Negative SEO attack recovery in Canada: fight back

We provide negative SEO attack recovery in Canada for site owners: diagnose suspected attacks, repair damage and monitor for recurrence.

  • 10 to 66 organic leads/mo: Linara, 12 months
  • 24/7 portal: rankings, leads, spend and changes
  • 1 major client per niche per region

Toronto’s Trusted Agency | Forbes Agency Council Member

  • Forbes Agency Council, official member 2026
  • Forbes Agency Council, official member 2025
  • Toronto Star Readers’ Choice
  • Toronto Star Readers’ Choice 2022 Diamond Winner
  • Award winning marketing agency in Canada

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    5.0100+ reviews

    Trusted by 1,000+ businesses across Ontario

    5.0100+ reviews
    • BMW
    • Sony
    • Calvin Klein
    • Michelin
    • Lifestyle Markets
    • CB
    • Bytensky Shikhman
    • Canadian Flooring
    • Capable
    • Jeffrey I. Reisman
    • DetailingPro
    • Zinati Kay
    • Gleamworks
    • LD Law
    • Turkin
    • Berintek
    • Kids VIP
    • Studio Athletica
    • Startuptive
    • Client emblem
    • TrueForm Construction
    • Avanti Landscaping
    The recovery system

    4 channels. One stronger recovery.

    SEO recovery, Google Ads, conversion fixes and AI-search visibility share insights, so each part strengthens the others.

    SEO recovery

    Find the damage. Restore your foundation.

    We investigate suspicious links, injected pages and indexing problems. What we learn guides your Ads, conversion fixes and AI-search content.

    Linara: 10 to 66 organic leads a month in 12 months.
    Google Ads

    Keep reaching customers during recovery

    We run paid search to reach customers while organic repairs are underway. Search-term data sharpens SEO priorities and landing-page messaging.

    Paid enquiries and search data to guide your recovery.
    Conversion

    Turn more of your traffic into enquiries

    We fix the path from landing page to enquiry. Clearer pages make your SEO and Ads traffic work harder and show which messages earn leads.

    More visits turn into trackable enquiries.
    AI search

    Make your content clearer for AI search

    We strengthen content for AI-search visibility using what the recovery audit reveals. The same clear content supports organic search and conversion work.

    Clearer content across search and landing pages.

    Get A Free Audit

    Case study

    10 to 66 organic leads a month in 12 months

    Injected spam and hostile backlinks hit Linara Custom Jewellery in Toronto. In 12 months, monthly organic clicks rose from 600 to 2,700.

    SEOTechnical SEOCustom jewelleryToronto, ON12 months
    Linara Custom Jewellery
    linara.ca · Sep 2024 vs Sep 2025
    10→66organic leads per monthdeduplicated forms + calls; September year over year

    Recovered monthly organic leads from 10 to 66 after injected spam pages and hostile backlinks. Removed the compromise, restored indexing and monitored recurrence across Canada.

    Malware / hackToxic linksIndex bloatLink cleanupCrawl & index cleanupContent rebuildInternal linkingConversion tracking
    Organic leads / month2024–2025 year before
    021436486Oct ’24NovDecJan ’25FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep ’2512346610
    • 13 persistence routes removed
    • 21,240 spam URLs retired
    • 328 jewellery pages restored
    • 448 organic leads
    Organic leads / mo10 → 66+560%
    Organic clicks / mo600 → 2,700+350%
    Keywords in top 1024 → 126+425%
    Legitimate URLs indexed50 → 210+320%
    Converting organic pages / mo5 → 23+360%
    Organic orders / mo3 → 15+400%
    • Monthly organic leads fell from 52 in July to 10 in September 2024.
    • 1,240 injected URLs promoted unrelated products through compromised WordPress files.
    • 8,600 new spam backlinks appeared; Search Console showed 0 manual actions.
    • Only 50 of 210 legitimate product and service URLs remained indexed.
    • 3 persistent spam routes survived the host's initial malware cleanup.
    Spam appeared only to Googlebot

    A rogue must-use plugin cloaked responses by user agent; removed it, patched entry points and rotated credentials.

    1,240 injected URLs
    Deleted spam sitemap kept returning

    A malicious scheduled task regenerated the sitemap; removed its database entry and purged cached XML.

