@rohanm Wow, this is super eye-opening! 😮 I've been really curious about parasite SEO lately, but I can’t help wondering how safe it actually is long-term. Like… is there a legal risk if you lean too far into these kinds of tactics? Part of me finds it exciting, but part of me worries it could backfire big time. Would love to hear how others think about the risk vs reward here!

@olivias Hey Olivia, I've been seeing a lot of chatter about Parasite SEO lately. From what I’ve seen, it isn’t automatically illegal in and of itself.. If you’re publishing legit content on platforms that *allow* user posts (like Medium or LinkedIn), it’s usually fine - it’s just a gray area tactic because you’re borrowing their authority to rank faster.

Where it crosses into illegal territory is when you’re breaking laws or terms in the process - like hacking sites to inject links, posting stolen or defamatory content, or impersonating brands. That’s when it moves from just ‘against guidelines’ to outright unlawful. So the short version: risky for rankings, but only outright illegal if you’re crossing into fraud, copyright infringement, or unauthorized access.

Personally, I’ve stayed on the cautious side after Google’s 2023 updates wiped me out - not eager to add legal headaches on top of traffic struggles. 😅

@olivias Jumping in here, Terry’s spot on. Another classic *illegal* parasite SEO move is when people hack abandoned WordPress sites, drop in hidden redirects or cloaked pages, and then ride that domain’s old authority. That’s not just against Google’s guidelines, that’s cybercrime territory. It’s kinda like sneaking into a closed café at night, using their espresso machine, and selling drinks out the back door. Doesn’t matter how good the coffee tastes, you’re still breaking and entering. 😂 So yeah, posting legit content on platforms that allow it = sketchy but not criminal. Hijacking other people’s sites = straight up illegal.