SEO Manipulation Report: Allegations of Finixio and Clickout Media Exploiting CoinTelegraph’s Authority and Misleading Regulators

Last month, Timothy M., a seasoned SEO expert, published an investigative report on Clickout Media and Finixio, detailing alleged unethical SEO practices used to drive traffic and monetize their network of gambling and crypto-focused websites. These tactics, which may contravene legal standards, reportedly resulted in significant penalties from Google, including a sharp decline in keyword rankings and the loss of millions of monthly visitors, allegedly causing significant disruptions to their operations.

A few days ago, Timothy released a follow-up article titled Under Google’s Watchful Eye: Getting Out of a Manual Site Reputation Abuse Penalty and Continuing Business as Usua, highlighting the companies' rapid recovery. His investigation suggests the use of cloaking techniques, potentially designed to bypass scrutiny from regulators and Google by presenting different content based on the viewer's location. Additionally, he explored their alleged involvement with CoinTelegraph’s iGaming section, raising concerns about possible non-compliance with Google’s guidelines. This article covers Timothy’s findings, including Finixio and Clickout Media’s strategic use of redirects, questionable tactics involving purchased websites, and the implications of their recovery strategies.

Google Penalties on Finixio and Clickout Media: Severe Traffic and Ranking Losses

After Timothy M.'s initial report, Finixio and Clickout Media's affiliate marketing network and content-heavy websites faced substantial penalties from Google. Their prominent sites like Techopedia, ReadWrite, and Business2Community experienced dramatic drops in organic traffic, search visibility, and keyword rankings. For instance, Techopedia saw its monthly visits plummet by over 80%, from more than six million to just under one million within a month. ReadWrite suffered a loss of approximately 98,000 visitors, while Business2Community experienced a staggering 75% reduction in traffic, severely disrupting their search performance and revenue models.

Techopedia's dramatic drop in traffic following Google's penalties. Source: Ahref

Swift SEO Recovery: How Finixio and Clickout Media Bounced Back from Google Penalties

When Google imposed severe penalties on Finixio and Clickout Media, their websites experienced massive traffic loss and a steep drop in keyword rankings. Within just one week, however, the companies launched a rapid SEO recovery effort to regain their online presence. Timothy's investigation reveals key strategies behind this turnaround, starting with the immediate removal of gambling-related content that violated Google’s site reputation abuse policies.

Additionally, they employed 301 redirects to transfer SEO authority from penalized domains to alternative properties within their network. This strategic maneuver ensured the retention of domain authority while complying with Google’s guidelines. The result was a noticeable stabilization of traffic levels and a gradual improvement in keyword rankings, suggesting that Google either lifted or significantly reduced the penalties.

Timothy’s report further highlights how the swift removal of non-compliant content and effective redirect implementation allows Finixio and Clickout Media to recover their SEO standings almost overnight. This case demonstrates the companies' advanced understanding of SEO mechanisms and raises important questions about the robustness of Google’s penalty enforcement.

Cloaking Techniques: How Clickout Media Evades Detection

Google’s penalties haven’t stopped Clickout Media and Finixio from allegedly employing questionable SEO practices. According to Timothy’s investigation, they utilized advanced cloaking techniques to conceal gambling content from search engines and regulatory bodies. In SEO, cloaking involves showing different content to search engine crawlers than to users. While this practice can be legitimate—such as tailoring content by location or device—Clickout Media exploited it to bypass Google’s scrutiny.

Timothy reveals that Clickout Media strategically used cloaking to display harmless content to Google crawlers, ensuring their gambling pages avoided detection and maintained strong SEO rankings. Meanwhile, users from targeted regions were served the full gambling content, allowing the business to continue operations largely unchecked.

To evade regulatory attention, Clickout Media appears to have leveraged geotargeting in its cloaking methods. For instance, Timothy observed that gambling pages on Techopedia targeting Dutch users were accessible on mobile devices or from locations outside the Netherlands but were hidden on desktops within the country. While the exact intent remains speculative, Timothy suggests this tactic could allegedly be aimed at ensuring the content reaches most of its intended audience, who typically browse on mobile, while reducing visibility to local regulators, who are more likely to investigate from desktop systems.

By allegedly combining deceptive cloaking with geotargeting, Clickout Media managed to obscure their activities from both search engines and regulatory bodies, allowing them to maintain visibility and operations without immediate penalties.

301 Redirects: Finixio’s Tactic to Recover from Google Penalties

While 301 redirects are a standard SEO practice to pass authority from one site to another, Timothy’s investigation reveals how Clickout Media and Finixio may have used this technique to counteract Google’s penalties. Following the massive drop in rankings of sites like Techopedia, they quickly redirected SEO authority from penalized domains to other properties within their network. For example, traffic from Techopedia was redirected to casinoutanspelpaus.io, a gambling-focused site, effectively preserving search rankings and domain authority.

