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Geek Culture / Absolute idiot

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Drew Cameron
20
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Joined: 30th Jan 2004
Location: Scotland
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 18:49
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Hi there,

I designed a site for a client some time ago, lets just say he called his business "CompanyABC". I then used a search engine optimisation service and so on to get him to the top of Google for "CompanyABC": which he now is.

Problem is, the fourth result for "CompanyABC" is a porn site, basically a load of links saying;

Quote: "Shop for "CompanyABC" at monsterwarehous.com"
and a bunch of other just script generated links to stuff with his company name in it.

The guy is now going nuts. He is demanding I make him a new website, complaining that this is my fault and so on.

Help? How do I respond?

Check out the WIP boards for "Schmump Go-Karting" - screens & videos
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KeithC
Senior Moderator
19
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Joined: 27th Oct 2005
Location: Michigan
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 18:53
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Did he research his company name before applying for the domain?



Ozark Games
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Drew Cameron
20
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Joined: 30th Jan 2004
Location: Scotland
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 18:55
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Its just a link farm kind of thing linking.

His company name is very specific.

Check out the WIP boards for "Schmump Go-Karting" - screens & videos
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The crazy
19
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Joined: 20th Jan 2005
Location: Behind you
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 18:57
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Tell him to pay you more. Its not your fault this happpened.

[href]www.savethegrunts.org[/href]
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Drew Cameron
20
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Joined: 30th Jan 2004
Location: Scotland
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 18:59 Edited at: 12th Dec 2007 19:00
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Pay me more for what?

Nothing I can do! Whats the poitn in completely rebranding his company, making a new website, shelling out for domains, new advertising etc... because a porn site has his company name is a random link? (that actually goes to a shopping website)

Check out the WIP boards for "Schmump Go-Karting" - screens & videos
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KeithC
Senior Moderator
19
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Joined: 27th Oct 2005
Location: Michigan
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 19:01
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Then I'd just explain to him how the link farm works and that there is nothing more you can do. Is there anything in your contract with him that says you are to service the website?



Ozark Games
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Drew Cameron
20
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Joined: 30th Jan 2004
Location: Scotland
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 19:09
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I've explained that there's nothing more I can do.

His reponse was "There should be some kind of protection system to stop this happening."

Yes; I update his website and renew his domains and so on.

But how am I to control what happens in a link farm?

Check out the WIP boards for "Schmump Go-Karting" - screens & videos
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Nemesis_0_
20
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Joined: 26th Dec 2003
Location: Canada
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 19:48
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Tell him to take it up with google...You dont own the search engine...
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CattleRustler
Retired Moderator
21
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Joined: 8th Aug 2003
Location: case modding at overclock.net
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 20:04
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yeah, and he picked the name, so tell him to relax

My DBP plugins page is now hosted [href]here[/href]
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the_winch
21
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Joined: 1st Feb 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 21:11
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Since fixing it will be difficult I guess you could try to win him back with a discount or free work.

By way of demonstration, he emitted a batlike squeak that was indeed bothersome.
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The crazy
19
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Joined: 20th Jan 2005
Location: Behind you
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 21:50
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oh I thought he had payed you to make him a site. my bad

[href]www.savethegrunts.org[/href]
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Drew Cameron
20
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Joined: 30th Jan 2004
Location: Scotland
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 22:26
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I did make him a site, I also got it to the top of search engines and do updates for him.

He is complaining because he came up on a link farm he didn't like.

My fault? Nope. Anything I can do. No.

Check out the WIP boards for "Schmump Go-Karting" - screens & videos
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Insert Name Here
17
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Joined: 20th Mar 2007
Location: Worcester, England
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 22:29
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Tell him then.
And if he gets shirty, tell him it's his problem now.


Hehe, I haven't helped at all, have I?
Be straight to him, I suppose.


Sudoku arts, the rabi and Nancy DrewG
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xplosys
18
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Joined: 5th Jan 2006
Playing: FPSC Multiplayer Games
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 22:43
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I'm just curious because there is a lot of misinformation concerning "getting someone to the top of the search engine listing". Let's say I start a company named, oh... lets say Fizbop, Inc., and I get a website called fizbopinc.com. I create a website, publish it, and submit it to Google. In a matter of weeks, the search phrase Fizbop Inc will come out on top. This is because it is not a common name, and it is the name of the website.

Is that what you mean by getting it to the top of the listing?

Or have you you got his product or service to the top of the listing? If Fizbop Inc sells t-shirts, and when I type in t-shirt, Fizbop Inc comes out on top, then I have really accomplished something. If that's what you did, then I would love to talk techniques with you.

As for the issue you are having now, if he picked his domain name, and it is somehow in use by another company or individual, then it is no reflection on your fine work, and you may just need to explain to him how search engines work in a way that he can understand.

Best.

fpsFREE.com - for FREE FPSC Content
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BatVink
Moderator
21
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Joined: 4th Apr 2003
Location: Gods own County, UK
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 22:53
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Is his web stats page public? They do this to get their website name in your stats page, thus increasing the number of reciprocal links to theirs.

