In the digital space's current environment, numerous people exist willing to do anything to succeed, even if it means going unethical.
Recently, an SEO company reportedly got into a disagreement regarding a work contact, and the client wanted to terminate the contract. Allegedly, the SEO Company took great strides to ruin the company in Google Search completely.
The client logged a complaint with a Google Webmaster Help thread. The client stated that he was looking at discontinuing service with them. About an hour after this announcement, the SEO company took over the business's Google My Business listing ownership status and was marked as permanently closed. Shortly after, the website was removed from Google, proceeding with the events that transpired using the Google Search Console emergency removal feature.
A product expert from Google also confirmed that the website was taken off from Google search using the Google Search Console. The Google Search Console is a feature designed to remove a directory, page or website from search almost immediately. As easy as it can be removed, it can also be reversed quickly.
Different community members following the thread advised the owner to lock the SEO company out of the website.
This event occurs way too often. In the past, there were attempts to hold SEO client's hostage using SEO threats. Google said when it boils down to negative SEO; you can ignore it; however, this case went beyond negative SEO; there was a direct access removal of the website from Google search.
The only protection you have against these guys is your cautiousness. Be extra careful when hiring an SEO company. These companies have the power to cause a lot of damage, so the best course of action is to build a certain level of trust before deciding to hand over necessary business access.
