Threatened by SEO Company

[thindenim]

Hi all,

Just looking for a bit of advice here.

I've had 2 phone calls now from an SEO Company, who I will not name at this stage. From what I can gather they are a decent size (certainly they claim to be).

I have told them each time that I am not interested in their service. I have examined the link profile of several sites they SEO and it would appear that the links come from basically a spam network of very low quality sites, all of which run from the same template and most of which do not appear to be even indexed by google.

When I advise them of this they immediately become aggresive and tell me that I know nothing about anything. They have been around for 10 years and will be here a lot longer than we ever will be, kind of a 'we could buy you out with our spare change' type attitude.

The thing that most concerns me though is that twice now they have said 'well, I'm going to add your link into our network now anyway and we'll see if it gets your site banned'. Surely this is a threat, which could potentially effect the performance of our business? To say I am angry at their business practices would be an understatement and I have already contacted trading standards for advice.

Has anyone had an experience like this before with an aggresive SEO company, or advice on how to proceed? Should I file a complaint with trading standards, or wait to see what transpires.

Obviously I am concerned that the hard work I have put in over the years using ethical, white hat SEO and building links naturally could be undone by this. There is a line of thinking that says you can't be penalised for who links to you, the worst it can do is pass no value, however, if there are suddenly 3,000 (and the rest by the looks of things) spammy links pointed at our site then it is certainly going to raise some flags somewhere and probably at best trigger a short term filter.

I am putting this in the google forum, as their entire sales pitch was based around google rankings and they obviously cold call based on searching ppc advertisers.

Any advice greatly appreciated.



Thanks,
David

[crankydave]

Personally, I wouldn't give it a second thought. Keep working on your site and pay them no mind. It get calls all the time and simply tell them "not interested" and go about my business. I have far more important things to do.

Water always finds its own level.

Dave

[kgun]

I've had 2 phone calls now from an SEO Company, who I will not name at this stage. From what I can gather they are a decent size (certainly they claim to be).

Why not if you are sure? Give them your finger, and they take all of you. Power to online communities.

Hi all,
The thing that most concerns me though is that twice now they have said 'well, I'm going to add your link into our network now anyway and we'll see if it gets your site banned'. Surely this is a threat, which could potentially effect the performance of our business? To say I am angry at their business practices would be an understatement and I have already contacted trading standards for advice.

In my view that is threat that should be taken seriously. Contact the police.

Hi all,
Has anyone had an experience like this before with an aggresive SEO company, or advice on how to proceed?

Read here:

http://www.webproworld.com/internet-...tml#post370559

They have got a cite: Stop The European City Guide!

May be you should make one like that.

The European City Guide (ECG) is much worse. They have even threathened people on life.

Professional scammers try to build up credibility and when they have got their money, they will disappear. The European City Guide now send me a CD that I have not ordered.

Hi all,
Should I file a complaint with trading standards, or wait to see what transpires.

In my opinion yes.

Obviously I am concerned that the hard work I have put in over the years using ethical, white hat SEO and building links naturally could be undone by this. There is a line of thinking that says you can't be penalised for who links to you, the worst it can do is pass no value, however, if there are suddenly 3,000 (and the rest by the looks of things) spammy links pointed at our site then it is certainly going to raise some flags somewhere and probably at best trigger a short term filter.

My bolding. I have said that.

In red. If that was the case, again, wouldn't it be easy to destroy your company by making software to do that?

There are also companies that think negative ad is better than no ad. That will last as long as the potential income from negative ad is not higher than the costs.

Water always finds its own level.
Dave

And shit sinks to the bottom.

[kevsta]

...just to add that according to Google (and several previous discussions on here) it is extremely difficult if not actually impossible to harm a site by pointing links at it.

as dave said, not another thought, there's idiots full of false threats everywhere you look.

ignore them and crack on as usual

[webdesigntaxi]

I would ignore them, but at the same time report them to the proper authorities. Threatening is a bad sales tactic. What happened to ethical business practices and good manners?

[Tech Manager]

While I wouldn't give it much concern, at least as it relates to your site(s), it sounds like they are engaging in illegal behavior. This type of threat could constitute, at the very least, blackmail. Blackmail across state lines could be investigated by the FBI. Record the calls and take steps with law enforcement.

[blogdawg1]

I agree with cranky, just let it go. They will go away. But I must say it is hard to fathom why any company would say the things they said. That employee won't be there long.

[webdesigntaxi]

Tech Manager, it looks like he is from Scotland so the FBI wouldn't be able to do anything, unless the harassing company is from the U.S.

[Serrbiz]

Report them to the BBB and local authorities. Also, you might look into the Cyber Crimes laws in your state and theirs. I'm also a big fan of gripe sites, such as Ripoff Report: By Consumers, For Consumers.

[a53mp]

Post the company name/website..


otherwise this is useless.