Web spam

Discussion of Web spam techniques (that may or may not work — use at your own risk). No warranties are guarantees are implied. Readers should not attempt to use these techniques.

Blogpooling for beginners

Posted by Michael Martinez on April 8, 2008 in Web spam

A lot of bloggers got themselves into trouble last year by participating in various “SEO meme” schemes. Richard Dawkins coined the term “meme” in 1976 (so far as I know) to refer to a “cultural copying unit”. He modeled the idea on genes (gene / meme), where a meme is a “unit of […]

SEO Spammers run amok on Gmail

Posted by Michael Martinez on March 19, 2008 in Web spam

Google says that spammers haven’t cracked their Gmail captcha system yet, that the spammers are paying low-cost labor in overseas markets to sign up for Gmail accounts.
All I can tell you is that I have now banned Gmail registrations from two forums. A lot of people with Gmail accounts send me legitimate email but […]

Experten Tricks

Posted by Michael Martinez on March 5, 2008 in Web spam

Disclaimer: Neither I nor my employer endorses, condones, or recommends the use of search spam tools, networks, or resources.
The Outing
As many of you know, generally speaking, I have a “hands off” attitude toward the Web spam community. Nonetheless, every now and then I find a spammer has gotten in my way and I feel […]

The new link spam raises its ugly head

Posted by Michael Martinez on February 19, 2008 in Web spam

I’ve been receiving an increasing number of inquiries both here at 1st Query and through my private contact form on Xenite.Org from people wanting to buy links. I don’t sell links and I’m pretty sure I have stated that publicly in many places but I suppose what I say may seem like a smoke […]

Four critical components for Web site success

Posted by Michael Martinez on February 13, 2008 in Web spam

Web spam works well when it’s done right. Most spammers don’t do it right. Most SEOs don’t realize when they are doing it.
Take Topix, for example. This well-known news and discussion community resource has been around for years but it has all the hallmarks of a traditional made-for-advertising site: it republishes content […]

Tom Fakery and the Spam of Web

Posted by Michael Martinez on November 29, 2007 in Web spam

Fake blogs, fake forums, fake directories. Spammers have resorted to all sorts of interesting means for fooling the search engines.
I’ve been wondering if it’s possible to create a fake Web site. You can certainly create a spammy Web site, but can you fake one?
What sparked my curiosity on the topic was the post […]

Here is a stupid blog-spam tactic you should avoid

Posted by Michael Martinez on October 19, 2007 in Web spam

“This is based on the SEO theory that links to posts inside your blog are more important than links to your home page.”
An increasing number of blogs are using this language and other very obvious spam justifications to surround link spam they are creating in order to inflate the value of their own blogs.
There may […]

Outing a scumbag black hat spammer content thief

Posted by Michael Martinez on August 27, 2007 in Web spam

There are two kinds of black hats in this industry: Those whom I respect because they show some common sense and those who are stupid enough to piss me off.
This idiot openly shares his secret by demonstrating how he scrapes SEO Theory and other SEO blogs.
I left a comment that was awaiting moderation. It […]

No Blogs Allowed

Posted by Michael Martinez on August 24, 2007 in Web spam

There was a Charlie Brown movie or television special many years ago when Charlie had to go into the hospital and Snoopy undertook the arduous task of visiting him. Every place Snoopy went he ran into a sign that read (and was accompanied in the soundtrack by a deep basso voice saying) “NO DOGS […]

Google’s desperate gamble

Posted by Michael Martinez on August 6, 2007 in Web spam

Although it’s still a little too soon to suggest that Google’s downward spiral has finally begun, Google has lost search market share two months in a row. As near as I can determine (based on largely unreliable third-party estimates), Google began losing market share in late May.
Late May. That would be about the […]

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