First things first, this is not a slam on SEO tactics or the industry itself, but in the way that some operators in the industry go about it. The fuel for this article really just stems from the 200+ spam comments I swept under the rug on our blog this morning. For those of you that don’t know what the purpose of spamming a blog post is, I’ll explain it simply:

Organic SEO is essentially based around getting your Google search rankings as high as possible. One of the ways that Google decides the importance of your website is how many other websites link to it. This acts as a ‘recommendation’ from one website to another on its content and relevancy. When Google is prompted to search a keyword, the highest ranking sites for less-then-corporate keywords (i.e. how to tie your shoes, parachuting tips, bike-riding backwards) often come up because of their title and article that re-uses these keywords in the site. Usually, the ones with the most inbound links (other sites linking to that site) will win Google’s competition for the most relevant site, and pop up in the top 7 search results. Getting in these spots for search results is essentially the goal for SEO.

Because of this universal goal, inbound links are basically treated like a commodity. An SEOer’s goal is to grow as many quality inbound links to their site as possible in order to increase their search ranking. They will then list websites in directories, create partnerships, or post blogs or articles and site their homepage as a resource, really any way to create an external link from someone else’s site. Spamming is basically doing the same thing, except with no regards to content, purpose, or relevance to the content of a blog or directory. This is why if you’re reading a blog and notice comments that are seemingly out of place or in Russian, that’s because they ARE. It’s a technique to gain as many inbound links as possible.

I’ll let the occasional spam comment slip by because some of them are well written, or sometimes I’m not sure if it’s a real person behind a computer who actually runs a jewelry blog. Spammers are counting on no one moderating the smaller, local blogs, so they’ll fill their comments with things like this:

“Both sides other two energizer e2 rechargeable batteries specs jurors for heard thattarka trail the plaque very particular icn isotope products shall all you assumedlidoderm patch and dot ragon was”

Pay attention to the links imbedded in that incoherent product ramble (replaced with dead links). Every time one of those is posted on a website, it’s a recommendation from the site it’s posted on to the site it links to. So whether these links follow to a blog article, porn site, scam, or energizer battery commercial, the result is the same. Your site has given a ‘vote of authenticity’ to these links. Also, when someone posts on a WordPress blog like this, they usually get to link back to their own site, or any site of their choosing, which is why you’ll see spam comments without any links on them, like this:

“My mother recommended your blog. I’ve bookmarked it.”

This particular post linked back to wildcasinos.net and was posted by admin@calcuttatube. Now I’m pretty sure a network’s admin’s mother in Calcutta isn’t out recommending my blog to her family in the casino industry, but this is a good example of a ‘masked’ spam comment.

For those of you that have worked with SEO or have hired someone to do your SEO in the past, this is just me highlighting a tactic used by the less scrupulous operators in the industry. For those of you that may run your own personal or recreational blog, this is something that might help explain all those comments you’ve been getting about a Russian porn stash on your article “10 places to walk your dog”

This is why it’s important to know that when you hire someone for SEO, or any advertising for that matter, you need to know who and what you’re working with. Hopefully if you’re reading this, you can avoid your brand becoming victim to these illicit tactics.