Before a digital presence was a must for businesses, unfair competition focused on offline practices. These included trade secret theft, trademark infringement and other unethical activities.
But when the internet became a staple in people’s lives, it brought new forms of unfair competition. Here are some of the most common ones.
Search engine optimization manipulation
Search engine optimization (SEO) manipulation involves dishonest practices to boost a website’s rankings or harm a competitor’s position.
Google and other search engines use a set of rules to decide which websites come out on top. Some businesses try to harm their competitors by building spammy backlinks to a competitor’s site to trigger penalties, for example. Or they use unfair practices to boost their own website, such as:
- Overloading web pages with keywords to trick search algorithms
- Creating networks of low-quality websites to link to their own site
- Posting duplicate content to confuse search engines
Search engines can detect SEO manipulation, but they may not always be able to apply penalties to manipulators before they cause harm.
Online reputation manipulation
In the past, companies usually disparaged their competitors’ products or services in old-fashioned ways. These might include sending letters to competitors’ customers or making baseless claims about their practices.
The internet made this easier because of anonymity and the rapid spread of information. Today, companies might harm a competitor’s reputation by posting fake negative reviews or using bots to twist online ratings.
Data scraping and misuse
This involves wrongful collection and use of data from competitors or other sources. Automated tools make it easier to take data and use it to copy others, learn about competitors or find ways to attack them online.
This practice might be similar to trademark infringement or stealing private data in the past.
How businesses can protect themselves
Businesses must adapt to the changing times, and that includes putting up safeguards against modern yet still unfair practices. Consulting a business attorney can help companies protect themselves from unethical tactics and handle any legal issues that may arise.
