SEO poisoning is the use of deceptive techniques to manipulate search engine results and link legitimate brands to malicious websites — even without any involvement from those brands. This threat doesn’t just target algorithms; it directly impacts digital trust by harming brand reputation and misleading users.

In this article, you’ll learn:

• What SEO poisoning is and how it works

• Which Black Hat SEO techniques are used

• How attackers compromise legitimate websites to scale operations

• The reputational and technical risks to your brand

• How security teams can detect and mitigate this threat

What Is SEO Poisoning?

SEO poisoning is a tactic used by threat actors to manipulate search engine algorithms (such as Google or Bing) to:

• Boost the ranking of malicious websites

• Redirect legitimate user traffic to fraudulent destinations

• Associate trusted brand names with misleading or illegal content — such as unauthorized gambling sites, phishing schemes, or counterfeit marketplaces

These attacks exploit user trust in search engine results and the reputation of brands that are often unaware they’re being used as bait.

How the Attack Works: The Role of Black Hat SEO

SEO poisoning campaigns rely on Black Hat SEO techniques — tactics that intentionally violate search engine guidelines to produce manipulated rankings.

In more sophisticated cases, attackers hack legitimate websites — even government domains — to inject backlinks or host malicious content, leveraging the domain’s authority to scale their campaigns.

Real-World Cases: SERP Manipulation in Action

A recent report by the Axur Research Team revealed that attackers are compromising legitimate domains to promote illegal gambling sites. In searches for related brands, the top results lead to seemingly trustworthy websites — but users are silently redirected to online casino pages.

These redirections are often layered and obfuscated — a technique similar to rotating proxies in phishing campaigns — making them difficult to detect manually.

What Attackers Gain from SEO Poisoning

• Scale: A single trusted domain can support backlinks to dozens of malicious sites

• Qualified traffic: Users searching for legitimate brands are more likely to click on trustworthy-looking results

• Temporary shielding: Compromised domains often aren’t blacklisted initially, delaying detection

Tactics Mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK® Framework

SEO poisoning techniques align with several tactics and techniques in the MITRE ATT&CK® framework:

Business Risks and Brand Impact

Even if your organization is not directly involved, unauthorized use of your brand can lead to:

1. Reputation Damage

Users and partners may associate your brand with shady activities like gambling, piracy, or adult content.

2. Search Engine Penalties

Search engines may penalize or demote affected domains, especially if it’s unclear that the involvement was unintentional.

3. User Confusion and Complaints

Users may interact with fraudulent content, mistakenly believe it’s from your brand, and file complaints over non-existent products or offers.

How Security Teams Can Mitigate SEO Poisoning

• Continuous Monitoring: Deploy tools like the Axur platform to monitor brand mentions across the Surface, Deep, and Dark Web.

• Automated Takedowns: Act fast to remove malicious content or links that misuse your brand.

• Cross-Functional Defense: Coordinate with SEO and Marketing teams to align brand protection strategies.

• Leverage Threat Intelligence: Correlate IOCs/IOAs with other campaigns to track persistent actors.

Takedowns: The Critical Response Step

While monitoring is essential, takedowns are what break the cycle of exploitation. Quickly identifying and removing malicious domains, pages, or content tied to your brand is the most effective way to disrupt SEO poisoning campaigns.

The faster you act — especially on high-authority domains — the lower the risk of lasting reputational damage, traffic hijacking, or unwanted indexing. Platforms like Axur’s enable automated, traceable, and legally compliant takedowns to accelerate response without sacrificing governance.

Conclusion

SEO poisoning is a growing cyber threat that weaponizes search engines and exploits brand trust. Even without direct compromise, your brand can be linked to malicious content through Black Hat SEO and vulnerable third-party websites.

Security teams need to treat this as a serious attack vector. The right response combines active monitoring, cross-team collaboration, and fast takedown execution.

Want to see how threat intelligence and automation can protect your brand from SEO poisoning? Talk to an Axur expert and learn how to respond faster to this evolving threat.