netmeg - 12:45 pm on Feb 13, 2011 (gmt 0)

And how does NYT know that they were paid for by JCP? I could have easily pointed all those links at JCP and caused this. You could have too. ;)

Maybe, but I doubt it. It was probably more than 59 terms, and they were pretty competitive terms and it was just before Christmas. Nobody in retail is gonna wanna give up their own holiday sales to sink a competitor. Plus... JCPenney? They're not all that much of a competitor anymore, compared to some. No, I don't think it was done to them, I think it was done (directly or indirectly) by them.

No, that SEO firm will probably gain customers once they read this quote:

... S.E.O. is a game, and if you’re not paying black hats, you are losing to rivals with fewer compunctions

Nobody wants to be *that* guy.