    1 recurring spam sitemap
    Jewellery canonicals pointed to spam

    An injected head hook rewrote canonicals on product templates; removed the hook and validated rendered HTML.

    37 product canonicals corrupted
    Oct ’241forensic snapshot preserved; forms, calls and orders deduplicated
    Oct ’243persistent spam routes removed; credentials rotated and access restricted
    Oct–Nov ’241240injected URLs returned 410; spam sitemaps removed
    Nov ’248600spam backlinks assessed; no blanket disavow without manipulation evidence
    Nov–Dec ’2437product canonicals repaired; cache and rendering tests passed
    Jan–Mar ’2528damaged jewellery pages restored from verified catalogue content
    Apr–Jun ’25164internal links restored to legitimate product and consultation pages
    Jul–Sep ’2512weekly security, indexation and lead-quality checks completed
    Yonge–Dundas jewellery districtJewellery businesses cluster around Yonge and Dundas

    1 consultation page retained Toronto relevance without fabricated storefront claims

    Union StationGO Transit and TTC interchange

    1 appointment guide linked to official transit planning resources

    YorkvilleRetail district near Bay and Bloor–Yonge stations

    2 consultation FAQs addressed transit access without claiming a Yorkville address

    TorontoOntario's 13% HST applies to taxable jewellery sales

    1 pricing guide separated jewellery prices, tax and delivery

    Want the same breakdown for your site? It starts with a free audit.

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    Market data

    33.3% showed verified abuse. What about you?

    In QliqQliq incident audits, 66.7% showed no verified external abuse. These figures make diagnosis your first move.

    33.3%
    of audited domains had verified external abuse indicators

    80 of 240 audits; verification does not establish malicious SEO intent

    QliqQliq incident audits
    66.7%
    had no verified external abuse indicators

    160 of 240 audits; spam backlinks alone were insufficient evidence

    QliqQliq incident audits
    $3,200
    median remediation fee among verified incidents

    80 incidents; excludes lost revenue, advertising and ongoing SEO

    QliqQliq recovery project records
    12.5%
    had a manual action visible in Search Console

    30 of 240 domains; a manual action does not establish external causation

    GSC of client sites + QliqQliq incident audits
    Incident segmentAuditsVerified abuseMedian organic lossMedian recovery feeMedian recovery daysManual action
    Spam-link alerts6010%8%$1,200215%
    Scraped-content alerts5010%12%$1,800284%
    Injected-page alerts4060%44%$4,8005625%
    Malicious redirect alerts3560%52%$4,2004220%
    Impersonation alerts3030%18%$2,400350%
    Mixed-signal incidents2560%61%$6,4007032%

    240 mutually exclusive primary reports; 80 verified-abuse cases and 30 manual actions. Organic loss: median 28-day GSC click decline versus preceding 28 days across each segment. Fees and recovery days cover verified cases only; recovery means containment and remediation, not guaranteed ranking restoration. Source: QliqQliq incident audits, GSC of client sites, recovery project records

    Negative SEO recovery queriesAll service queries
    Position 115.2%
    Position 210.1%
    Position 37.3%
    Position 45.1%
    Position 53.8%
    Position 62.9%
    Position 72.2%
    Position 81.8%
    Position 91.4%
    Position 101.2%

    Positions 1–10; branded queries excluded. Ads and other SERP features reduce organic visibility; this chart does not measure attack-related traffic loss. Source: GSC of client sites: 8 recovery providers versus 24 service sites, 12 months

    Recovery-provider Google review benchmarks by city
    Toronto210
    Vancouver180
    Montréal155
    Calgary130
    Ottawa110
    Edmonton95
    Winnipeg75
    Halifax60

    Reviews: median Google review count per sampled provider. Firms: sampled providers advertising recovery services; 80 total. Review counts are not ranking requirements or evidence of recovery competence. Source: QliqQliq Maps grid scan, 25 points per city

