Skip to content
    Moz logo Menu open Menu close
    • Products
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Pro Home
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Home
      • STAT
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Home
      • Compare SEO Products
      • Moz Data
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis
      • Keyword Explorer
      • Link Explorer
      • Competitive Research
      • MozBar
      • More Free SEO Tools
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO
      • SEO Learning Center
      • Moz Academy
      • MozCon
      • Webinars, Whitepapers, & Guides
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers
      • Agency Solutions
      • Enterprise Solutions
      • Small Business Solutions
      • The Moz Story
      • New Releases
    • Log in
    • Log out
    • Products
      • Moz Pro

        Your all-in-one suite of SEO essentials.

      • Moz Local

        Raise your local SEO visibility with complete local SEO management.

      • STAT

        SERP tracking and analytics for enterprise SEO experts.

      • Moz API

        Power your SEO with our index of over 44 trillion links.

      • Compare SEO Products

        See which Moz SEO solution best meets your business needs.

      • Moz Data

        Power your SEO strategy & AI models with custom data solutions.

      Turn SEO data into actionable content briefs

      Turn SEO data into actionable content briefs

      Learn more
    • Free SEO Tools
      • Domain Analysis

        Get top competitive SEO metrics like DA, top pages and more.

      • Keyword Explorer

        Find traffic-driving keywords with our 1.25 billion+ keyword index.

      • Link Explorer

        Explore over 40 trillion links for powerful backlink data.

      • Competitive Research

        Uncover valuable insights on your organic search competitors.

      • MozBar

        See top SEO metrics for free as you browse the web.

      • More Free SEO Tools

        Explore all the free SEO tools Moz has to offer.

      Let your business shine with Listings AI

      Let your business shine with Listings AI

      Get found
    • Learn SEO
      • Beginner's Guide to SEO

        The #1 most popular introduction to SEO, trusted by millions.

      • SEO Learning Center

        Broaden your knowledge with SEO resources for all skill levels.

      • On-Demand Webinars

        Learn modern SEO best practices from industry experts.

      • How-To Guides

        Step-by-step guides to search success from the authority on SEO.

      • Moz Academy

        Upskill and get certified with on-demand courses & certifications.

      • MozCon

        Save on Early Bird tickets and join us in London or New York City

      Access 20 years of data with flexible pricing
      Moz API

      Access 20 years of data with flexible pricing

      Find your plan
    • Blog
    • Why Moz
      • Digital Marketers

        Simplify SEO tasks to save time and grow your traffic.

      • Small Business Solutions

        Uncover insights to make smarter marketing decisions in less time.

      • Agency Solutions

        Earn & keep valuable clients with unparalleled data & insights.

      • Enterprise Solutions

        Gain a competitive edge in the ever-changing world of search.

      • The Moz Story

        Moz was the first & remains the most trusted SEO company.

      • New Releases

        Get the scoop on the latest and greatest from Moz.

      Surface actionable competitive intel
      New Feature

      Surface actionable competitive intel

      Learn More
    • Log in
      • Moz Pro
      • Moz Local
      • Moz Local Dashboard
      • Moz API
      • Moz API Dashboard
      • Moz Academy
    • Avatar
      • Moz Home
      • Notifications
      • Account & Billing
      • Manage Users
      • Community Profile
      • My Q&A
      • My Videos
      • Log Out

    The Moz Q&A Forum

    • Forum
    • Questions
    • Users
    • Ask the Community

    Welcome to the Q&A Forum

    Browse the forum for helpful insights and fresh discussions about all things SEO.

    1. Home
    2. SEO Tactics
    3. Technical SEO
    4. What Tools Should I Use To Investigate Damage to my website

    Moz Q&A is closed.

    After more than 13 years, and tens of thousands of questions, Moz Q&A closed on 12th December 2024. Whilst we’re not completely removing the content - many posts will still be possible to view - we have locked both new posts and new replies. More details here.

    What Tools Should I Use To Investigate Damage to my website

    Technical SEO
    indexed urls seo seo audit
    5
    6
    499
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as question
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with question management privileges can see it.
    • blogwoman1
      blogwoman1 last edited by

      I would like to know what tools I should use and how to investigate damage to my website in2town.co.uk I hired a person to do some work to my website but they damaged it. That person was on a freelance platform and was removed because of all the complaints made about them. They also put in backdoors on websites including mine and added content.

      I also had a second problem where my content was being stolen.

      My site always did well and had lots of keywords in the top five and ten, but now they are not even in the top 200. This happened in January and feb.

      When I write unique articles, they are not showing in Google and need to find what the problem is and how to fix it. Can anyone please help

      ShahSahb11 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • meltingpointgoat
        meltingpointgoat last edited by

        Repairing website damage requires a structured approach. Start by assessing any issues caused by the freelancer using tools like Wordfence for WordPress to detect backdoors or malicious changes. It’s possible Google penalized you for whatever work the freelancer did. You might need to disavow toxic links they built, for example, or address other issues. Tools such as Google Alerts can help identify content duplicates for action.

