Hello everyone,
I'm looking for advice on the best way to report a negative SEO attack to Google.
My business was recently targeted by what appears to be a coordinated SEO attack. It involved a large number of harmful backlinks, spammy and offensive anchor text, and other suspicious link-building activity that seemed intended to hurt our search rankings. The attack had a noticeable impact, although we've already taken steps to reduce the damage.
We have also filed a lawsuit against the competitor we believe is responsible. In addition, we have forensic evidence connecting the attack to them, along with documentation showing that it caused financial harm to our business.
During our investigation, we also found evidence suggesting that this competitor may be using a network of secondary websites to pass link authority to their main website, which appears to violate Google's spam and link manipulation policies.
I'm trying to understand the correct way to report this to Google.
Here are my questions:
Should I report this using Google's Spam Report form, Search Console, the Disavow Tool, or another method?
If we have forensic evidence and an active legal case, is there a way to submit that information privately to Google?
Does Google investigate or take action against businesses or link networks involved in this type of SEO manipulation?
If the same business also appears to be using a fake Google Business Profile address and suspicious reviews, should that be reported separately?
I don't want to share any confidential legal documents or evidence publicly at this stage. My goal is to understand the proper reporting process, protect my website, and make sure Google is aware of the situation.
Any guidance or experience with similar cases would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!