Make sense? It's a dirty tactic, but start by making sure your web stats are private.

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the_winch
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Location: Oxford, UK
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 23:19 Edited at: 12th Dec 2007 23:20
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Quote: "My fault? Nope. Anything I can do. No."


So the "search engine optimisation service" you used absolutely did not arrange for the porn site to link to his site?

It sounds very much like you used some dodgey seo service that promotes a site by buying links on other unrelated sites. Google might have trouble spotting link farm pages in search results but humans often don't. Searching for a company name and getting back a page of link farms raises a lot of red flags.

By way of demonstration, he emitted a batlike squeak that was indeed bothersome.
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xplosys
18
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Playing: FPSC Multiplayer Games
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 23:23
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Ah, I missed the part about you using a SEO service. the_winch may be correct.... perhaps the service you used uses some questionable techniques.

best.

fpsFREE.com - for FREE FPSC Content
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Drew Cameron
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Joined: 30th Jan 2004
Location: Scotland
Posted: 12th Dec 2007 23:23
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Quote: "So the "search engine optimisation service" you used absolutely did not arrange for the porn site to link to his site?"


Clarrification:

I used a search engine optimisation service, which I paid for. He is now top of the pile. If it involve link farms or whatever, I don't know.

This porn site, has some adverts on it; not unlike Google ads. They say:

Quote: "Looking for CompanyABC?
Try MegaMonsterShopping.com"


And other stuff. In other words, his company name has just been picked up by a robot and dropped into some adverts on a porn site. The ads just have his company name in it, and are not relevant to his company in any way.

They are just stupid automatically made webpages.

I'm having a realy hard time explaining this without linking to the porn site, lol. And obviously I cant mention names etc...

Check out the WIP boards for "Schmump Go-Karting" - screens & videos
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Matt Rock
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Joined: 5th Mar 2005
Location: Binghamton NY USA
Posted: 13th Dec 2007 02:15
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The same crap happens to other companies as well... his isn't the only one that has this happen to them. Explain to him how exactly it happened and how you had nothing to do with linking to it, and find other companies in the farm that don't want to be there, and point that out to him.

It's pretty common for businesses, with no knowledge whatsoever of the inner-workings of the internet or software, to assume it's the developers fault when something goes wrong. I used to make apps for local businesses, but stopped when I got too fed up with dealing with stupid stuff. One guy phoned me saying one of his employees got a virus on his computer, and that it *must* have been from the software I made. Well, it obviously wasn't, and after trying to explain to him the nature of viruses and how you can get them just by viewing websites, he backed off and handled it internally. Some people simply don't know about computer stuff... it's annoying, but I guess that's one of those things we need to deal with if we want to work with people like that.


MISoft Studios
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Libervurto
18
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Joined: 30th Jun 2006
Location: On Toast
Posted: 13th Dec 2007 11:51 Edited at: 13th Dec 2007 11:56
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Are the link farms those sites that decide they are called whatever you searched for i.e. if I searched for big pink pig then the site would say it was called bigpinkpig.com and it's just a "search engine" that is useless. I seem to get those all the time.
Do these porn sites actually link to the page or to they just print the name somewhere?

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Drew Cameron
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Joined: 30th Jan 2004
Location: Scotland
Posted: 13th Dec 2007 14:11
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OBese87; no it's just a link farm like you said. Doesn't actually link to the page, just prints it and then links to a shopping site.

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Raven
19
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Joined: 23rd Mar 2005
Location: Hertfordshire, England
Posted: 13th Dec 2007 14:21
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I'd suggest he found another name, as he might find it can cause confusion for americans looking for the ABC Network.

That said, unless his domain is live; it could be parked and ends up as a forwarding link to things like Kelkoo and such.

Quite common in my experience that you'll search for a name free and unless you get it there and then or if it's been used in the past; then a company will park it and charge ridiculous amounts for it when you do finally purchase it.

It could also be a side effect of his domain supplier.

I'd still recommend he changes it, but who cares if it's open or not. That's his problem to sort out, google unless you specifically disable spyders will always be able to list the site; as long as he's paying for the site, make it for him.

The rest is his problem. That's the way I see it anyhow

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Libervurto
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Location: On Toast
Posted: 13th Dec 2007 14:25
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@Raven
I don't think that was the actual name of the company, if it is then that guy has about as much imagination as... haha I don't have enough imagination to think of something how ironic

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Jeku
Moderator
21
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Joined: 4th Jul 2003
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Posted: 14th Dec 2007 06:41
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Actually, as the_winch is suggesting, perhaps the SEO service you paid for uses porn sites to get your domain to the top. Google works on popularity, so a good way to get your name to the top is to get linked from tons of places. Now unless you know for sure the SEO service you used doesn't use porn sites along with regular sites, you might have some explaining to do.

Ben Stein's Christmas Message
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tha_rami
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Location: Netherlands
Posted: 14th Dec 2007 06:50
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Absolute Idiot
Jeku

Funny how that looks on the main site of the forums. I do agree with him and the_winch, though. It could be the SEO.


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