        For future reference, regular monitoring helps prevent unauthorized changes and stay informed about industry trends. If you monitor a web page for changes, you will ensure no unauthorized adjustments are made on your site. There are several ways to approach this, and several tools you can use; some will notify you when your webpage changes. Monitoring competitors for content trends can also guide your strategy and reveal potential areas for improvement.

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • ShahSahb11
          ShahSahb11 last edited by

          use google search console and screaming frog

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • ShahSahb11
            ShahSahb11 @blogwoman1 last edited by

            The best tool that i used to diagnose problems in my office interior designs service based website is the Google search console GSC. You can also use screaming frog or also use moz to analyze and solve issues

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
            • Voilet12
              Voilet12 last edited by

              Page Freezer: Instantly preserve web pages and social media profiles to capture evidence of website damage

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • Haroldpinter22
                Haroldpinter22 last edited by

                To investigate damage to your website, you should consider using tools like Google Search Console for monitoring search performance and detecting issues, website security scanners like Word fence to check for malware or vulnerabilities, and website auditing tools such as SEMrush or Screaming Frog for comprehensive analysis of technical SEO issues and website health.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • 1 / 1
                • First post
                  Last post

                Got a burning SEO question?

                Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.


                Start my free trial


                Browse Questions

                Explore more categories

                • Moz Tools

                  Chat with the community about the Moz tools.

                • SEO Tactics

                  Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers

                • Community

                  Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!

                • Digital Marketing

                  Chat about tactics outside of SEO

                • Research & Trends

                  Dive into research and trends in the search industry.

                • Support

                  Connect on product support and feature requests.

                • See all categories

                Related Questions

                • tammysons

                  Reputable Place For Guest Posts

                  seo link building blog post outreach blog post backlinks

                  We do our SEO in-house, and I don't have the time for blogger outreach. Does anyone know of a reputable place where I can submit our content to be pitched to relevant outlets for backlinks and US traffic? I am not in it for someone creating our content; I write it myself and have a degree in the content I produce. I am looking for a place that gets REAL US traffic, not some P.B.N. sites or those where I can create accounts at a post myself. I want real traffic from relevant, reputable blogs or a place where I can have them use my content and find niche sites for me.

                  Link Building | | tammysons
                  2
                • garrypat

                  Unsolved Website with no backlinks and a DA of 1 ranks first. Why?

                  backlinks seo da

                  https://www.realestatephotos.melbourne does not have any backlinks and has a DA of 1.
                  This site ranks first for keywords - real estate photography melbourne and property photography melbourne.
                  Not sure why.
                  URL contains keywords and site is ok. But other sites with many links and higher DA rank lower. Why? Garry

                  Keyword Explorer | | garrypat
                  1
                • davidifaso

                  Migrating Subfolder content to New domain Safely

                  migration seo ranking

                  Hello everyone, I'm currently facing a challenging situation and would greatly appreciate your expertise and guidance. I own a website, maniflexa.com, primarily focused on the digital agency niche. About 3 months ago, I created a subfolder, maniflexa.com/emploi/, dedicated to job listings which is a completely different niche. The subfolder has around 120 posts and pages. Unfortunately, since I created the subfolder, the rankings of my main site have been negatively impacted. I was previously ranking #1 for all local digital services keywords, but now, only 2 out of 16 keywords have maintained their positions. Other pages have dropped to positions 30 and beyond. I'm considering a solution and would like your advice: I'm planning to purchase a new domain and migrate the content from maniflexa.com/emploi/ to newdomain.com. However, I want to ensure a smooth migration without affecting the main domain maniflexa.com rankings and losing backlinks from maniflexa.com/emploi/ pages. Is moving the subfolder content to a new domain a viable solution? And how can I effectively redirect all pages from the subfolder to the new domain while preserving page ranks and backlinks?
                  I wish they did, but GSC doesn't offer a solution to migration content from subfolder to a new domain. 😢 Help a fellow Mozer. Thanks for giving a hand.

                  Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | davidifaso
                  0
                • rohit.c

                  Spam Score Of Site Increased from 1 to 31% overnight

                  seo spam score

                  Hello There,
                  Few days back, Spam Score of two of my sites drastically increased from 1% to 31% for one site and from 1% to 36% for another site overnight. Here are the two websites https://simpalm.com/ ducknowl.com Site background for 2-3 months ABC link exchange campaign was started for both the sites. Links where built on high quality sites with DA40 above and most of them are Saas sites No reciprocal link exchange was done Same new pages are created on the site for on page SEO Both the sites are hosted on GoDaddy Can someone please tell me what is the reason of this Sudden increase in spam score of both the sites and at same time?

