Search engine optimization (SEO) is a long game. Improving your website to rank higher on search engine results pages helps you attract more traffic. Plus, it helps build a trustworthy reputation. But, some people want to take shortcuts by using what is known as black hat SEO. If that happens, your business could pay the price.
What is Black Hat SEO?
Black Hat SEO is any activity that aims to increase the ranking and reputation of a website using methods that violate the terms of service of search engines such as Google or Bing.
In the early days of the Internet, many marketers used black hat SEO tactics to increase their visibility, drive traffic, and build trust. But as search engines evolved and tried to improve the quality of search results, they imposed penalties on unethical practices.
Now, threat actors have embraced this old-school subterfuge to exploit companies with established reputations and steal from unsuspecting online shoppers.
Why do people use Black Hat SEO?
Honest SEO (also known as white hat SEO) takes a long time to pay off. Once your site ranks high for competitive keywords, it appears to be a reliable brand that potential customers will trust. Threat attackers have realized that the best way to rank a site quickly is to hijack a website with an already established reputation.
Attackers can clone your website, known as domain spoofing, and then use black hat SEO tactics to drive traffic to their duplicate site. Someone could spoof a website to sell low-quality products to benefit from the reputation of a trusted store. They could also use the spoofed domain as part of a phishing scam. Because the fake site looks almost identical to bona fide brands, scammers can trick customers into sharing their credit card details.
Once thieves have your personally identifiable information, they can make fake purchases and sell your information on the dark web.
The good news is that modern analytics and antivirus solutions can help quickly detect phishing sites. However, Black Hat SEO attackers can boost the rankings of a fake domain and lure in unsuspecting victims before the fake site is detected and shut down.
How does domain spoofing affect your business?
At the age of social proof, trust with consumers is paramount. Your online reputation can make or break your business. When people use Black Hat SEO to copy your website, there are serious repercussions.
You lose traffic. As fake websites misdirect potential customers, your site will receive fewer visitors. You’ll lose sales and see a lower return on your marketing spend.
Consumers lose trust in your brand. Black Hat SEO leads people to a fake website. Then they can find poorly worded content, spammy links, fake reviews and fraudulent ads. This bad user experience can cause people to see your brand in a different light.
People leave bad reviews. This negative comment may be directed to a scam site, but the victims will blame you if it was under your brand. Bad press can deter other customers.
Search engines can penalize your business. Sometimes a genuine business will suffer the consequences if their site does not meet search engine standards. A Google penalty can banish a site from search results. Traffic will plummet and may take a long time to recover.
Reduce the chances of customers visiting a cloned website
If customers fall victim to financial fraud or identity theft and think it’s your company, you could have a public relations nightmare on your hands.
It is best to get ahead of this threat. Here are seven steps to help prevent black hat SEO from tricking your customers into a fake website:
Install a TLS certificate
A Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificate is a digital security protocol that authenticates the identity of a website and establishes an encrypted connection between the website and the user’s browser. Users can see the padlock and HTTPS prefix in your domain URL, giving them confidence that you’ll keep their personal information private and secure.
Secure your source code
Ideally, your developer should add security measures to protect your website from potential attacks. One such tactic is to disable the copy and paste feature on your site so that attackers cannot easily copy your source code.
Be proactive
Businesses should have vigilant security teams that proactively monitor their domain and traffic for any suspicious behavior. When you have established processes and strategies for data handling and risk management, you can improve the way you identify and defend against threats.
Use the rel=canonical tag
A common aspect of website spoofing is creating duplicate pages of a genuine site and then making subtle changes to the URL, such as changing a letter. Adding the rel=canonical tag lets search engines know that a specific URL is the master copy of a page on your site, making it harder for scammers to duplicate your site.
Study your website analytics
Most often, scammers play for a quick win and may not take the time to change all internal links. Even if visitors land on a cloned site, they can click links to the original, legitimate domain. Check your website analytics to identify incoming traffic from a cloned site with a similar domain name.
You can also improve your chances of finding a duplicate site by building lots of internal links to your website. Fortunately, this is also a good SEO practice to increase your site’s performance.
Act
Once you’ve identified a fake site, act quickly to remove it. First, report the IP address. Contact your hosting provider and request that they block all requests to the fraudulent site’s IP address.
Then send a takedown request to the provider or content delivery network. Provide clear details about the attack and any potential threats to your business or customers.
It also helps protect your brand’s copyright. You can share copyrights and trademarks to speed up the takedown process and add another layer of protection to your website.
Hire a certified ethical hacker
It’s much harder for someone to damage your business with Black Hat SEO if they can’t also duplicate your domain or hack your website. Hiring a certified ethical hacker will help you find security gaps and vulnerabilities and stay one step ahead.
Restore your reputation after a spoof
The tips above help you stop scammers. But by the time you take these actions, the impact of black hat SEO and a fake website could have already caused damage. At worst, criminals sold counterfeit products, stole credit card information, and committed identity fraud on consumers, all under your brand name.
What can you do to get people to trust you again?
Address the situation publicly
Don’t try to hide the problem. Create content that speaks directly to your customers, telling them you’re aware of the situation and working hard to repair the damage.
You could make a video for YouTube or Instagram, where you make a public apology to anyone affected. Even if it wasn’t your fault, it pays to take some responsibility and accept that your security team can do more to protect your customers.
Remove fake reviews
People who use Black Hat SEO often add fake online reviews to increase the credibility of their fake website. Contact search engines and third-party review platforms like Trustpilot and ask them to remove fake reviews.
Add multi-factor authentication
E-commerce stores should always have these security measures in place to protect customers. It is worth noting that cybercriminals can abuse the CAPTCHA system. Scammers will add these proofs to spoofed domains to trick visitors into thinking they are on a legitimate and safe site.
Communicate openly about your policies
Share your communication policies with your customers. For example, if you use two-factor authentication, make it clear so people know to expect it. If they don’t receive a two-factor authentication request on their phone or email, they may know they’re not on a genuine site.
Site spoofing can confuse customers and steal money from both them and their businesses. It’s part of good online hygiene today to be on the lookout for black hat SEO.
Technology writer
With a passion for creative writing and an unquenchable thirst to learn about futuristic technology, Christopher John Haughey went from a journalism degree to…
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