RANT: Keyword Spy are comment spammers

That's it! I've had enough! I have tried to bite my tongue but I just can't take it anymore. Time for a bit of public flogging.

In the past 24 hours I have received 2 emails from Keyword Spy to 2 different domains and 2 spam drop comments on two different blogs. Not a week goes by that I don't hear from this company, but the past 24 hours has taken the cake.

Here's a typical email from them:

"It gives us great pleasure to introduce to you KeywordSpy, a search engine tool that generates keywords for ad campaigns in the Internet's most popular search engine sites. KeywordSpy also generates information by using keywords in identifying key competitors that may also be advertising in the same search engine. It is in this light that we humbly request that KeywordSpy be included in your lists of sites that could be used for creating powerful online ad campaigns. It would be interesting to note some of the features our site has to offer: The most comprehensive keyword database with over a billion keywords and counting. Regular updates on keyword databank including search and keywords from our partnership with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and other reliable data servers. 99% percent search results accuracy. Instant downloading capabilities on all search results. Offers exclusive country keywords (US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia... ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Thankfully, their spiel was cut off here by our form]

Has anyone else had emails or comment drops from these sock-puppets? Seems they're always from different personas too. I'm beginning to think that SEO Edge and Keyword Spy are related.


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Q and A: Is Bill Gates REALLY Sharing His Fortune?

Dear Kalena...

I received the attached email from my best friend. It is titled "Bill Gates is Sharing His Fortune". Please tell me about this mail. Is it for real?

Regards
Syed


Kalena's Answer:

Dear Syed

Nope. See this post.

Q and A: Should we use mailto: on our web site?

Dear Kalena...

We use the mailto: direct on many pages of our website. This is just one method by which people can contact us (including an online enquiry form which can be submitted etc).

However, when logging on in internet cafes (and anywhere that personal email is not set-up on the computer) users get an error message. We have had such users contact us to tell them there is a problem with our website, not understanding that the problem is with the computer set-up.

Is there anyway you can change the error message to make it more user-friendly? Alternatively, do you think it’s possible to divert mailto to our online enquiry form in this instance?

What would you recommend?

Thanks!
Lucy

Kalena's Answer:

Dear Lucy

I know it's commonly used, but in these days of excessive spam and virus circulation, MailTo: is not a good protocol to use on a website. It's too easy for spambots and hackers to scour your site and pick up your email address in their travels.

One way to trick spambots is to use a free email protection program like Natata Anti-Spam Encoder which locates email addresses on web pages and encodes them into a format that cannot be understand by spiders or robots but can still be readable by the web browser and people. Unfortunately, this does not stop humans from taking note of your email address and manually adding you to junk mail lists. Plus it doesn't solve your roaming user problems.

Instead, I would recommend changing all your mailto: links to point to your online enquiry form. It should just be a matter of using your code editing "find and replace" tool. You should also make sure that the email address your enquiry form submits to is hidden in the code (I can see from your site that it currently is not hidden). You can use Natata for this purpose.

[If you found this post helpful, you might benefit from downloading our free Search Engine Optimization lesson]

Domain Registry of America is at it Again!

Some people just won't be told. After being taken to court and rapped over the knuckles by the Federal Trade Commission for misleading consumers, the Domain Registry of America (DROA) is back to their old tricks and mailing out confusing letters to domain holders advising their domain registrations are expiring, leading many consumers to unwillingly switch their domain name registrar and usually pay a higher price in the process. You can read more on the situation here and here.

In December 2003, the Federal Trade Commission requested that a federal district court instruct the Internet domain name reseller from making misrepresentations in the marketing of its domain name registration services. But that apparently didn't stop them.

I had thought I'd seen the last of Domain Registry of America, but I got another of their misleading letters today. Here are some priceless extracts from the letter:

"As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification of the domain name registration that is due to expire in the next few months..."

"You must renew your domain name to retain exclusive rights to it on the Web, and now is the time to transfer and renew your name from your current Registrar to the Domain Registry of America. Failure to renew your domain name by the expiration date may result in a loss of your online identity making it difficult for your customers and friends to locate you on the Web".

The cheek of them using such misleading and threatening verbage. And my domain doesn't even expire till November! Some people call this type of approach a scam. DROA have written to me claiming that they resent being called "scammers". What a shame. I resent receiving their letters but they don't stop sending them.

Don't be fooled people. If you get a letter or email from the people at Domain Registry of America, file it where it belongs - in the bin. You can also file a complaint with the FTC and call or email Domain Registry of America directly and request to be taken off their mailing lists.

You can also protect your address from being collected by using the privacy features most registrars now offer domain holders, although there is usually a charge to keep your details private. Sad but true.