SEO SPAMMERS - we hate them but can we learn from them?

I received the most informative, helpful and insightful email this morning from Tracey at clearpathtraffic.com, it read:

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We can put your site at the top of a search engines listings. If this is something you might be interested in, send me a reply with the web addresses you want to promote and the best way to contact you with some options.

Sincerely,

Tracy Phillips

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On searching for clearpathtraffic.com I was surprised to see that that the domain was unrecognised. How unfortunate – and stupid – to send out SPAM marketing and not have an operating website.

Please note the hint of sarcasm in this blog post.

Indeed on investigation, the only references on the web to clearpathtraffic.com was the following blog:

“Hey Jason Adams, Mike Lewis, Paula Reynolds of Keyword Placement Inc and Key Placement SEO - Please Stop Sending SPAM” – Jill Olkoski

And this server blacklist:
Legacy Mail


Check out the Cedar Hill Community blog to see the name iterations that Keyword Placement Inc, PowerPoint SEO, Placement Technologies, Placement Auditors have been using.

The thing that really annoys me about this is that, other than being spammed, these people are really really bad at what they are trying to do! But perhaps we can learn from them. Lets count some of their ridiculous mistakes:

1. The email I got had no contact details for clearpathtraffic.com. No registered company name and address and no legal disclaimer.

2. There was no personalization. The email just jumped right in there telling me what they could do, but with no mention of my name as the web administrator or of the company I work for, or even our web address.

3. They had done NO research other than data mining our email addresses. If they had they would have realized that, in fact we rank very well thank you very much within our niche market area.

So, whether you are a large corporation or a small business/one man band, do not get suckered in by these SEO twerps (yes, I used the word "twerp"). If you can’t verify who they are on the web how the heck are they going to “put your site at the top of a search engines listings”. If you want to improve your organic search rankings you can do it yourself, there is plenty of FREE advice out there on blogs and Twitter or you can learn what to do with support on a course like that by Business Marketing Online.