Detect Google cloaking and website cloaking techniques. Check for User-Agent, IP-based, Referrer, and JavaScript cloaking methods.
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Analyzing your website across multiple detection methods
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The following tests detected cloaking behavior on your website.
These tests did not detect any cloaking behavior.
Cloaking is a technique where different content is shown to search engines bots than to "human" users. It's often used in black hat SEO to manipulate search rankings.
Shows different content to search engine bots vs browsers
Shows different content, based on visitor location
Different content for mobile vs desktop users
Different content based on visitor session state and tracking cookies
Understand the difference between legitimate and deceptive cloaking.
Same content, different layouts for mobile and desktop using CSS media queries
❌ Different content per device = device cloaking
Testing design variations with real users, while showing same content to search bots
❌ Optimized content only for bots = user agent cloaking
Localized content (currency, language) with hreflang tags for compliance
❌ Hiding content from search IPs = IP cloaking
Faster content delivery from local servers with identical content everywhere
❌ Different content by IP type = referrer cloaking
Cloaking is not illegal, but it violates search engine guidelines. Google can penalize or ban sites using cloaking techniques.
We detect 6 cloaking methods: User-Agent, Geographic, Referrer, JavaScript, Device, and Cookie-based cloaking.
Some legitimate uses include A/B testing, personalization, or serving different content to different regions (for legal reasons, for example).
A/B testing shows design variations to real users randomly, while keeping the same content for search engines. Cloaking serves different content to search bots versus users (to manipulate rankings). Google allows A/B testing but bans cloaking.
Google can detect and penalize cloaking within days. Manual reviews can occur within 30 days of detection.
You should remove all cloaking code, submit a request in Google Search Console explaining what was removed, and wait for Google's review.
No, CDNs are not cloaking if they serve the same content from different geographic locations. Cloaking only occurs if the CDN intentionally serves different content to search engines versus regular users.
Check after major site updates, theme changes, plugin installations, CDN configuration changes, or if you notice sudden ranking drops. We recommend quarterly checks for established sites, and monthly checks for frequently updated websites.
Geo-targeting shows localized content (currency, language, local regulations) based on user location but keeps core content identical. Cloaking manipulates rankings by showing completely different content to search engines. Legitimate geo-targeting uses hreflang tags and is transparent to Google.
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