Is Negative SEO really so easy?

With the definition "Negative SEO" (or Reverse SEO) we mean all those practices implemented in order to put another site in a bad light in the eyes of the search engine. Google, without a doubt the most authoritative and relevant search engine on the web, over the last few years has taken various measures to ensure that sites' rankings in the SERP (search results page) is as responsive as possible to the requests of the navigator. Google's novelty is Hummingbird, the new algorithm, which provides replies to all the words in the query, Panda, which rewards content quality, and Penguin. The latter is the one that most interests us.

The update penalises sites that take advantage of unethical SEO techniques and, above all, make an unsuitable use of backlinks. A company that practices negative SEO will move, in fact, in this field, by implementing malicious link building for the competitor that they have targeted. For example, the company will act so that the link in question is present on untrustworthy sites, or that they have no common point or that they are in other parts of the world. In this way, the website will be, in the eyes of Google, incorrect and not deserving to rank high in the SERP.

On the other hand, Google also provides an excellent tool for site managers, the "disavow tool", which allows you to check and delete backlinks that can damage your reputation. This makes practicing a negative SEO difficult. Another method to adopt is to opt for the viral attack. If you find a breach on a site that has been targeted, you can send viruses or malware that, in addition to causing problems for surfers, can also block some resources that can not be checked by Google spiders (or bots). As a result, the site will lose value according to the search engine and its SERP will fall. Ultimately, negative SEO is not a simple practice and there are several ways to counter it. In addition, it takes time and money that would be better spent on improving your site.