How does parasite SEO work?

Parasite SEO works by allowing a high-authority site, like Forbes, to publish content that does not relate to its core business. By doing so, these sites can benefit from their established SEO value, enabling them to rank highly for unrelated topics. This drives traffic to their pages filled with ads and affiliate links, generating additional income.

Why is Google cracking down on parasite SEO?

Google is cracking down on parasite SEO because it undermines the integrity of search results by allowing irrelevant and potentially spammy content to rank high. This practice can distort the search experience for users, making it crucial for Google to enforce guidelines that prioritize relevant and useful content, ensuring that consumers see the most appropriate sites for their queries.

What are the consequences of parasite SEO?

The consequences of engaging in parasite SEO can be severe. Companies that utilize this strategy may receive notifications from Google indicating that their content is classified as spammy. This can lead to de-indexing of articles, loss of visibility in search results, and ultimately, significant reductions in traffic and revenue, impacting the legitimacy of the brand.

What types of companies have been affected by Google's crackdown?

Particularly affected by Google's crackdown on parasite SEO are large news organizations with established reputations and domain authority, such as Forbes, Time, and CNN. These companies, which profited from irrelevant, affiliate-heavy content, are likely facing significant traffic losses and revenue declines as Google prioritizes more relevant and niche-specific sites in search results.

What should companies do instead of using parasite SEO?

Instead of resorting to parasite SEO, companies, particularly news sites, should focus on creating high-quality, relevant content that truly resonates with their target audience. By aligning their content strategy with consumer interests and sticking to their core products, these companies can build trust and authority, ensuring long-term visibility and sustainability in search rankings.

What does this mean for affiliate marketing?

The crackdown on parasite SEO indicates that companies should rethink their affiliate marketing strategies. Relying solely on external, irrelevant content for revenue generation can lead to penalties and visibility loss. Instead, focusing on organic and authentic content that builds a loyal audience will yield better results in the long run, aligning with Google’s guidelines.

What is Parasite SEO? A 2024 Overview

22 Nov 2024

This article was originally the above video. Below is the full transcript.

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Google is cracking down on sites that have parasite SEO content.

You may be asking yourself, what is parasite SEO? Is it something that bites you and then you have a disease? No, that would be silly. Parasite SEO is a rather ingenious tactic that larger sites, generally news sites, employ to take advantage of their pre-existing domain authority and SEO juice. It involves creating a lot of non-relevant content purely for the purpose of getting ranked.

For instance, probably the biggest offender in this space is Forbes. If we look at some of their details, they are around the 100th most visited site in the US and around 300 globally. This means they have a lot of clout. They likely discovered that anything they published on their blog would generally rank pretty high just because they had that type of authority and respect in the eyes of Google.

At some point, somebody thought, what if we published something that wasn’t relevant to what we did, but was chock full of ads and affiliate links? That’s kind of what they did. I really recommend reading this article by Lars Laufgren and Mark Forbes Marketplace, which goes into the details of how this worked.

With Forbes specifically, they worked with a third party that licensed their name called Forbes Marketplace. It’s not even a subsidiary of Forbes; it’s a third party, and Forbes likely has some stake in them. This company writes all of the blog articles. One of the articles that gained a lot of visibility was titled “10 Best CBD Oils of 2024,” which has nothing to do with Forbes’ business. It seems they released this Forbes Health thing a couple of years ago to at least have some relevance, but it doesn’t relate to the brand they built over decades.

If you look at these articles, they’re bad. They’re essentially affiliate marketing sites. If you were to click on a link and buy something, Forbes or Forbes Marketplace would get a cut, maybe a couple percent. If you create enough of these, you gain sufficient visibility, and you’re going to make decent money.

They also have articles published by Forbes but written by someone with a CBD company. My guess is they paid a couple thousand, maybe $10,000, to publish this article. Again, Forbes is creating these articles that are not related to their core business. They are getting ranked quickly because Google trusts them. Why wouldn’t Google allow their articles to be on page one or two, seeing a lot of traffic, versus a random site creating a best CBD oil article that probably won’t get ranked?

Recently, Google, as I mentioned, started to crack down on this. They announced plans to do this in March 2024, and it started in November 2024. Companies engaging in this practice are now receiving Google Search Console notifications indicating that their content is considered spammy because it is. They have de-indexed these articles or a particular article, instructing them to either review it or change it.

If you look for best CBD oils, you won’t find Forbes listed, even though before these changes, they were in the top three. The companies appearing high in the search results are those that sell CBD oils or health-related brands. These are the sites that deserve to be highly ranked because their audience and niche are structured around this topic.

With Google cracking down, it’s apparent that these companies are likely losing a lot of money. It was mainly news sites that had built a significant reputation and domain authority, like Forbes, Time, WSJ, and CNN. They are probably losing millions each week, and it will be a tough time for them as they reconsider whether this strategy is worth it.

If you are a large company and are somehow watching this, especially if you’re a news site, do not engage in parasite SEO. Instead, focus on building content that resonates with your core audience, as Google will penalize you for such tactics. This might mean that they simply won’t show those pages or that other content made for your audience could also be negatively impacted.

It’s probably not a good idea to pursue this route. Stick to your core product and don’t chase after affiliate revenue.

Thank you.