This is one in a series of posts reviewing and looking at how some of the SEO companies which use bulk emails/spam with ‘we can help your terrible site’ type emails really can (and actually mostly can’t!) help your site.
Read some simple explanations of some of the SEO terms used on this post…
This post is very different to most of the other SEO spam I’ve posted about. This time the spam came via a Skype (text) chat.
And rather more extraordinarily, the scammer was actually claiming to be a top/senior engineer from Google itself!!! (I won’t say who they were claiming to be for security/privacy reasons, but they were using the name, photo and location of a Google employee in their profile…)
I thought it was a scam from the moment I got their contact request. I Googled the name of the person and when it turned out to be a top person from Google, I knew that top people from Google don’t ping you on Skype wanting to talk about your website!
So here’s the Skype chat transcript. I hope you’ll find it as ‘interesting’ as I did when it was taking place (it took about an hour – but I was doing other work while chatting…). I’ll comment on it after the transcript.
The SEO Spam Skype Transcript
[Them]
Hi james
nice to meet you
I want to discuss with you regarding your business website which is jpc-design.com
i’m waiting for your reply soon
[Me]
Hi, how can I help?
[Them]
Hi
I made an analysis on your website and found that your website is not ranking at Google . For this you are loosing lot of business
Your compitetor are doing good business over your related keywords in Google
I got your website from our low business and traffics data base.
I can help to give Google partner business for your website. If you will work with us.
[Me]
What company are you?
[Them]
Google llc
I am working as senior engineer at Google llc
This is [Name of Senior Google Software Engineer…]
[Me]
Hmmm, so Google are now contacting sites directly offering SEO services?!
[Them]
No dear James. I got your website from low business and traffics data base.
For this I contacted you. If you are not interested then I can forward this offer to another website owner
[Me]
What database? My site isn’t on any database. What company would you get to help me?!
[Them]
You don’t know that you will get low prices with higher services
Google low business and low traffics data base.
[Me]
Really?! What company would you get to help me?
[Them]
Yes. You will get directly service from Google llc.
Also you will get Google partner for your business website.
I can help to you anything at here.
Every 3 months we can help one small business owner. Not for all
1.We can beat your compitetor.
2.We can help to drive more keywords ranking in Google.
3.we have a team for social network optimization for drive more traffics towards your business website.
[Me]
OK!
If you’ve looked at my site, you might have seen that I like posting about when SEO spammers contact me and I tell other people about how bad they are. What do you think of that?
[Them]
It is good for avoiding seo spammers.
When I contacted before 6 months ago he said like your word but now he is a good business provider.
If you are not interested to do SEO and SEM for your business website then we can cancel it.
Do you know ranking is the first important for small business owner for drive more business and traffics.
Without 1st page ranking anybody couldn’t do good business in today’s digital marketing strategies.
Thanks James for giving me your valuable time.
[Me]
Yes I know. If you read my blogs about SEO spammers lots of them say that they can promise to get you on the first page of Google. But as you work for Google, you will know that even Google say that you shouldn’t trust anyone who says they can do that!
Here’s where Google warns you about such companies! https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35291
[Them]
Yes. But you are selected to do this work with Google
[Me]
But you say that even you can’t guarantee to give me a first page result – so are you saying that you can?! I’m confused…
[Them]
100% guaranteed that you will get the results from the first month of seo campaign. If you not happy with the results then you can cancel the campaign and refund you money.
You will get Google partner for this work
[Me]
Right, so which Google partner?!
[Them]
You will get 100% guaranteed result. We can add Google partner business in your company website then you will get more business in your locally and international
[Me]
OK, again, I’m asking you what Google partner you will use? I want to know more about a company before I deal with them!
[Them]
We have add Google partner link in your website for trusted business with you. When people search they will find you and without any questions they will work with you. If we will review bad work from you then we remove it from your website.
[Me]
I’m sorry but that doesn’t make sense. All I’m asking you is to tell me what company I will be working with. I don’t think that’s too much to ask!
[Them]
You will work with google llc
I have already said before
[Me]
But you said I’d work with a Google partner, NOT Google llc – so what partner?!
[Them]
If you will work with Google llc then you will get Google partner link.
