the anchor “my article,” then the cost of such linking will be zero, and this will have a bad effect on promotion.

Domain name spam

Some people manage to buy themselves a domain that uses a key query. For example, buy inexpensive shampoo.rf or kupitshampun.ru. This is called search domain name spam. It is also advisable to avoid this.