Illegal Backlinking - A New Trend on the Internet

This can become a difficult situation for those who have been hacked, finding out they have links to websites that have nothing to do with their business which are often of dubious nature.

Linkbuilding: An Important Commodity on the Internet

No one is safe from being hacked. Websites of small and big companies as well as various types of blogs are being used to create new backlinks to other sites unknowingly. The situation was revealed through an investigation done by BuzzFeed News who has discovered that global networks of online marketplaces and black hat SEO consultants are selling links on compromised websites.

The act of linkbuilding plays an important role in an SEO campaign. Google search engine uses them to rank the quality of a website and its interest to potential viewers. That is why it has become like gold on the internet and it has pushed some criminals to sell links that were not approved by the site owner.

No One Is Safe

The study showed that all kinds of individuals and companies had been hacked. In the mix you can find journalists and venture capital firms as well as churches, celebrities and social organizations. BuzzFeed discovered a list of 20,000 websites where the hackers would suggest injecting links for a fee. It is probable that the companies buying these links did not know that they were being placed illegally on other people’s websites.

One of the hacked companies found on the list was contacted by BuzzFeed to let them know of the situation. It explained that it appeared on a list mentioning that you could buy a backlink on their website. The Canadian company informed BuzzFeed that they did not permit any company to sell links on their website. As they were talking on the phone, the manager of the hacked website went through its articles and discovered that the allegation was true and that there were backlinks added to its pages. He even saw one appear during their conversation.

In Short

It’s easy to understand why these companies have entered into this illegal market. A well-positioned SEO campaign can be extremely valuable for a client. A better positioning on Google search result pages can mean an important raise in sales and revenues, which a lot of businesses are ready to pay for.