[Me]
Hmmm, I’m really not sure about this. We seem to be going round in circles. On Google’s blog it says not to trust companies that say they will get you certain rankings, but then you yourself are saying I’ll get a certain ranking. That doesn’t seem right to me!
[Them]
Ok
Have you searched in Google with high search volume keywords? Are you ranking in high search volume keywords? Have you get more inquiries in end of every month? Are you driving targeted traffics through social media networks?
If it is okay then you don’t need to do seo.
[Me]
Well, my site is for web design in Minehead, if I search for ‘web design minehead’ I’m on the1st page, so I think that’s pretty good!
[Them]
Ok
Thanks for taking valuable to discuss with you James. I think you will do business in your locally not out side of mine head.
[Me]
You know what, I don’t think I do want your help now.
[Them]
Yes I am here to help you anything
About website builder ranking design
[Me]
By the way, as you’re in San Fran, what do you think of the 49ers and Raiders chances this year?!
[Them]
As of 2017, the San Francisco 49ers are in the NFC West division, while the Oakland Raiders are in the AFC West division. As a result, the two teams only meet in the regular season once every four years according to the NFL’s current scheduling formula.
But not interested it I am out of this
[Me]
HAHAHAHA so you really don’t know anything the NFL then and aren’t from San Fran are you?
[Them]
Yed
Have you any questions about your website isses?
Not allowed here to discuss any other questions
It is officially Skype
[Me]
But your para about the 49ers and Raiders was copied directly from wikipedia. Someone from the bay area would know who they are would be able to to answer a basic question like I asked and not have to paste stuff from wikipedia…!
[Them]
Sorry not allowed here
To discuss another
[Me]
hmm, I don’t believe you. I don’t think you are really from Google, I think you might be an SEO spammer…
[Them]
Only website related issues and ranking
Sorry james
[Me]
If you are in San Fran, what’s the time there?!
Are you doing this before you do your job working on Google’s voice tech? How’s that doing?!
[Them]
Do you have any questions?
Do you have any questions?
[Me]
I just asked some. What time is it? Are you working on this before your main job at Google and how’s the voice tech going?
[Them]
Please provide us your email address I can forward this internally technical part
[Me]
Why, I already told you that I didn’t want to work with you?
What’s the weather like in Bhubaneswar?
Hello?!
[Them]
Means?
[Me]
What?
I’m stopping this now. I don’t want to work with you.
[Them]
Not allowed to discuss any thing.
[Me]
OK, well that seems like we should stop talking then. I don’t want to talk and you can’t!
[Them]
Ok you work with another company
Regarding prices $199/ month
Targeted keywords are 25
This offer had for you not for all clients
If you’re interested then you can contact me directly to appointment the services.
[Me]
I’ve told you several times that I’m not interested! I’m not even sure you are from Google!
Conclusion
I must admit, I had rather a lot of fun with this one. It quickly became apparent to me that this was a scam/spam. The use of English and phrases made me suspect that this person was probably based in India. No one I know in the tech sector in the west would reply “No dear James”; however, I have email exchanges with Indians and this phrase is quite common.
The number of times they contradicted themselves about whether I’d be working with ‘Google llc’ or a ‘Google Partner’ and if they could ‘guarantee’ top results was simply hilarious. They simple couldn’t give me a straight answer.
I couldn’t resist about asking about the 49ers and Raiders! (Although I’m a Brit, I’m a HUGE fan of American Football. The 49ers and Raiders are based in and around San Fransisco – and I support the Raiders…). I actually laughed out loud at their reply (which took several minutes to come in). If you Google ’49ers and Raiders’, the top result is from wikipedia about the rivalry between the two teams, and the para they replied with is straight up copied and pasted from the 2nd para in the article!!! This completely confirmed to me that this wasn’t anyone from San Fran – or the USA come to that. (Even if you didn’t like the NFL in the USA, you would have least known of those teams…)
Sadly they didn’t reply to what the time was or what the weather was like in Bhubaneswar (a city in India where many of the SEO spammers are based…).
And although by the end of the chat, I’d told them three times that I wasn’t interested, they still carried on and told me the price ($200 a month – OUCH!!!).
So if you get a contact request on Skype from someone wanting to talk about your site, even if it’s from a top Google person, I’d be VERY VERY careful. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is…
But as ever, the choice is yours…