[Matsta]

This is an example of Parasite SEO. You get a site with high Authority site that you can put some content on (HN/Reddit/Medium/Steemit/GetJar). Then you send a lot (100k+) spammy backlinks and then rank for some difficult terms.

Google doesn't penalise big sites for spammy backlinks compared to a fresh domain, and also with the high authority, it will rank a lot quicker.

A good way to find example of Parasites is to search "Fortnite hack". I can see links from LinkedIn, Steam Workshop and a PDF hosted on a hacked (presumably) website for a roofing company.

[dang]

Can you explain this again in more detail? Not being versed in SEO ways, I want to understand it but don't.

[kuu]

The more links your website has from some other websites, the more popular your site is. If these links come from "an authority" (an already popular site, like HN, Reddit, Wikipedia or other main website like that), the more popular your site is.

By "popular" I mean more relevant for Google.

[gitgud]

That's fascinating, the lengths that people will go to to get their site ranked is amazing.

What about backlink providers, there's thousands of companies that try to increase your ranking by backlinking for you, does Google penalize those companies?

[asdkhadsj]

Fascinating. I despise a lot of the scummy behavior on the internet, yet I am so often amazed by the ingenuity and perverse incentives that get exposed by people that develop these.

I admire them, in a very weird and mostly despised way.