Black Hat AI SEO Is Here - And How to Fight Back

E865: A new and growing issue in digital marketing is emerging: black hat AI SEO and the use of fake, AI-generated negative review articles to manipulate how large language models describe a brand.

A Reddit post describes a case where a competitor allegedly purchased a black hat AI SEO service that published false review content across multiple low-quality websites. As a result, ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and other LLMs began repeating incorrect, damaging information about the company.

I explain how this happens, why LLMs pick up misleading sources, how query modification and query fanouts work, and what you can do to protect a brand when this type of AI manipulation occurs.

Topics covered in detail:
- How black hat AI SEO services generate and distribute fabricated negative reviews
- How LLMs source information and why they may cite low-quality or false articles
- Why the queries an LLM uses are often different from the user's original question
- How to view ChatGPT's real search queries through inspection tools
- What a query fanout is and how multiple related searches affect AI outputs
- How to identify the exact keywords and queries an LLM is using around your brand
- How to publish content that ranks for those modified queries
- When burying negative content is more realistic than removal
- How to dispute reviews on platforms like Trustpilot, Clutch, and Google Business Profile
- How Google's "Report Negative Review Extortion Scams" tool works
- Long-term strategies for protecting brand reputation in AI search environments
- Legal considerations surrounding defamation and online attacks

⭐️ The Reddit Thread - https://www.reddit.com/r/AISEOforBeginners/comments/1ok5j0w/black_hat_ai_seo_is_here_how_do_you_fight_back/
⭐️ SEO Pub's Query Fanout Extractor - https://theseopub.com/updated-chatgpt-search-query-reasoning-extractor-bookmarklet/
⭐️ Report negative Google Business Profile Reviews - https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en
⭐️ Report negative Trustpilot Reviews - https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en
⭐️ Report negative Clutch Reviews - https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773?hl=en

💎 Compact Keywords - My SEO Course - Get paying customers through SEO - Clear step-by-step video breakdowns - SEO templates to be copied and adapted for your products and services: https://compactkeywords.com/

00:00 Black Hat AI SEO Attack
02:11 Expert Insights: WebLinkrs Take
03:37 Understanding Query Fanouts
05:26 Practical Solutions and Tools
06:41 Dealing with Negative Reviews
09:48 Long-Term Strategies

The Edward Show. Your daily search engine optimization podcast: https://edwardsturm.com/the-edward-show/

#answerengineoptimization #generativeengineoptimization #reputationmanagement #searchengineoptimization