Manipulated Unicode characters (glitchy text). Seen in black-hat spam attempts to bypass filters or manipulate SERPs.
I know the panic you feel when your website suddenly shows weird characters or starts ranking for strange keywords you did not target. SEO spam can seriously hurt your site’s credibility and traffic, but I am here to help you understand and prevent it. We are going to explore a type of malicious content that uses odd characters and I will give you actionable tips to secure your CMS. We must stay ahead of these black-hat tactics to keep your website safe and clean.
So, what is Zalgo Text & SEO Spam? Zalgo Text & SEO Spam is a black-hat technique that involves using heavily manipulated Unicode characters to create glitchy
or distorted text. This weird-looking text is often used to try and bypass content filters, hide spammy links, or inject keywords that look innocent to a bot but are unreadable to humans. It is an annoying form of SEO spam that hackers use to manipulate search engine results pages (SERPs).
Zalgo Text & SEO Spam and Your CMS Platform
The impact of this type of spam depends on how easily a hacker can access and inject malicious code into your website. I want you to know how to set up defenses within your specific Content Management System (CMS). The goal is to prevent the insertion of these manipulated Unicode characters into your site’s code or content.
WordPress
WordPress is often targeted because of its popularity and the use of third-party plugins that might have security gaps. I strongly advise you to install a robust security plugin, like Sucuri or Wordfence, to regularly scan your site for hidden spam code. You must always keep your core WordPress software, themes, and plugins updated to close any security holes.
Shopify
Shopify is generally secure because it is a closed platform, meaning you have less control but also less risk from core code injections. The main risk is through the comment sections on your product or blog pages. I recommend using strong spam filters for all user-generated content to catch and remove any attempts to post Zalgo Text & SEO Spam.
Wix
Like Shopify, Wix is a hosted platform with built-in security, so the main threat comes from any public-facing text fields. I would check any forum or blog comment sections frequently for strange, overlapping, or unusually large blocks of characters. If you see this kind of text, delete it right away because it is usually malicious.
Webflow
Webflow is safer for this kind of spam because it is not built with a backend database like WordPress, and user-generated content is typically handled by external apps. I advise you to review any forms or inputs that allow users to submit text, such as a contact form or a CMS Collection item. Make sure you use robust validation on these inputs to reject characters that are not standard letters and numbers.
Custom CMS
With a custom CMS, I ask my development team to implement a strict whitelist filter on all user input fields. This filter should only allow a defined set of standard characters, which automatically rejects the combining diacritical marks used to create Zalgo Text & SEO Spam. This upfront coding work is the strongest defense against this kind of text injection.
Industry-Specific Spam Prevention Strategies
SEO spam often targets websites with high authority to use their reputation for illegal purposes. We need to focus our defenses on the most vulnerable parts of your website that attract public input. I will show you where to watch out for Zalgo Text & SEO Spam based on your industry.
Ecommerce
For an ecommerce site, hackers often target product reviews and Q&A sections to inject spam links and keywords. I recommend requiring moderator approval for all reviews before they go live on your site to manually catch any malicious text. You must protect your high-traffic product pages because their authority is very valuable to spammers.
Local Businesses
Local businesses mainly see spam injected into contact form submissions or any public guest book features. I advise using a robust CAPTCHA or a double opt-in system on all of your forms to stop automated bots from injecting spam. You should check your website daily using Google Search Console to see if any strange pages have been indexed by mistake.
SaaS (Software as a Service)
SaaS companies should worry about Zalgo Text & SEO Spam in their community forums or public documentation comments. I recommend using AI-powered anti-spam tools that are specifically trained to identify and block these odd Unicode character patterns. We must keep the user-facing parts of the platform clean to maintain a professional image.
Blogs and Publishers
For blogs, the comment section is the most common target for this kind of SEO spam injection. I always advise disabling anonymous comments and requiring users to log in or verify their email address before posting a comment. You should also set your comments to hold for manual review if they contain more than two links.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Zalgo Text & SEO Spam?
It is a type of black-hat SEO where hackers use a large number of overlapping Unicode characters to make text look glitchy or distorted, and they use it to inject hidden spam keywords or malicious links onto your website.
How can Zalgo Text harm my website?
It can harm your website by causing Google to flag your site for spam, which leads to a huge drop in your search rankings and loss of traffic. It also makes your website look unprofessional or broken to your visitors.
How do I check if my website has Zalgo Text SEO spam?
I recommend checking your website’s security settings and running a full scan with a trusted security software that looks for hidden or manipulated code in your database. You should also check Google Search Console for any weird, unauthorized pages that have been indexed.
Is Zalgo Text used for anything other than spam?
Yes, sometimes Zalgo Text is used in online memes and social media for fun to create a spooky or distorted visual effect. However, when you see it on a public website without a clear reason, it is almost always a sign of malicious SEO spam.
