Japanese keyword hack: foreign characters in your search results

2026-09-22 · updated 2026-10-07

The Japanese keyword hack is one of the most visible forms of infection. The site works normally, but Google shows hundreds of pages full of foreign characters and product names.

How it works

The attacker generates thousands of pages on your domain and serves them only to Googlebot. A normal visitor gets a 404 or a redirect. The goal is to borrow your domain reputation to advertise someone else’s products.

A new Search Console owner is often added at the same time, so the attacker can monitor indexing and request faster crawling.

How to check

• Search site:yourdomain.com in Google and review the results.
• Search Console → Indexing: look for hundreds of new pages.
• Search Console → Settings → Users and permissions: look for unknown owners.
• Check your sitemap files — an extra one is often added.

Why deleting pages is not enough

You must remove the code that generates them, remove the unauthorised Search Console users, submit a reconsideration request and then wait for the index to clear. The whole process takes weeks, so speed matters — an initial security check takes a couple of days.