    80 / 240

    audits with verified external abuse indicators

    QliqQliq incident audits
    160 / 240

    audits without verified external abuse indicators

    QliqQliq incident audits
    6 / 60

    spam-link alerts with verified abuse beyond backlink-tool toxicity scores

    QliqQliq backlink and server-log review
    24 / 40

    injected-page alerts with verified unauthorised content

    QliqQliq incident audits
    21 / 35

    redirect alerts with verified unauthorised redirect rules

    QliqQliq server-log and configuration review
    2,400

    monthly Canadian searches across recovery-service keywords

    Keyword Planner, 12-month average
    $18

    average Canadian recovery-service keyword CPC

    Keyword Planner
    64%

    sampled recovery-query SERPs containing search ads

    DataForSEO, 200 Canadian SERPs
    28%

    sampled recovery-query SERPs containing a Map Pack

    QliqQliq SERP capture, 200 SERPs
    46%

    recovery-service organic clicks from mobile devices

    GSC of client sites, 8 recovery providers
    $3,200

    median remediation fee across verified incidents

    QliqQliq recovery project records, 80 incidents
    14 h

    median containment time after access was granted

    QliqQliq incident response logs, 80 incidents
    48 / 80

    verified incidents requiring hosting or CMS changes

    QliqQliq recovery project records
    20 / 80

    verified incidents requiring a disavow submission after link review

    QliqQliq recovery project records
    12 / 80

    verified incidents with repeat compromise within 90 days

    QliqQliq incident monitoring
    9 / 32

    providers requesting GSC access before quoting

    QliqQliq mystery-shopper test
    8 / 32

    providers recommending disavow before reviewing backlinks

    QliqQliq mystery-shopper test
    6 / 32

    providers promising a fixed ranking-recovery date

    QliqQliq mystery-shopper test
    7 h

    median first reply among providers that responded

    QliqQliq mystery-shopper test, 28 replies
    4 / 32

    providers giving no reply within 5 business days

    QliqQliq mystery-shopper test

    Method: 240 incident audits · 9,600 URLs inspected · 200 recovery-query SERPs captured · 80 recovery-provider profiles scanned · 32 mystery enquiries; self-selected sample, not national prevalence. Abuse indicators do not establish attacker identity or intent. Costs in CAD. · Updated Q3 2026

    Your recovery plan

    5 steps from diagnosis to defence

    01

    Review the evidence

    We review your site and Search Console for signs of compromise and lost visibility.

    02

    Find the damage

    The QUIQ Pixel finds technical issues in hours; we inspect backlinks and injected pages.

    03

    Remove and repair

    We remove spam and repair the compromise, using tested scripts and AI tools to ship fixes in hours or days.

    04

    Restore and convert

    We restore legitimate pages for indexing and fix the path from search visits to enquiries.

    05

    Watch for recurrence

    We monitor for repeat abuse. Your 24/7 Glass Box Portal shows rankings, leads, spend and changes.

    1 team. Results you can see.

    MasterSEOTypical agency
    SpeedFixes and pages shipped in hours or daysFixes and pages queued for weeks
    Visibility24/7 portal with a log of every changePeriodic updates without a live change log
    FocusCalls, leads and revenueTechnical activity and rankings
    Exclusivity1 major client per niche per regionNo niche exclusivity

    Results you can take to the bank.

    I want you to see calls and leads, not decipher a technical report. My team handles the details; you see the work and the numbers.

    Anton Kovalchuk Founder

    6 answers before you start

    What does negative SEO attack recovery in Canada involve?

    We inspect your search data, backlinks, pages and technical health for evidence of abuse. If we find a compromise, we plan the repairs, address affected pages and monitor for recurrence. Your free audit is the starting point.

    Does a traffic drop mean my site was attacked?

    Not necessarily. In QliqQliq incident audits, 66.7% of domains had no verified external abuse indicators. A drop warrants investigation, not an assumption. In client-site and incident-audit records, 12.5% had a manual action visible in Search Console.

    How long does recovery take?

    Timing depends on the damage and your market. Our QUIQ Pixel finds technical issues in hours, and our tested scripts and AI tools let us ship fixes and pages in hours or days. Search recovery itself can take longer.

    What does remediation cost?

    The median remediation fee among verified incidents in QliqQliq recovery project records was $3,200. Your scope and fee depend on what the investigation finds. Start with the free audit.

    Do you guarantee rankings?

    No. We do not guarantee rankings. We investigate the evidence, carry out the agreed work and track outcomes so you can see what is changing.

    How do I see what your team has done?

    Your Glass Box Portal is available 24/7. It shows rankings, leads, spend and a log of every change. We also monitor for repeat abuse so you have a clear view after repairs.

    Explore related services

    Anton KovalchukWritten and reviewed by Anton Kovalchuk, Founder of QliqQliq · Updated November 2026

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