pageoneresults - 2:47 pm on Jun 20, 2008 (gmt 0)

2007-07-01 - The Saboteurs of Search Part I
[webmasterworld.com...]

From the above topic...

Some search marketers question whether tactics like Google bowling even exist. Google's Webmaster Central site, designed to answer search marketers' queries, says merely, "There's almost nothing a competitor can do to harm your ranking or have your site removed from our index." But Duke, and many search marketers, take that "almost" as a concession from Google that negative SEO does occur.

I'm reading a bit of press lately that Google is becoming more vocal in its claims that there is "almost" nothing a competitor can do to harm your ranking. But, my research to date along with findings by clients, etc. indicates that is not the case.

There is one additional part to the above that leaves a huge gap between the lines...

Your rank and your inclusion are dependent on factors under your control as a webmaster, including content choices and site design.

Okay, the second part negates the first part in the instances I'm referring to. Example, the client had a hole that allowed a saboteur to take control of their DNS without their knowledge. Over the course of who knows how long (years), the site continually declined in the SERPs to the point where closure might have been considered.

Another example, the client had a major flaw in how their URIs were structured. That flaw led to a heap of other issues which in turn brought the site to its knees. In this case, they were actually sabotaging themselves and at the same time, third party saboteurs caught on to this and joined in the fun which "I feel" escalated the self-sabotaging effects already at play.

The list goes on and on. While me "Tin Hat" has all sorts of dents in it, I continue to sport that puppy! Its helped me to "ting" my way to a few findings that were actually correct. I had to pat myself on the back. :)

So, it is one year later. Technology has probably made another 360 turnaround and there are a new round of techniques coming into the picture. And for many, they will never know what hit them, ever. I had someone explain a cloaked sabotage technique to me. Dude, you don't want to be the victim of cloaked sabotage, that's really where the major damage "I personally think" is being done. Many of us, including myself, won't be able to find and/or back track much of the really "high-tech" stuff. I'm not too certain the SEs can either, hence the term "cloaked sabotage".

Oh, and DNS Hijacking appears to be at the core of some pretty damaging campaigns.

Don't worry though, I'm sure many will come to our rescue and tell me that the above just isn't so and that its time for me to retire the damn Tin Hat!