How I Solved a Website Redirect Virus Mystery That Had Me Chasing My Tail

The Puzzle

A client contacted me panicked because their entire site was redirecting visitors to shady pharma and gambling links. I dove in assuming the site had been hacked.

Examining the Site

I combed through all files and databases looking for injected spam links or malware. After hours wasted...nothing. How were clean files redirecting traffic?

A Familiar Tale

Today, my friend Farhat Ullah reached out with the same issue! His site traffic was being redirected against his will.

Lightbulb ??! I had solved this mystery before...

The Breakthrough

I remembered a previous client whose server and site files were all clean, but hidden redirect RULES within Cloudflare were funneling their traffic to spam sites!

I logged into Farhat's Cloudflare account and there it was - malicious rules sending his organic traffic into the spam abyss. DELETE! The problem was instantly solved.

As I was chasing my tail trying to solve this redirect issue, I was reminded of the time I implemented targeted on-page optimization to drive a 38% increase in organic traffic. It taught me that sometimes the solution can be found in the details.

The Takeaway

Next time you see site redirects like this, don't just look at your server files and hosting. Check Cloudflare and other platforms that control traffic flow! A simple hidden rule can wreak havoc despite clean site files.

Trying to recover from algorithm updates can also send you chasing your tail. When I was adapting my link building strategy after the latest product review update, it required patience to uncover the right approach.

Have you dealt with tricky redirects before? Share your war stories below!