I have shared my knowledge about SEO on several occasions, and now it’s time to dive into the phenomenon of **parasite SEO**.
If you’re new to SEO, I recommend first reading about the basic principles in the following posts:
If you’re already familiar with SEO, we can jump straight into parasite SEO!
What is parasite SEO?
The name “parasite SEO” almost literally describes what this specific SEO discipline is about.
Parasite SEO involves using large and reputable websites as part of your strategy to rank higher in search engine results.
In other words, your content is placed as a “parasite” on websites with a good reputation to increase the visibility of your own site for competitive keywords.
This strategy is employed either through ads on larger websites or on sites with high engagement levels such as forums, blogs, social media, etc.
But isn’t parasite SEO a controversial strategy?
As the name might suggest, parasite SEO is typically seen as a controversial strategy, often classified by Google as “abuse of a website’s reputation.”
Parasite SEO has often been associated with placing unwanted content or ads on websites without the owner’s permission.
If Google suspects this, the consequence can be either a lower ranking in search results or even complete removal from the results.
**But is parasite SEO always unethical?**
No, parasite SEO is not ALWAYS unethical.
If you ensure that you create valuable content for relevant websites with their permission, it becomes an ethical strategy, which many refer to as “**barnacle SEO**” – similar to the small crustaceans that typically attach themselves to ships or larger fish…
…enough about naming SEO strategies and fish – the point is that parasite SEO can certainly be implemented in an ethical way while still benefiting from the authority of larger websites.
How to get started with parasite SEO
As an alternative to the riskier form of parasite SEO, where your content might be at risk of being removed by Google, there is a more ethically sound form of parasite SEO.
This strategy could, for example, involve guest blog posts and can be quite successful for smaller websites with valuable content.
If you find websites that allow guest posts, such as blogs with high authority and that rank well for the keywords you want to rank for, your chances of success increase.
Social media platforms like LinkedIn or forums like Reddit, which allow users to publish their content, can also be a good way to start with parasite SEO – as long as you ensure that you’re publishing on sites that make sense for your content.
Is parasite SEO worth the effort?
Parasite SEO can be a good way to increase the visibility of your website and share relevant content with a larger audience.
Let’s say you’ve started a smaller website that doesn’t yet have the reputation needed for advantageous rankings.
Maybe you want to rank for competitive keywords, but there are many high-authority websites dominating the top search results.
In this case, it can be beneficial to share your content on websites with higher authority to increase the credibility of your site and generate more visitors.
Below, I’ve compiled some of the key advantages and disadvantages to be aware of when it comes to parasite SEO.
Advantages
- Your content gets the chance to rank for competitive keywords.
- Greater visibility for your content can generate more visitors and conversions.
- Increased credibility around your brand.
Disadvantages
- You have limited control over your content (e.g., if you want to update your content or if the host website removes it).
- Parasite SEO can be effective, but often only in the short term.
- If you rely solely on parasite SEO, traffic to your site becomes vulnerable to sudden changes from the host website (algorithm changes, shutdowns, etc.).
All in all, there are some advantages to be gained from parasite SEO, but it’s important to remember that a more long-term and sustainable strategy is to implement SEO disciplines for your own website.
Parasite SEO can be used as a supplementary strategy in this context.
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