The SERPs are Overrun With Parasite Spam

Parasite SEO ain't going anywhere

Many many people have predicted the death of parasite SEO.

Sure some of the most popular sites like OutlookIndia got spanked by Google.

But did they really?

OutlookIndia still gets almost 7mil organic traffic/mo.

The classic high-DR media site parasite SEO is still ranking.

But right now something hilarious is happening. Parasite SEO on .edu sites is having a HUGE moment, and for some really spammy KWs.

College websites ranking for OnlyFans and other spammy keywords

Take a look at the #1 position for “onlyfans account generator”.

A PDF (likely hacked) on the official Queens College, Cambridge website is ranking #1.🤣

Now type in “onlyfans signup”.

Position #6 is from Columbia University.

What about “best delta 8 disposable brands”?

Position #2 is from the Daily Sundial, a student-run newspaper from California State University, Northridge.

Their also ranking #6 for “best testosterone for muscle growth” and many other obvious parasite KWs (the students must be BANKING off of selling sponsored posts, smart AF).

Queens College, Cambridge of OnlyFans Account Generator fame is also ranking #3 for “cash app method”.

Harvard is ranking both #4 AND #5 for for “free robux without verification”.💪

University of California, Berkeley is ranking #4 for “hack cash app free money”.

I can keep posting screenshots all day but I’m sure you get the point.

The SERPs are completely broken right now.

And it’s not just .edu sites.

The Helpful Content Update boosted UGC (user-generated content sites) in the algo.

Obviously the intent was to get perspectives from the ever-elusive-on-the-internet-semi-mythical Real People who are for some reason going to spend time giving product recommendations to strangers out of nothing more than the kindness of their heart.

That (obviously) didn’t work out as planned.

People are spamming parasite posts on UGC sites like crazy and it’s ranking, even if it’s on a completely irrelevant site that has nothing to do with the niche.

Take a look at what’s going on over at the Microsoft Azure Feedback forums and IMDB.

Microsoft Azure Feedback forums and IMDB lists

This is what’s ranking #2 for “free xbox gift cards”:

But it’s not just Microsoft-related KWs that are ranking on the Azure Feedback forums.

Supplement review keywords are ranking as well.

Look at the #1 position for “prodentim reviews”.

Now look at #4 for “synogut reviews”.

And it’s even ranking (#4) for the “onlyfans account generator” KW.

IMDB Lists are also ranking for tons of spammy parasite keywords.

Remember the “free robux without verification” query that Harvard ranks (twice) for?

IMDB also ranks for it (#6).

And yes, I know what you’re thinking and IMDB does in fact rank for “onlyfans account generator” (#7 last time I checked).

Not sure what’s going on over at Google HQ.

But right now any user-generated site (Google Groups, Reddit, LinkedIn, Quora, anything really) is a total SpamFest 9000.

If you’re going to try to rank posts on any of the most extremely spammy sites it’s probably the one and only time I’d recommend using AI content since it’s going to get spanked by Google or the site moderators fairly quickly. Not worth putting time into.

Reddit is an exception because user engagement helps you rank and because people actually search on that site for product recommendations so it’s not just a numbers game. It’s a real social media site with a real userbase and like any other real social media site you really can’t mindlessly spam your way to success.

Also it’s very easy to trigger Reddit’s spam filters and get your entire account nuked if you get out of pocket and go full spammer mode (i.e. it’s worth spending time acting like a real person).

That probably applies to Quora and maybe even LinkedIn as well, but I haven’t messed around with those platforms so can’t comment.

But for stuff like IMDB and Microsoft Azure it’s just a numbers game. The CTR is obviously going to be very low and you’ll get nuked sooner or later but it’s also a low-effort play. Just make sure your site isn’t tied to it.