Free (Legal) Negative PPC / SEO / Social Media Tool Kits & Case Study*

Post date: Jul 20, 2016 12:23:23 PM ( last updated 1.2025)

*courtesy of Google, Bing, Yahoo, ICANN, the UK Advertising Standards / Competition and Markets Authorities etc...

   Negative Search Engine Optimisation is the name in the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) / industry for when someone makes an attempt to lower a website's rankings / prominence in search engines by various means, both legal and illegal. In competitive SERPs it makes sense as long as your own practices are "clean" to try and knock down the competition in every possible way. 

    If you are working in a locality where Google dominates the search engine market (like the UK), the GOOG Webmaster Guidelines (https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769) might be considered the "laws of the land" for the SEO industry. For example, GOOG offers us multiple tools to help us do 'Negative SEO' on sites which violate these rules by reporting issues.

   I recall one ex-Googler saying in the past at a Q&A at a conference that all Webspam reports are read by a human being - I don't know if the same goes for Map spam. Google's Juan Felipe Rincon stated in 2016 that Google takes action on 65% of user-generated spam reports (http://searchengineland.com/google-takes-action-on-65-of-user-generated-spam-reports-243708).

   Part of a SEO strategy report can include competitor analysis, including analysing competitors' sites looking at where they are getting 'good quality' backlinks from with the aim of trying to obtain the same or similar links. You may notice some spammy links in this process. That said, don't expect (m)any spam reports to GOOG to have the desired outcome even if you report the (same) direct contravention of their rules on a regular basis! I've read a comment on a forum that “Submitting a complaint to Google about a spammer is like sending a letter to Santa Claus at the North Pole” which is what it often feels like in my experience. Google may already be aware of the issue you are reporting so I'd recommend focusing on well-ranked profiles and sites. 

Reporting competitors' contraventions of Google Webmaster / ICANN / ASA / Online Ad Engine / Search Engine Map guidelines might be considered just something you need be able to say you've done as part of your ongoing work for your SEO / PPC clients. This is only really worthwhile if your client is 'clean' themselves (for obvious reasons)!

  The following activities (in theory at least) of analyses of competitors' compliance  with search engine, social media site and legal guidelines can create real competitive advantage & might also be considered by some to be a cornerstone of retained SEO / PPC activity. 

1. Webspam Reporting

To this day, Google is not very good at detecting all the sites which:

A. have paid and sponsored backlinks

B. use spammy tactics (e.g. practices such as 'gibberish'-type keyword rich text, hidden text, doorway pages, cloaking, sneaky redirects etc). 

C. have low quality (review) content

How could they?

   It's fundamental to know that any links intended to manipulate Google PageRank (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PageRank) or a site's  ranking on Google may be considered part of a link scheme and thus be a violation of Google’s Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behaviour that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site.

As well as reporting sponsored & paid links to "ten blue links results", in 2025 it is also possible to report the following types of webspam to Google & Bing: 

1. competitor's "low quality (review) content" - reporting issues such as this is done via the Search Quality User report. See https://www.bing.com/webmasters/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a 

2. competitor's sponsored / paid links to citations in Google AI Overviews

3. (parasite hosted) spam citations "from sources around the web" created by competitors (or their SEO agency) used in some Google Knowledge Graph (review) list results. 

4. reporting parasite hosted (blog) spam content used in these Google AI Overview & Knowledge Graph citations to the (blog) hosts in question...  

   The following is just one example of a link scheme which may negatively impact a site's ranking in search results if Google take action:

- Buying or selling links that pass PageRank. 

   For example, links may be part of a paid 'Featured Promotion', labelled as such or as an 'Advertorial' & 'Sponsored Content' and multiple permutations of these phrases. Searching for these phrases in relation to your client's non-branded key phrases may help identify these links.

Here's how to identify your competitons' paid and sponsored links quickly and easily.

   Here is Google's guidance on link schemes: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66356?hl=en and some guidance from Google's Webpspam Team (headed by Matt Cutts) on how to write actionable web spam reports: http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/how-to-help-google-identify-web-spam.html. See https://www.seolondonsurrey.co.uk/blog/brighton-seo-talks-how-to-identify-your-competitors-paid-links .

    In short, in my experience Google is better at identifying low quality links than high quality links. (there is no way your client or yourself can be identified publicly as the reporter of paid links).

So in brief,

A. Google's Webmaster Guidelines (including the detail on link schemes)

B. a decent tool to look at your competitors' backlinks (e.g. backlinkwatch .com). Paid alternatives include majestic. com. 

and the following form is all you need to help you scrutinise and (as appropriate) report your competitors' links. Google encourages it's users to report web spam & paid links (amongst other things) here: https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/93713?hl=en .

Report non-compliant paid /  sponsored links in content listed in Google News listings via the 'Send Feedback' link at the bottom of search results.

   Other webmaster guidelines / website terms worth scrutinising competitor's compliance with include the following: 

- https://www.bing.com/webmaster/help/webmaster-guidelines-30fba23a

- https://help.yahoo.com/kb/SLN2245.html

- https://www.linkedin.com/legal/user-agreement ( a professional services search engine)

Also 'doorway pages' are against the Webmaster Guidelines.

2. Search Engine Maps & Review Sites

'Thanking' / 'thumbing up' negative reviews for competitors via the respective buttons on the Google Map / Tripadvisor may make these reviews more prominent. Don't do this for all negative reviews (thank some positive at the same time) and don't do this with a work-related Google / Tripadvisor  account.

