saleem_linkbuilder
BANNED
- Jun 19, 2026
- 30
- 6
From what I've seen, search engines are much better at ignoring spammy backlinks than before. I'd focus on improving my own site's quality rather than worrying about negative SEO.
can negative seo still harm competitors effectively?
- Thread starter Grayson Vale
- Start date
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- Tags
- black hat seo seo
Ghost Shadow
Registered Member
- May 26, 2026
- 79
- 45
Google is much better now at filtering out a lot of spammy or low quality backlink patterns. In most cases it does not seem like random toxic links alone can consistently hurt s strong site. I have found focusing on improving your own content and authority is usually a more reliable approach than worrying about external link spam.
- Aug 9, 2017
- 5,594
- 6,885
I'm seeing weaponised DMCA reports being used much more effectively for negative SEO than any link-based approach. They can be temporary, but reusable, and work because Google is legally required to act upon them. Hell you can even get supposedly 'hidden' origin IP addresses from Cloudflare with a DMCA report if you're lucky.
Indeed, Google mostly ignores many spamy links now, and, thus, negative SEO is not as powerful as one thinks it to be. Moreover, it creates prblm only in case of baed or poorly structured backlink profile that is scaled up. In last , high-quality website with a clean history is the best way out.
bunnyorbit
Newbie
- Jul 1, 2026
- 24
- 3
I do think negative SEO gets blamed more than it happens. If rankings drop I usually check conttent quality, site changes or algorithm updates first beffore assuming someone is attacking the site.
ClickPilotPro
Registered Member
- Apr 24, 2026
- 50
- 17
I think in most cases today, negative SEO is much weaker than it used to be. google is better at ignoring obvious spam backlinks
- Feb 28, 2019
- 7,461
- 7,926
Negative SEO still works. However, it's not always about spammy backlinks. You can check how fraudulent DMCA takedowns are hurting websites.
- Mar 21, 2013
- 24,786
- 31,565
- Aug 4, 2015
- 6,027
- 806
Mostly no spammy backlink attacks don't work well anymore, but weak sites can still be affected
- Oct 29, 2021
- 8,442
- 3,573
Yes negative SEO is so much harmful but it is a bad practice. No one should try it.
Sophia Lorraine
Newbie
- Nov 10, 2019
- 49
- 11
Most of the time, Google is a lot better at turning away spammy backlinks than it did back then, so the usual negative SEO routine does less damage. Still, if there is a big scale assault plus other troubles mixed in (like hijacked pages, spam injections, or fake DMCA notices ) it can become messy. In general, for most sites, it is not really a worry, unless you actually notice obvious signals that something is happening.
I believe the real threat at present is not the spam linnks but the threats which target the credibilitty of the brand or the site in question. the fact that google has becomee more adept in ignoring several kinds of junk links means that it makes sense to keep the profile clean.
Mohammad Kamran
Newbie
- Apr 10, 2026
- 25
- 0
I think Google has gotten a lot better at ignoring spammy backlinks compared to a few years ago. But I still wouldn't completely ignore negative SEO, especially when there is a sudden and unnatural increase in bad links. Keeping an eye on your backlink profile is still a good practice. Would be interesting to hear from anyone who has actually seen rankings drop because of a negative SEO attack recently.
ForeverScrnd
Newbie
- Apr 14, 2017
- 29
- 5
On a scale of 1000s of sites, I'd say negative SEO is basically dead.
The Google algos have evolved a lot over the last couple of years - they're just far better at ignoring toxic links than they used to be. What would've tanked a site in 2018 does nothing now. The filter eats it before it ever touches rankings.
The one caveat I'd add: it's not the spam links that scare me anymore, it's the reputation attacks. Fake reviews, false accusations spread across sites - that stuff gets picked up by LLMs and shapes how your brand shows up in AI answers. That's the vector people should actually be watching, not disavow files.
But classic link-spam negative SEO? I'd call it no longer alive.
The Google algos have evolved a lot over the last couple of years - they're just far better at ignoring toxic links than they used to be. What would've tanked a site in 2018 does nothing now. The filter eats it before it ever touches rankings.
The one caveat I'd add: it's not the spam links that scare me anymore, it's the reputation attacks. Fake reviews, false accusations spread across sites - that stuff gets picked up by LLMs and shapes how your brand shows up in AI answers. That's the vector people should actually be watching, not disavow files.
But classic link-spam negative SEO? I'd call it no longer alive.
- Jun 25, 2015
- 4,067
- 890
Seo have become much better at ignoring many types of spammy external signals,nbetter ocus on improving your own site's quality, authority.
doodlepilot
Registered Member
- Jul 1, 2026
- 79
- 37
In my opinion, negative SEO is far more difficult to execute than what many think, particullarly if the only thing done is spamming their backlink profile. most sites that struggle have issues such as bad technical SEO practices, poor content, or even an not natural link profile. A solid site will bounce back a lot faster, so why not focus on making the site better?