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    #1

    I need some help reporting a spammer to Google.

    Normally I let these things go. Normally I just delete the spam.

    But lately, I'm getting lots of emails from companies complaining that Google is penalizing them for "unnatural inbound links" found on this site. In other words, links posted in the "contact info" section of bogus user profiles, created specifically to fool Google into thinking there are more active links to a particular site than there really are. The purpose of this is to increase a site's page rank (making them appear higher in relevant Google searches.)
    Many of these links have been placed by SEO companies that were hired by various websites for promotion. Still, it's shady.

    Now these people are coming crying to me about these links. Links that were posted on MY site for the sole purpose of advertising THEIR site.
    Basically, these folks are coming to me and saying "Hi! We recently abused your website for our own gain, and now it's coming back to bite us in the ass. Could you please help?"

    I've been telling them to log in and remove the links themselves. If they hired a company to place those links, then they should be contacting that company for the login information for the bogus accounts created.
    Since they're being penalized for the links, I'm perfectly happy to leave them where they are... seeing as Google's penalties are in place for EXACTLY that reason; to penalize people that are abusing the page ranking system!
    I just don't see why I should do any favors for people that have abused my website.


    Anyway, a number of them have threatened to use Google's "Disavow" tool, which could supposedly cause harm to my own page rank (not that it matters, being a niche site and all...) They choose this, rather than taking the necessary steps to actually remove the links themselves.

    The most recent offender is aktrading
    Here's the user profile they created: http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/member.php?u=34209
    (update: despite the claims that they are unable to obtain the login information, this company somehow managed to do so. The links have now been removed, as have any links I have placed myself.)



    ANYWAY... thanks for reading that rant. It's been bugging me all day as I've traded emails with the aktrading representative.
    With the threat of the Disavow tool having been made, I'd like to simply contact Google and explain to them exactly what the situation is. I'd like to explain that the link was purposely placed to do exactly what they are now being penalized for doing, and I feel it should remain (as should the penalty.) It has been added to MY site, and what happens to it is therefore MY business now.

    I haven't been able to figure out how to contact Google regarding this, though. I looked at their spam reporting options, and nothing seemed to fit. I know from past experience that anything that isn't right on target goes ignored... so I'd like to do it the right way! I could really use some help navigating Google's maze of rules and "report this" links to figure out which would be the right one!






    Tags: None
    #2
    My adsense account seems to have more contact information than the average Google user has.
    I've never gone to look, so I can't verify.

    Are you the partner that supports the ads here? I thought Pandemic did it.

    Edit: After messing with it a bit, they do have a forum that might be of more use to you.
    I know they can be picky with their rules and ad traffic, so I'd obscure some information before posting.

    https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!forum/adsense
    Last edited by GeoffM; 10-22-2013, 10:08 PM.
    MRT
    37.5 MPG, AC on, cruising at 80.
    30.0 MPG, AC on, aggressively driving around 90.
    27.5 MPG, no AC, cruising at 90 with occasional gridlock. 40 degrees Fahrenheit

    Lots of DIY videos specifically for our car

    Get some awesome wipers! <-- It's a DIY
    Originally posted by Tippey764
    I think driving your car naked will cause the engine to overheat
    Originally posted by deevergote
    sneaky motherfucker

    Comment

      #3
      The Adsense ads belong to Pandemic.

      The issue isn't with the advertising on this site, but with backlinks being posted fraudulently by shady companies.






      Comment

        #4
        Tell the companies you will do it for a fee. Maybe they'll pay it?

        I think you'll have a hard time getting anyone to actually do anything about this case. I will poke some friends at Google to see what they say if you like.

        Comment

          #5
          Originally posted by reklipz View Post
          Tell the companies you will do it for a fee. Maybe they'll pay it?

          I think you'll have a hard time getting anyone to actually do anything about this case. I will poke some friends at Google to see what they say if you like.
          $20k & I wouldn't budge.

          half of what the sites worth... just dump it into the cb7.

          Comment

            #6
            Hmm. What if this was legit. ie - linkreferal and other sites which promote your website to others. I guess this would be a bad link as well in the eyes of google.

            But as per a good article I read hereyou should remove these links if you are concerned about having your site in a bad reputation in google's eyes. I imagine if your site shows up on enough google link penalty reports it would not look good down the road. (somehow i can see google taking these reports in the future to combine a huge black list of websites as they seem to be cracking down on non-legit SEO methods lately)


            But ya. I wouldn't write google. I would simple remove the users who are putting those URLs in their descriptions as the admin of the other sites are making the effort to follow google's guidelines. And I don't think google is going to make an exception for you in this case.

            Comment

              #7
              Charging for link removal can be iffy... apparently some people have been doing that with links they added themselves. I'd have to be able to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the link was added by the company, or (more likely) by someone acting on their behalf. Otherwise, I don't doubt that I could get in legal trouble for charging!

              I agree that it may be bad for this site to leave the links, but we're not really in danger of not showing up in a search. Even if someone were to find other sites, almost every question about a 4th gen Accord gets a "you should check out cb7tuner" response very quickly.
              Personally, the spiteful meanie in me wants to leave them so the sites will continue to be penalized for what they did. I'd really only like to contact Google in order to draw their attention to it. It seems as if this Disavow tool is basically a way for sites to erase their wrongdoings... and that's not cool.






              Comment

                #8
                Originally posted by deevergote View Post
                Charging for link removal can be iffy... apparently some people have been doing that with links they added themselves. I'd have to be able to prove without a shadow of a doubt that the link was added by the company, or (more likely) by someone acting on their behalf. Otherwise, I don't doubt that I could get in legal trouble for charging!

                I agree that it may be bad for this site to leave the links, but we're not really in danger of not showing up in a search. Even if someone were to find other sites, almost every question about a 4th gen Accord gets a "you should check out cb7tuner" response very quickly.
                Personally, the spiteful meanie in me wants to leave them so the sites will continue to be penalized for what they did. I'd really only like to contact Google in order to draw their attention to it. It seems as if this Disavow tool is basically a way for sites to erase their wrongdoings... and that's not cool.
                Yep, and you know its the site owner doing the wrong-doings. Its not like some random stranger is going out there and putting their site info on others pages. So ya, its more of a way for google to penalize those who are trying to trick SEO.

                I don't think this can affect your site performance/rank/credit, can it?

                Comment

                  #9
                  I don't know for sure. Apparently the Disavow tool can have some impact on my site, but I'm not sure.
                  We're such a niche site that it won't really matter anyway. Plus, I think the tool would only cause an issue for the specific link... so basically, search results may not readily find that particular user profile. Such a loss!






                  Comment

                    #10
                    Originally posted by deevergote View Post
                    I don't know for sure. Apparently the Disavow tool can have some impact on my site, but I'm not sure.
                    We're such a niche site that it won't really matter anyway. Plus, I think the tool would only cause an issue for the specific link... so basically, search results may not readily find that particular user profile. Such a loss!
                    Yep. I'd start the bribery game for those who come crying to remove the link on your site which they put there because google is now hitting them with a "bad move" stick.

                    Tell them you have site admins and this type of work is not listed in their contract and an additional fee is required. Give them your paypal and all profits go to helping the site

                    Comment

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