Some business uses Trustpilot as a cornerstone of their online reputation. Flag fake reviews and Trustpilot may add a warning like:

Report reviews non-compliant with guidelines for Tripadvisor traveller reviews (e.g. if a hotel has a gym with local membership a review from a member may be non-compliant): see https://www.tripadvisorsupport.com/hc/en-gb/sections/200154947-Listing-Guidelines .

In my field of SEO one's competitors are also spamming the Google Map too :) . You can notify GOOG if you see something wrong with your competitor's map listing, like incorrect business details or a wrong road name.

   Note that PO Boxes or mailboxes located at remote locations are not acceptable business addresses. Also there are technicalities with certain business categories. Report competitors' violations here: https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3094088. For legal complaints about a Google Business Profile go to https://support.google.com/legal/contact/lr_legalother?product=geo&sjid=7685457119704563943-EU .

    Send general feedback (with screenshot if need be) – this may be necessary for Map spam via https://support.google.com/maps/answer/3094045 . You can also report abuse of rich snippet markup.

Also there is a Google My Business Webspam Redress Form for reporting fraudulent activity on the name, phone number, or URL of  businesses listed on the Google Map.

   Also if you find a review of / by a competitor that you think violates Google review policies, (https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2622994) you can use the “Flag as inappropriate” link next to a review. https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en. For example, wedding venues may be multi-purpose venues (e.g. Farnham Castle in Surrey) so reporting 'off-topic reviews on their 'wedding venue' Map business listing can offer a competitive advantage.

You can also 'upvote' your competitors' negative reviews on https://www.yelp .co.uk/ without signing in.

For fake online reviews (or misrepresentation of reviews) there may also be grounds for a complaint to the UK Competition and Markets Authority as the CMA states "Markets that are not working well can result in negative effects for consumers, businesses and the economy. For example: consumers may be unable to make informed choices about prospective purchases” (quote from page below) - see 'Problems in a market sector' section on https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tell-the-cma-about-a-competition-or-market-problem . This can be some good 'negative PR' if enforcement action is taken.

See related case where the CMA has taken action against fake reviews created by a Hampshire SEO agency: (I've used an archive link): http://archive.today/tf8Kf .

Also if a company is dissolved but still appears to be trading you can report them to Trading Standards.

 Note that if you are reporting your (client's) competitors' old Google Business Profile (aka Google My Business / Map listing) as now 'closed' because they've moved / shut down, note that if you submit a photo as evidence the photo will end up on their Google Business Profile with your Google Account's name associated with it. It might be worthwhile creating a Google account for this purpose in this instance.

See also https://www.bingplaces.com/Help  for Bing Places guidelines.

Case Study

Here is an example r.e. my client's local 'wedding venue' competitors ranking on the Google Map. On 13 Apr 2017 my client sent the following screenshot:

Here were the same Map results for the same query (12.5.17) after I reported the 'spammy' Map listing names for the venues on the map (this should affect their click-through rates on these listings & this amendment may also affect the visibility on the Map for these listings in future):

The businesses in question may amend these details back to what they were in future too. I also flagged some reviews of the 3rd venue in the list above as they were 'off topic' i.e. of the tourist attraction, not the wedding venue. It doesn't appear they've been removed yet - these reports were only a week before the time of writing this.

Here are the same Map results for the same query (1.12.17) with my client first on the Map:

4. If your competitors provide fake website registration information they are breaking the ICANN rules and you can report them:

  See http://ohgm.co.uk/icann-drop-your-domain/. 

5. Report competitors' Google Adwords policy contraventions: 

https://support.google.com/adwords/contact/thirdparty_complaint 

6. Report competitors non-compliance with GDPR

8. Schema Spam

Some service provider websites that do not sell products are using Product "Review snippet" structured data (when they do not sell products): see  https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/review-snippet  to give themselves "star ratings" in Google Search Results  e.g.  

You can report the above activity to GOOG: https://developers.google.com/search/help/report-quality-issues

9. Google Partner status misrepresentation

   Some digital marketing agencies claim to be Google Partners (using the Google Partners logo on their website) when they are not (the image should link to their profile on the Google Partners website) . You can report this to Google (via the "Send feedback" link at the bottom of SERPS. 

Summary

   In the final analysis, the Google Web Spam / Paid Link reporting tools above are fundamentally just free labour for Google from people who don't work for them (like SEO consultants!), like the link disavowal tool for sites affected by the Google update known as Penguin - a tool that enables webmasters to disavow (i.e. ask GOOG to ignore) links to their sites. This effectively creates via Penguin a list of low quality sites for Google to check their Penguin and Panda algorithms against)! 

Also there's https://www.google.com/local/guides/ & the little-known army of unpaid volunteers, called Mappers (who propose and approve edits to Google Maps, with an assist from Google employees), these are all ways of Google getting free labour from SEO consultants / the general public.

They should compensate this work in some way! Gis a job ;)

It's arguable that the above tools that may enable you to 'harm' your competition are a double edged sword. If as a result of your reporting a whole sector appears to be using practices against a certain set of guidelines, in theory your own site / practices may come under scrutiny too!

Related Links

http://www.seolondonsurrey.co.uk/blog/how-to-identify-a-negative-seo-spammer