One of the most black-hat parasite seo examples you'll ever see!

SEO
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Does Parasite SEO still work? You better believe it!

Here's a subdomain going from zero to 22M page views in 24 hours. Don't get me wrong. I'm not condoning this sort of behaviour but it does starkly highlight how domain authority is still the dominant ranking factor in Google.

These hackers are exploiting a specific software vulnerability and piggy backing off the main domain's authority using subdomains. Insane traffic gains overnight.

Many 'SEO gurus' will say authority doesn't flow from the TLD to the subdomain, but this proves it does.

The affiliate programs they're promoting are the worst of the internet but these hackers will be making 100's of thousands weekly, if not daily. You don't need to do that for too long to make life-changing money!

Here's the story. Worth a read if you have 10 mins

https://il.ly/blog/parasite-seo-attack-gov-edu

 

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I found one ... here's 145+ affiliate products you can add to your list!

site:execed.rutgers.edu/wp-content/uploads/ninja-forms review

If you remove the word review you'll see over 1000 pages indexed in Google ... all parasites.

... and this is just one folder on one subdomain. Looking at the URL, this is either an insider job or a Wordpress exploit!

😎

Here they are at #4 in Google (attached) and look at the search volume! Ka - ching!

[attach]2311[/attach]
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Interesting. I have a friend who works for a certain school... Might need to give him a call... 🤣

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Ha ha! Can I be their friend as well .... pleeeease!

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That Google search now returns 450+ results with the word review in there so we appear to be watching them build out this subdomain in real time.

I did some digging and it does look like a WP exploit. That's all I'll say!

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@rohanm Wow, this is super eye-opening! :open_mouth: I’ve been really curious about parasite SEO lately, but I can’t help wondering how safe it actually is long-term. Like… is there a legal risk if you lean too far into these kinds of tactics? Part of me finds it exciting, but part of me worries it could backfire big time. Would love to hear how others think about the risk vs reward here!

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@olivias Hey Olivia, I've been seeing a lot of chatter about Parasite SEO lately. From what I’ve seen, it isn’t automatically illegal in and of itself.. If you’re publishing legit content on platforms that *allow* user posts (like Medium or LinkedIn), it’s usually fine - it’s just a gray area tactic because you’re borrowing their authority to rank faster.

Where it crosses into illegal territory is when you’re breaking laws or terms in the process - like hacking sites to inject links, posting stolen or defamatory content, or impersonating brands. That’s when it moves from just ‘against guidelines’ to outright unlawful. So the short version: risky for rankings, but only outright illegal if you’re crossing into fraud, copyright infringement, or unauthorized access.

Personally, I’ve stayed on the cautious side after Google’s 2023 updates wiped me out - not eager to add legal headaches on top of traffic struggles. 😅

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@olivias Jumping in here, Terry’s spot on. Another classic illegal parasite SEO move is when people hack abandoned WordPress sites, drop in hidden redirects or cloaked pages, and then ride that domain’s old authority. That’s not just against Google’s guidelines, that’s cybercrime territory. It’s kinda like sneaking into a closed café at night, using their espresso machine, and selling drinks out the back door. Doesn’t matter how good the coffee tastes, you’re still breaking and entering. :joy: So yeah, posting legit content on platforms that allow it = sketchy but not criminal. Hijacking other people’s sites = straight up illegal.