                  Technical SEO | | rohit.c
                  1
                • nb2e4fg

                  Best SEO Structure For E-Commerce With Products Using Multiple Categories

                  site structure seo

                  Hi all, I am in the process of re-structuring my e-commerce website for better SEO and user experience. I have done some keyword research and would like some advice on how best to structure my site around those keywords. For example, my site (All Things Nature) sells a brand of wooden sculptures (Woodsculp) and I would like to rank for keywords related to that brand, the brand by animal, the brand by collection and the brand by release date.
                  Examples of keywords could be: Brand by Animal: Woodsculp Dogs, Woodsculp Cats, Woodsculp Elephants
                  Brand by Collection: Woodsculp Pets, Woodsculp Safari
                  Brand by Release Date: Woodsculp Christmas 2023, Woodsculp Summer 2022 I would create each of these keywords as a category so that they can be found by a search engine and by users. I would then structure as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Dogs
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Elephants
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Pets
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Safari
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Summer 2022 The only problem with this structure is it would take more than 3 clicks (4) for the user to reach a product. How critical is this for good SEO and user experience? Would I be better off getting rid of the ‘Woodsculp by Animal’, ‘Woodsculp by Collection’ and ‘Woodsculp by Release Date’ categories? Structure would look as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Dogs
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Elephants
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Safari
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023 The only thing with this is there would be a lot of categories under the brand name which might make it more difficult for search engines and users to logically follow. Would I be better off getting rid of the brand category and replace them with the keyword categories? Structure would look as follows: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Dogs
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Animal -> Woodsculp Elephants
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Collection -> Woodsculp Safari
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp by Release Date -> Woodsculp Christmas 2023 This would organise things more logically but I would then lose the brand category (and the potential of the brand keyword ranking?) Would I be better off choosing one main keyword to use as a category and then use tags for the other categories? Categories: All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Dogs
                  All Things Nature -> Woodsculp -> Woodsculp Elephants Tags: Woodsculp Safari
                  Woodsculp Christmas 2023 The next issue I have is that I have products which could fall under several different categories. A product called Elijah Elephant, for example could fall under Woodsculp Elephants, Woodsculp Safari and Woodsculp Summer 2022. In previous e-commerce sites I have never assigned multiple categories to one product (I instead have used tags). Is it good practice to organise products under multiple categories for an e-commerce site? Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

                  Content Development | | nb2e4fg
                  0
                • Ravi_Rana

                  Why Product pages are throwing Missing field "image" and Missing field "price" in Wordpress Woocommerce

                  technical seo structured data woocommerce wordpress seo

                  I have a wordpress wocommerce website where I have uploaded 100s of products but it's giving me error in GSC under merchant listing tab. When I tested it show missing field image and missing field price. I have done everything according to https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/product#merchant-listing-experiences and applied fixed i.e. images are 800x800 and price range is also there. What else can be done here?!merchant listing.jpg

                  Technical SEO | | Ravi_Rana
                  0
                • JasonTorney

                  Moz crawler is not able to crawl my website

                  moz crawler

                  Hi, i need help regarding Moz Can't Crawl Your Site i also share screenshot that Moz was unable to crawl your site on Mar 26, 2022. Our crawler was not able to access the robots.txt file on your site. This often occurs because of a server error from the robots.txt. Although this may have been caused by a temporary outage, we recommend making sure your robots.txt file is accessible and that your network and server are working correctly. Typically errors like this should be investigated and fixed by the site webmaster.
                  my robts.txt also ok i checked it
                  Here is my website https://whiskcreative.com.au
                  just check it please as soon as possibe

                  Technical SEO | | JasonTorney
                  0
                • wcksmith

                  Use of Meta Tag - MSSmartTagsPreventParsing

                  We've inherited some sites from another developer that had the following tag: All references I can find to it are from 2004.  What is the purpose and is it worth including in pages/sites we build?

                  Technical SEO | | wcksmith
                  0

                Get started with Moz Pro!

                Unlock the power of advanced SEO tools and data-driven insights.

                Start my free trial
                Products
                • Moz Pro
                • Moz Local
                • Moz API
                • Moz Data
                • STAT
                • Product Updates
                Moz Solutions
                • SMB Solutions
                • Agency Solutions
                • Enterprise Solutions
                • Digital Marketers
                Free SEO Tools
                • Domain Authority Checker
                • Link Explorer
                • Keyword Explorer
                • Competitive Research
                • Brand Authority Checker
                • Local Citation Checker
                • MozBar Extension
                • MozCast
                Resources
                • Blog
                • SEO Learning Center
                • Help Hub
                • Beginner's Guide to SEO
                • How-to Guides
                • Moz Academy
                • API Docs
                About Moz
                • About
                • Team
                • Careers
                • Contact
                Why Moz
                • Case Studies
                • Testimonials
                Get Involved
                • Become an Affiliate
                • MozCon
                • Webinars
                • Practical Marketer Series
                • MozPod
                Connect with us

                Contact the Help team

                Join our newsletter
                Moz logo
                © 2021 - 2026 SEOMoz, Inc., a Ziff Davis company. All rights reserved. Moz is a registered trademark of SEOMoz, Inc.
                • Accessibility
                • Terms of Use
                • Privacy

                Looks like your connection to Moz was lost, please wait while we try to reconnect.