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Parasite SEO on Trustpilot via exact-match domains
A Trustpilot profile named after a search query appears in Google for that query. We studied this scheme using public data: one naming pattern in 7 countries, data as of August 21, 2026.
from creating a profile to its first review, for three of four profiles
how long a profile lives before Trustpilot removes it
profiles that Trustpilot removed on its own for breaking its rules
How the scheme works
| Step | What we saw |
|---|---|
| They register a domain with the same name as a search query, like “top 7 online casinos India”. | domain = query |
| They create a Trustpilot business profile with the same name. The query goes into the page title. | same day as the domain, for 2 of 4 profiles |
| The company sends review invitations through Trustpilot itself. Such reviews get the “Verified” label. | first review after 29–34 h |
| The Trustpilot page appears in Google for the query. The domain itself does not need to. | position 1 in India |
| The “Visit website” button leads to a list of operators. Each card has a button to a WhatsApp chat. | 7 operator cards |
| Trustpilot removes the profile for breaking its rules. By then, the profile has done its job. | after 2–4 months |
The asset is the page on someone else's domain. The site behind the button is disposable. One profile stayed in search results while its own site returned an almost empty page.
One search leads to a review page, then to a WhatsApp chat
- “top casino in india”
- India
- August 2026
- position 4
- trustpilot.com/review/top-7-…-india.coma review page named after the query
- top-7-…-india.com7 operator cards
- link trackerone key for each operator
- WhatsApp chat“Get ID”
The page title and the domain repeat the search query. To Google, it looks like a page with reviews of a company by that name.
Seven profiles: dates and status
| Country | Domain registered | Profile created | First review | Status on 2026-08-21 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 2026-06-04 | 2026-06-04 | after 32 h | live |
| India | 2026-06-04 | 2026-06-04 | after 29 h | live, 4 reviews |
| India | 2026-06-02 | 2026-06-05 | after 34 h | live, 3 reviews |
| Malaysia | 2026-06-03 | 2026-06-10 | after 10 days | live, 2 reviews |
| India | 2026-03-24 | not recorded | not recorded | removed. On August 1, it ranked first on Google for 15 searches |
| Netherlands | 2026-06-06 | not recorded | not recorded | removed, had 12 reviews |
| United Kingdom | not measured | not recorded | not recorded | removed |
The live profiles are from June. The removed ones are older. Trustpilot removes such profiles, but months later. The same naming pattern appears in 7 countries: India, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, France, Canada and Australia.
Evidence for a complaint
Invitations from the company itself
All reviews came through invitations that the company sent through Trustpilot. This is how the reviews got the “Verified” label.
One review in a lifetime
We checked 8 reviewers on the Indian profiles. 7 of them had written only one review ever. 7 of them were from the US or Canada.
The experience is older than the site
One review describes an experience on June 2. The domain was registered on June 4. In another review, the gap is almost two weeks.
This breaks Trustpilot's rules on reviews the company asked for and on experience that did not happen. We file a complaint with Trustpilot. We also file a complaint with Google about the abuse of a trusted site's reputation. Parasite pages & hacked sites →
One scheme, several operators
At least 3 operators
Registrars, DNS and hosting split the sample into three independent groups. Each group runs its own profiles.
7 certificates in 7 minutes
The operator cards link to seven sites. All seven got their certificates within seven minutes, on the same IP address. This means one owner, not shared hosting.
One panel, 24 countries
Two profile domains redirect to the admin panel of one network. Its country menu lists 24 countries.
The method does not depend on the industry. We saw the same scheme for prop trading firms, SMM panels and software downloads.
How we collected the data
Sample
- Public data as of August 21, 2026: Trustpilot pages, domain registration records, DNS and certificates.
- 7 profiles in the status table. For 4 of them, we have the full timeline.
- 30 domains: profile sites, sites behind the buttons, a link tracker and an admin panel.
- Positions and traffic come from a third-party SEO tool, not from our own check of Google.
- This is a snapshot as of one date. A profile can disappear or come back afterward.
What is not included
- We did not count all such profiles on Trustpilot. We studied a sample.
- For one domain, the registry returned the date of the domain extension, not of the domain. We mark it “not measured”.
- Our clients' brands are not in this sample: only third-party operators and public data.
- We do not name brands or sites.
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