Threat to ban me from Google because I rank higher

[deano6410]

Yesterday I got an e-mail from a business owner who wants me to remove my site from Google because I am ranking higher than him.

He is even threatening to contact Google and ask them to remove me from the listings (haha).

He says, the reason he is angry is because my blog is not related to that particular search term, but his site is. Therefore he thinks I should not be above him.

I would be keen to hear how you guys would have dealt with this guy?

[edited by: tedster at 7:09 pm (utc) on Dec. 9, 2006]

[netmeg]

It means the search engines are finding relevant material in dark corners of the web.

Heh, yea, but you never know which dark corner you might end up in, and you might not want to be there. I noticed that one site I did for a club started ranking in the top 5 for the phrase pipe bomb, with the commensurate traffic spike. Couldn't figure it out, and it was somewhat disturbing, till I realized it was because I had a show listed with links to two bands, one called The Bomb Pops and the other called 500 Feet of Pipe. Thus we were coming up for pipe bomb. Not exactly what we were going for.

[koan]

If you told us the keyword we could all make pages that would rank for it until he screams uncle. He's a nutjob.

[The_Hat]

I would agree with other here.. I don't think he is a nutjob (though he may very well be) I am pretty sure however that he simply does not understand how the web works. I think I would try to explain for a few email exchanges how the web (and the world) work..

[sailorjwd]

I'd tell him there is no 'angry' in business.

And ask if he'd like to swap links.

[Jane_Doe]

While the safest and most mature course I think is to ignore people like that, if you do want to get a reaction, you can always send a return form letter pretending you didn't understand his email, and thank him for expressing an interest in your site. Then add that due to time constraints and the volume of mail you receive from your site due to its high rankings, you are unable to provide a personal reply.

For some reason, that really sets people off. :)

[goubarev]

Hey, is the "name of the gym" a trade / service mark?
I'm not really big on copyright laws, but it maybe what the guy is so pissed about...

[Glitzer]

I've had competitors contact me about infringements. Simply ask them to have their attorney postal mail a certified letter to your attorney (or to you). Chances are that you won't hear from them again - they won't want to spend the money. If they do, then their attorney, if it's a good one, will most likely tell them that they don't have a case.

[Glitzer]

p.s. Add the trademark symbol, (tm) or ™ to your name.

[Beachboy]

Oh that'S VERY funny, Jane_Doe LOL...I love it.

[seoram]

I would give him a mail and explain him about what is seo

[jtara]

This story just made Slashdot (after having already been widely circulated), and the Slashdotters have not been kind.

The concensus seems to be that Deano made this up.

The smoking gun they point to is a prior post on his blog about a planned viral marketing campaign.

That and the fact that he doesn't name the person making the complaint, and so there is no way to verify it.

Tedster didn't mention a reason for his editing of the original post here. I wonder if, perchance, it contained a URL?

[jomaxx]

Posted as part of a self-promotional campaign, apparently. Made up? I don't know. It's really kind of a lame story.

[koan]

Just read some Slashdot posts, I think they nailed him, it's just some stupid viral marketing campaign he has been planning in October. He posted his story on all the social bookmarking sites, slashdots, digg, etc. If it is really the case, I think it's a sad way to abuse people's trust.

His Quote:

Viral Campaign Stey by Step

Firstly I need to find something that is going to get a reaction from people and get them talking. I have already chosen what this will be.

Next step is to create a site that is going to get your point across and act as a call to action for the readers.

After that will be the promotion of the site via related sites.

Ending with a mass press release to relevant sources.

The goal is similar to the butterfly effect, meaning that everyone who reads the site is a potential spokesman for your site. If enough people become spokesmen then the site can really snowball.

Before the end of the week I intend to have the site up and running and then I will aim to start phase one of the promoting over the weekend.

I will be putting progress reports on here on a regular basis, so if you have never done a viral campaign before then stay tuned and perhaps we can learn together.

[koan]

According to some slashdotters, comments on his blog about this being a made up story are censored. I think that settles it.

[jtara]

Next thing you know, we will find out that Verizon really CAN do the math! ;)

(For those who have been hidden on some island since WWII... I'm referring to the fellow who says he was charged $0.001/kbyte for roaming data, when he was quoted .001 CENTS/kbyte on multiple occasions, backed-up by recordings of phone conversations, transcriptions, etc. Rep after rep proved that they didn't know the difference between .001 dollars and .001 cents. This one has made the rounds. I am now having my doubts...)

People love these types of stories, as it sparks memories of their own outrage at having been in similar situations, dealing with someone who is apparently just too stupid for words. It's a clever viral marketing ploy - sometimes you can get a great deal more interest going over a NEGATIVE.

But I think the public is catching-on to viral marketing, and it's now going to become risky, as the public reaction may turn negative when caught.

Sony got caught pretty quickly on the "I want my PS3" "basement rap".

To move the discussion back to the topic of this forum... I am sure that Google is watching these developments very closely, and we can expect them to influence the next round of algorithm updates,

[TallTroll]

I actually know Dean a bit, and have at least some insight into the background here...

1) I don't know the term, or the company. I didn't ask, he didn't tell
2) It's not a hoax, despite the /. hysteria. The planned viral campaign was going to be something completely differnet, on a purpose built site, with much better hosting back-up...
3) >> I am sure that Google is watching these developments very closely

I guarantee it. Stuff like this goes directly to search relevancy, and the perception of search relevancy. This having gotten so public will inevitably bring it to the attention of Google employees

[Oliver Henniges]

> sell him a text link to help boost his own site at a hell of a cost! if hes that concerned

> Offer to sell him your blog. Get as much as you can from this nut case and start another blog...

> Offer him your SEO services for $100/hour.

> I would give him a mail and explain him about what is seo

Yes something like that. But don't mail (it'd be an evidence). Ring him up. Ask. Try to figure out what his real problem is. Give him one or two SEO-hints and then tell him about the oppertunities he's obviously missing. Interesting challenge for a good salesman;)

Ignoring doesn't seem to work for you, because otherwise you wouldn't have posted here.