SEO spam
SEO spam in the sitemap: the sign a site has been hacked
SEO spam doesn’t take a site down and rarely touches the home page. It shows up as hundreds of new URLs in the sitemap, ready to steal rankings.
The problem
The site looks normal. Google sees something else.
The so-called Japanese keyword hack and its variants create thousands of spam pages about pharma, casinos or loans, visible to search engines and often hidden from visitors.
By the time your client notices the traffic drop, Google has already indexed the spam.
How it works
Sitemap and robots.txt under watch.
- 1
Daily reading
We read the site’s sitemap and robots.txt.
- 2
Analysis
We look for sudden URL growth, links to other domains, typical spam words and rules that block search engines.
- 3
Alert
You get an alert with examples of suspicious URLs, so you can check in a moment.
In detail
What we detect.
- Sudden growth in the number of sitemap URLs
- URLs with pharma, casino, loan and other spam words
- Links to external domains in the sitemap
- robots.txt changed or blocking every search engine
- With the SEO shield, a direct comparison of what Googlebot and visitors see
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is the Japanese keyword hack?
An infection that automatically creates thousands of pages with Japanese text or commercial spam, to exploit the site’s rankings. It shows up in the sitemap and in Google’s results.
Does this check need the plugin?
No, sitemaps and robots.txt are public. The plugin adds file checks and the comparison from inside the site.
Related features
Goes well with
Try it on your clients’ sites.
During the beta we welcome agencies in small groups and set up the first sites together.