Webspam or Spam refers to online content created with the explicit intent of manipulating its ranking position in search engine results. This can involve unethical tactics like keyword stuffing, cloaking, or the use of an excessive number of links.
There is a variety of webspamming techniques that can be used to artificially and dishonestly inflate a website’s position to the top of the SERPs.
One type is user-generated spam, which occurs when users post links in comment sections that point back to their own website. Rather than naturally acquiring backlinks over time, some site owners pay other sites to feature their backlinks. Webspam also includes link schemes, where users purchase links or publish a high volume of low-quality guest posts solely to manipulate search engines.
To protect a site from webspam, it is advisable to avoid automatically generated content and to implement a moderation process for public comments before they are approved and published.