What we say
Posted in: Interactive Marketing by three sixty solutions on THE BLOG | 11 Comments
I normally don’t use our platform to complain, but I have had it! How many of you get these annoying spam emails everyday, sometimes multiple times a day, that offer to get you on page one of Google? I own an agency that competes in this space, and I get them all the time. I can only imagine how many hard-working entrepreneurs get inundated with this garbage! Here is the latest. The last straw, so to speak…
-
-
Dear Head of Business Development,
I thought you might like to know… Being on the top of Google (#1- #5 Organic positions) is the best thing you can do for your company’s website traffic and online reputation.
Ironically, It’s very likely that had you spent your last 6 months of online marketing dollars on SEO instead of paid advertising that you would have 3 times or greater the traffic today and not need the paid advertising at all.
Fortunately you can still start today and begin getting that traffic in just a few weeks. We look forward to discussing our SEO plans with you…
Sincerely,
A-HOLE HACK “SEO SPECIALIST”
Here’s my problem. They just spammed me. Had they actually taken 30 seconds to check my site out, instead of using an automatic spamming software to email me, they would have noticed:
1) I am a direct competitor
2) The site already shows up on page 1 for virtually every search we want to rank for
Here is my eloquent reply:
Dear Business Development Spammer,
If you actually checked the Search Engine Results, you’d see that we rank top 3 for every search we are targeting, organically. I know you didn’t really check anything and you’re just using automated software to spam people, as you didn’t even stop to check who you were spamming. You really give legitimate internet marketing and SEO agencies, like mine, a bad name by spamming for prospects. Why don’t you practice what you preach and optimize your own site and allow your leads to find you?
There, I will get off my soap box now and resume business as usual. Please feel free to use my reply letter for your own use. This crap has to stop. Aside from three sixty solutions, there are many great agencies and honorable businesses that truly do practice what they preach. To name a few in my local market: Apogee Results, Tasty Placement, and Refresh Web. I’m sure there are others, but those are a few I know who follow best practices and don’t spam people to death! While I am concerned about the black eye these hacks are giving to reputable agencies, I am even more concerned about the hard-working business owners who fall prey to these black hat marketers. After all; if no one hired them through these tactics, they wouldn’t use them.
Yours in Business,
Ben Littlefield, MBA
CEO | three sixty solutions
Copyright © three sixty solutions 2008-2012
three sixty solutions | digital ad agency | Privacy Policy
Brian August 4th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Ben, I completely agree with you! I get these stupid emails fairly often as well. I treat them as I do all other spam – they get unread and trashed. Having had an Internet business (in addition to my consulting practice) until a few months ago, I saw first-hand the difference a SEO/SEM professional can make (vs. the spammers and scammers – and, ok, I personally lump affiliate networks in with these as well).
As you rightly pointed out a big part of the problem is that people actually buy this crud. But I guess there’s people who still open and respond to the “claim your $6 million inheritance from an estate attorney in Nigeria” scams too…
I think you are right to “rant” – these operators DO soil your industry’s reputation – at least among the less-informed.
three sixty solutions August 4th, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Brian,
Thank you for the comment and for reading. I am glad to know there are good business people who know the difference between spammers and scammers and reputable agencies.
By the way, just give me your bank account and social security number so I can wire all this money to you
–Ben
Don August 4th, 2010 at 8:43 pm
Thanks for expressing rightful professional outrage. If more professionals would call out the a-holes in their respective space – with such critical insight – maybe we would have fewer of them.
A close corollary to the SEO-spam saga are the online/email marketing firms that spam you and say they only use customer-provided, opt-in, groomed lists and practices that are fully complaint with CAN-SPAM and its siblings. They understand privacy and would never intrude. They send email only to those who WANT the products represented. Of course it’s a reasonable conclusion that if I ever bought anything at the Boo-yah site that means I want to buy *everything* from *everyone* who’s ever done business with Boo-yah.
Scott Allen August 5th, 2010 at 12:08 am
Actually, Ben, this is one of the reasons I got out of the SEO business (or, that is, at least marketing it as SEO). Of course, now I’m not sure that being a consultant in social media or content creation or copywriting is really thought of any better…
Jeff Campbell August 6th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I get phone calls too! Companies call me and say they can get me on the top of google searches. I just say “sorry, I’m hanging up” and then do so. I get one or two such calls a month.
~ Jeff
three sixty solutions August 6th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
@Don – Thank you for your comment! I agree, there are a lot of shenanigans that just make me cringe.
@Scott – Let’s just get out of this mad digital marketing world and make Amish furniture!
@Jeff – Good for you. Hang up on those clowns!
Michael September 29th, 2010 at 3:52 am
Ok, you are my hero for doing this. Did they ever write back? You just inspired me to actually respond to one of these emails and pretend I am really interested…
three sixty solutions September 29th, 2010 at 3:05 pm
Michael,
Thanks for the comment. Let me know how your experiment goes… And, to all who read this – Michael is with Tasty Placement, a fellow digital marketing agency – they are honorable and do good by their clients!
letter reference May 11th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
Would love to forever get updated great blog
Lulu July 30th, 2011 at 2:44 am
I’m new to SEO. Indeed your company was on the top of the Google searches (#1, as a matter of fact) when I plugged in “internet marketing austin.” Thanks for posting this!
Greg Warren August 18th, 2011 at 5:40 pm
Ben,
I would like to thank you for giving me some very good insight as to the world of the internet in a language that I feel has become a bit of taboo. I am a consultant in my respective field and I have been working on branching off & out on my own. I just thought it was unacceptable to give the no bs approach on a site and actually be successful. I don’t sugar-coat anything to my kids and don’t feel that I should sugar-coat anything to those I consult with. I will definitely be in touch further into my project development. Unfortunately, I was not born with a silver-spoon in my mouth nor receive an inheritance, not saying that you are either, I’m just trying to do what I can without an extreme out-of-pocket expense. Thank you very much.