The Japanese keyword hack is a type of SEO spam attack where hackers add spammy Japanese text to a website. These spammy pages often contain keywords for products such as fake brand goods, pharmaceuticals, or other illicit items. This hack not only damages your website’s SEO but can also lead to your site being blacklisted by search engines like Google.
How the Japanese Keyword Hack Works
- Insertion of Spammy Pages: The hackers create new pages or modify existing ones to include Japanese text.
- Creation of Backlinks: These pages often contain backlinks to other malicious or spammy websites.
- Search Engine Manipulation: The goal is to manipulate search engine results, redirecting traffic to their sites or promoting their products.
Impact on SEO
- Lower Search Rankings: Search engines may penalize your website for hosting spammy content, leading to lower rankings or complete delisting.
- Loss of Credibility: Users who encounter these spammy pages may lose trust in your website.
- Decreased Traffic: Legitimate traffic can drop significantly as your search presence is compromised.
- Security Warnings: Browsers and search engines may flag your site, warning users that it is unsafe.
Examples of Japanese Keyword Hack
Example 1: Title and Meta Description Injection
Example 2: Hidden Spammy Content
Example 3: Generated Spam Pages
Cleaning Up the Japanese Keyword Hack
Step 1: Scan for Malware
Use a security tool to scan your website for malicious code. MoeSec offers a comprehensive malware scanning service or Use our Free Website Security Scanner to scan if your website is hacked or infected:
Step 2: Identify and Remove Malicious Content
- Access Your Files: Use an FTP client or file manager.
- Search for Suspicious Content: Look for Japanese text that you did not add or malicious content that may be injected in common files such as .htaccess, wp-config.php or theme related files such as header.php, footer.php or functions.php etc and check modified files and look for any unrecognized content, changes or addition in your core files, Plugins, Themes etc.
- Remove Malicious Code: Delete the injected content and save.
Step 3: Clean Your Database
- Access Database: Use phpMyAdmin or a similar tool to access your database such as adminer. Make sure to remove adminer or any other tools when you are done with it.
- Search for Spam Entries: Look for suspicious entries in tables like
wp_posts,wp_options, andwp_meta. For example, If you or your visitors are seeing unrecognized content about gambling or casino related spam on your website then you can search for common keywords such as: casino, gambling,Slots, Blackjack, Roulette etc. - Remove Spam Entries: Delete or clean these entries and save.
Step 4: Secure Your Website
- Update Software: Keep everything up-to-date. Update your CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal,etc), Plugins and themes.
- Change Passwords: Update all credentials.
- Implement Security Measures: Use security Monitoring and Protection services like those offered by MoeSec.com
Step 5: Google Search Console
Submit a reconsideration request to Google via Search Console after cleaning your site so that they can clear any warnings for your website and remove any indexed spam results.
Conclusion
The Japanese keyword hack can severely affect your website’s SEO and credibility. Regular monitoring, prompt removal of malicious content, and robust security measures are crucial. For comprehensive protection and cleanup, consider using professional services like those provided by MoeSec.
By following these steps, you can protect your website from such SEO spam attacks and maintain a secure, trustworthy online presence.