301 redirects path from Techopedia to cfiw.org.uk. Source: https://recleudo.com/under-googles-watchfull-eye-getting-out-of-a-manual-site-reputation-abuse-penalty-and-continuing-business-as-usual/

Timothy also uncovered the use of drop domains—previously reputable websites like cfiw.org.uk, repurposed to funnel SEO juice and authority. By leveraging these 301 redirects, Finixio and Clickout Media ensured their network remained operational while bypassing Google’s penalties. This tactic underscores their ability to exploit SEO loopholes, manipulate domain authority, and sustain traffic flow even during a crisis.

How CoinTelegraph’s Reputation Is Exploited by Parasite SEO Tactics

Timothy uncovers how Clickout Media and Finixio exploit local websites and news websites, among other types, and integrate sections that are irrelevant to the core business and content types of the website, such as gambling and OnlyFans. Timothy's most significant finding is that CoinTelegraph, a leading crypto news website, may have entered into a partnership with Clickout Media, allowing them to fully manage the entire iGaming section of the platform and effectively parasitizing CoinTelegraph’s reputation. On the surface, the CoinTelegraph's Gaming section appears to be an integral part of CoinTelegraph. However, Timothy demonstrates with a high probability that Clickout Media is behind this section, benefiting their business while CoinTelegraph receives financial compensation. This arrangement is similar to the case with Forbes, where reputable platforms are exploited to enhance SEO networks.

CoinTelegraph iGaming vs. Main Site: Key Differences and SEO Insights

Timothy points out stark differences between the main CoinTelegraph site and its iGaming section. The iGaming content utilizes distinct source code structure, resources, and stylesheets, creating a clear separation from the main site's content, along with noticeable differences in functionality and behavior. For instance, the CoinTelegraph logo on the main site is functional, allowing easy navigation back to the homepage, whereas in the iGaming section, the logo is non-responsive, and navigation behaves differently. Additionally, the source code of the iGaming section reveals a distinct management structure, reinforcing that it operates independently. This segregation allows Clickout Media to exploit CoinTelegraph’s domain authority without jeopardizing the integrity of the primary site.

Evidence of Clickout Media’s Connection to CoinTelegraph’s iGaming Section

Timothy’s investigation also uncovers connections between CoinTelegraph’s iGaming section and Clickout Media’s staff. For instance, Graziella Calleja, a Clickout Media content writer, is featured in iGaming articles, while Lucas Wallman, a Business2Community author, has clear LinkedIn ties to Clickout Media while writing content for CoinTelegraph’s iGaming section. These affiliations suggest that Clickout Media staff directly manage the iGaming section, bolstering their SEO strategies and leveraging CoinTelegraph’s reputation to discreetly promote gambling content.

Lucas Wallman LinkedIn profile. Source: LinkedIn

How Finixio Uses New Website Acquisitions to Expand Gambling SEO Network

According to Timothy’s report, Finixio and Clickout Media have strategically expanded their SEO network by acquiring new websites tailored to local markets. These domains are repurposed to host gambling and casino-related content, ensuring a consistent flow of traffic and enhanced SEO authority. For example, Cardplayer.com, originally a poker-focused platform, now features a Swedish subdirectory promoting casinos without Swedish licenses. Similarly, Pokerscout.com, another poker-oriented site, has incorporated country-specific pages linking to Finixio-controlled platforms like topcasinosites.eu. This calculated acquisition and transformation of websites enable Finixio and Clickout Media to diversify their digital strategies, strengthen their search engine rankings, and sustain their presence across global markets, even amidst regulatory and algorithmic penalties.

Key Takeaways on Finixio and Clickout Media’s SEO Tactics

Finixio and Clickout Media have shown remarkable expertise in recovering from severe Google penalties. By removing problematic content, leveraging 301 redirects, and employing advanced cloaking techniques, they swiftly restored their SEO rankings and traffic. However, their alleged use of tactics such as cloaking and their ability to parasitize high-authority platforms like CoinTelegraph raise serious ethical concerns. If they are indeed behind these practices, it demonstrates a willingness to prioritize profit at the expense of cryptocurrency investors and users.

Timothy’s investigation highlights the urgent need for action. Will regulators and Google intervene to protect consumers and cryptocurrency enthusiasts from manipulative SEO tactics, designed to mislead and exploit? The points raised in this report demand closer scrutiny to safeguard the integrity of search results and ensure transparency in the cryptocurrency space.

** Note: This article is based on publicly available information from Timothy M.'s investigative report published on recleudo.com. It aims to summarize and analyze his findings for informational purposes only, without asserting any legal claims or conclusions.