Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits?

FreshMedia · 12-20-2010, 10:29 AM

Unfortunately it can.

The New York Times reported on a story of a guy "who boasted of being abusive to customers and claimed, inaccurately, that such behavior had a side benefit of producing good rankings in Google."

Here is some proof to this

"In reaction to the piece, Google quickly introduced a change so that merchants with bad reputations would lose rankings in its system. It also debunked the notion that bad reviews somehow managed to help him gain prominence in its search engine."

Apparently Google's change (or lack off) Just seemed to improve his rankings. I performed a search for one of the keywords and his site is #1.

Please don't post anything that would help improve this site's ranking if possible. But what do you think? Should Google even be concerned about the negative publicity a site is getting, and just let i'ts Algorithm do it's thing.

sbucciarel · 12-20-2010, 10:40 AM

The guy is also now in jail, so it's probably not a good tactic to try out.

somacorellc · 12-20-2010, 10:44 AM

^ lol

The problem is that strong negative reactions are usually more short lived than long-term positive feedback and growth.

Take for example:
BP oil spill
Haiti earthquake
London tube bombings
The new Gap logo

We all thought "oh man that's horrible" but after a few weeks we forget. Google has his site at #1 right now because it's popular and he probably has a ton of backlinks from blogs and whatnot. If he really is rude to his customers (and that is actually a viable niche, believe it or not) it will show itself in the long term by decreased business. having a popular website at #1 doesn't translate always to business and profits.

FreshMedia · 12-20-2010, 10:48 AM

Completely unethical and wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but some people out there may look at the rankings this guy is getting for some keywords and try something like this. I don't think big G should have this guy on top for any profitable keywords.

Richard Van · 12-20-2010, 10:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

The guy is also now in jail, so it's probably not a good tactic to try out.

The only advice I'd give is to listen to the information given above.

It works until you get your collar felt. Then you suffer.

jorgesil · 12-20-2010, 10:55 AM

Google are taking action on it
Official Google Blog: Being bad to your customers is bad for business

jasonmorgan · 12-20-2010, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Google has his site at #1 right now

He needs to post bail and throw that site on flippa... pronto.

Matt.Lake · 12-20-2010, 11:05 AM

It wasn't down to the reviews on consumer feedback sites why he was number 1 on Google.

Not at all. It was from other links and, ironically, one from the ny times website ages ago.

On SearchEngineLand.com, the site you refer to, it explains this in detail.

FreshMedia · 12-20-2010, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonmorgan

He needs to post bail and throw that site on flippa... pronto.

Flippa? That site and domain name are dead in the water.

Matt.Lake · 12-20-2010, 11:06 AM

Here it is: No, You Can’t Rank Well Just By Cultivating Terrible Reviews

Matt

CDarklock · 12-20-2010, 11:33 AM

Depends on the negative publicity.

Xenforo, for example, caught a lot of flak for supposedly "ripping off" vBulletin and having a lawsuit filed against them.

This operated quite effectively as a scarcity tactic - you'd better buy it now, before it's removed from the market! - and to remind people that most vBulletin users hated the recent changes in the software since the company changed hands.

I'd never heard of Xenforo. With the lawsuit, however, I looked into it very seriously and will quite likely buy it. I do, after all, need a membership site set up in the near future... and as a former vBulletin licensee, I've been unhappy with recent changes myself.

12-20-2010, 10:29 AM	#1
FreshMedia HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 107 Thanks: 3 Thanked 15 Times in 13 Posts	Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits? Unfortunately it can. The New York Times reported on a story of a guy "who boasted of being abusive to customers and claimed, inaccurately, that such behavior had a side benefit of producing good rankings in Google." Here is some proof to this "In reaction to the piece, Google quickly introduced a change so that merchants with bad reputations would lose rankings in its system. It also debunked the notion that bad reviews somehow managed to help him gain prominence in its search engine." Apparently Google's change (or lack off) Just seemed to improve his rankings. I performed a search for one of the keywords and his site is #1. Please don't post anything that would help improve this site's ranking if possible. But what do you think? Should Google even be concerned about the negative publicity a site is getting, and just let i'ts Algorithm do it's thing.
	eCover Designs & eBook Promotion Gain Access To Hundreds Of PLR eBooks For Less Than $5.00 A Month

12-20-2010, 10:40 AM	#2
sbucciarel Suzanne War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Virginia, USA. Posts: 11,707 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 1,468 Thanked 4,735 Times in 2,622 Posts	Re: Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits? The guy is also now in jail, so it's probably not a good tactic to try out.
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12-20-2010, 10:44 AM	#3
somacorellc Mike Heath War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 520 Thanks: 270 Thanked 435 Times in 123 Posts	Re: Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits? ^ lol The problem is that strong negative reactions are usually more short lived than long-term positive feedback and growth. Take for example: BP oil spill Haiti earthquake London tube bombings The new Gap logo We all thought "oh man that's horrible" but after a few weeks we forget. Google has his site at #1 right now because it's popular and he probably has a ton of backlinks from blogs and whatnot. If he really is rude to his customers (and that is actually a viable niche, believe it or not) it will show itself in the long term by decreased business. having a popular website at #1 doesn't translate always to business and profits.

12-20-2010, 10:48 AM	#4
FreshMedia HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 107 Thanks: 3 Thanked 15 Times in 13 Posts	Re: Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits? Completely unethical and wouldn't recommend it to anyone, but some people out there may look at the rankings this guy is getting for some keywords and try something like this. I don't think big G should have this guy on top for any profitable keywords.
	eCover Designs & eBook Promotion Gain Access To Hundreds Of PLR eBooks For Less Than $5.00 A Month

12-20-2010, 10:55 AM	#6
jorgesil HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: United Kingdom. Posts: 203 Thanks: 13 Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts Social Networking	Re: Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits? Google are taking action on it Official Google Blog: Being bad to your customers is bad for business
	Nothing to Show Here.

12-20-2010, 11:05 AM	#8
Matt.Lake HyperActive Warrior Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 326 Thanks: 49 Thanked 38 Times in 29 Posts	Re: Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits? It wasn't down to the reviews on consumer feedback sites why he was number 1 on Google. Not at all. It was from other links and, ironically, one from the ny times website ages ago. On SearchEngineLand.com, the site you refer to, it explains this in detail.

12-20-2010, 11:06 AM	#10
Matt.Lake HyperActive Warrior Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 326 Thanks: 49 Thanked 38 Times in 29 Posts	Re: Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits? Here it is: No, You Can’t Rank Well Just By Cultivating Terrible Reviews Matt

12-20-2010, 11:33 AM	#11
CDarklock AT gmail DOT com War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Kent, WA Posts: 7,636 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 1,903 Thanked 6,237 Times in 2,799 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Can negative publicity improve your rankings & profits? Depends on the negative publicity. Xenforo, for example, caught a lot of flak for supposedly "ripping off" vBulletin and having a lawsuit filed against them. This operated quite effectively as a scarcity tactic - you'd better buy it now, before it's removed from the market! - and to remind people that most vBulletin users hated the recent changes in the software since the company changed hands. I'd never heard of Xenforo. With the lawsuit, however, I looked into it very seriously and will quite likely buy it. I do, after all, need a membership site set up in the near future... and as a former vBulletin licensee, I've been unhappy with recent changes myself.