I post at SearchCommander.com now, and this post was published 14 years 10 months 10 days ago. This industry changes FAST, so blindly following the advice here *may not* be a good idea! If you're at all unsure, feel free to hit me up on Twitter and ask.
I received a “threatening” email yesterday from Jeremy Wyss at Peak Studios that I just have to share here after posting it last night on Twittter.
Spurred on by ReTweets from internet marketers like Todd Mintz, Greg Boser, Aaron Chronster,Β David Mihm Michael Dorausch (OK, sorry, that’s too much work, but here are dozens more )Β I ended up getting over 500 visitors to my old 2008 post from the Retweets alone in one night.
Now I’m not really the vindictive type, and I’m not always this petty, but God dammit I know when I’m right, and I’m not gonna back down here. Besides, it’s too important that our industry stop “search marketing firms”Β like this from damaging their clients.
Much like some high profile marketers I know of, likeΒ Shoemoney,Β SugarRae and Michael Gray, I don’tΒ generally like toΒ “call out ”Β other peoples behavior unnecessarily. But when they totally DESERVE it, or they’re complete and total idiots, I’m not afraid to let it rip, and this is one of those times.
Just minutes ago, the “axe fell” and this guy emailed the contact info of a bunch of domains he researched, some of which are my clients, some affiliates, (and some I’ve never even heard of) with a vague, non-specific and unsigned “warning” about me.Β (Score one for John Andrews here by the way, who told me a couple of years ago I was crazy to keep client references showing on my site. Guess you were right, John.)
A Quick History
Way back in October of 2008, Peak Studios sent some badly spun forum spam for their “search marketing services”Β to the search marketing forum which I’m a moderator for, over at SEMpdx.Β I thought it was sort of funny, so I Twittered it.
When I phoned Peak,Β not only didn’t see anything “wrong” with it,Β he defended it,Β and didn’t even see the irony. (Anyone that knows me realizes I believe there’s a time and place for spam, but that sure wasn’t it! π We hung up sort of agreeing to disagree, and I dropped it, thinking “this guy just doesn’t get it”!Β
A couple hours later, this guy, the owner of Peak Studios,Β actually then phoned the number on the SEMpdx website and spoke to bothΒ Kent Lewis (the past president) AND to Ben Lloyd (the current president, where he DEMANDED that I take down my Tweet or else!Β Seriously!
When Ben told me, I was so ticked off that I wrote a post over at SEMpdx there about the ignorance ofΒ theΒ Peak Studios forum spam activity, titling it “Spam is in the Eye of the Beholder”.
Just to clarify, this is the Peak Studios I’m referring to…
View Larger Map
That infuriated him of course,Β and after a few heated emails with the board, Ben informed him that the entire SEMpdx board of directors unanimously voted to leave my post up.
Ya know what he did then?
Instead of apologizing and perhaps looking within,Β Quince Wyss, then turned around and left fake negative reviews on the SEMpdx board member Google local business profiles. And this was AFTER 99 % of the internet marketing community pointed out the error of his ways in the comments at Sphinn.
I Lost It
The fake review on my own Google business profile REALLY had me smoked, so I blew up, and phoned him, leaving a screaming and profane voice mail for him that would have made my Dad blush.
What does he do? He edited and cut my voicemail to take out his company name or what I was accusing him of, and anonymously posted on YouTube, trying to make me look like a raving lunatic.Β (This, “raving lunatic” stuff came as no surprise to my wife or anyone that know me, because I was REALLY pissed.)
That recorded voicemail on YouTube sparked me to do some investigative digging into their historyΒ so I posted on my own blog in December of 2008 with a backstory and video showing exactly howΒ Peak Studios was leaving deceptive fake “bad” reviews for their clients competitors!
I still stand behind that post 100%, and my decision to do it, and I was pretty happy to see that it too was supported by the entire Sphinn community. Even Tamar Weinberg from Techipedia thought it was worth mentioning in the Ultimate Social Media Handbook.
So, now you’re current and up to date,Β and oh,Β I forgot to mention that the post is ranking highly for their company name, and that’s why he contacted me yesterday after 14 months with his “threat”.
It’s interesting to note that from his perspective, the fact that Peak Studios spammed SEMpdx in the first place was is a total non-issue.
The poorly crafted and badly spun articles sent posted in a search marketing organization’s forumΒ was bad enough, but the fact that they still defend it (below),Β and that they left us fake reviews for exposing them,Β and then were (or still are?) leaving damaging reviews for their clients competitors should be very enlightening to other marketers and bloggers in Colorado .
So, instead of being afraid of this supposed “blackmail threat”,Β I’m sort of proud to have my “clients” read the history here, as well as my family, friends, kids, parents, and anyone I ever have contact with, or may possibly in the future.
Thanks for the link bait Quince and Jeremy, and yes, I do plead guilty of having an ego – but I also have the business sense to understand when I’m wrong, and I’m man enough to admit it when that happens.
Verbatim and unedited, here it is below… (His stuff is red, and mine is blue and of course, read from the bottom up for context
This Email went out today to an unknown number of people – Unsigned, by the way, from a Gmail address, with all the typos and Β grammatical errors you see below-
From: Jeremy.wyss [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 1:03 PM
To: Scott Hendison – Search Commander, Inc.
Subject: Scott hendison is not looking out for your best interests – recommend contacting him to discuss – here are the details
As a consumer I like to work with companies who always think about my best interest. Scott Hendison has been bashing our company for over a year now and when asked to stop he refused cause of his ego. He thinks it is a game or something.
I’d point out that after my December 2008 post, I really did nothing, and had in fact forgotten all about it. There’s was no “continual bashing” – Β certainly not like there will be now!
Well we have had just about enough and told him we would not be putting up with it anymore. We had given him 24 hours to remove his post that he claims is about us, unfortunately not all of his information is correct (What about the video proof I have for all of my claims on my original post?) and whenever we tried to respond he would not post it, cause he bashed us on his site and wanted everyone to think he was right (again with his ego).
( I never deleted or declined approval for any of his comments, and do encourage him to speak his mind here. Anyone can vouch for the fact that I love a good argument, and there’s no way I’d delete anything. Why would I? Β With every sentence they write, it makes them look worse and worse! )
The reason I am telling you this is cause it may have an impact on your company if you continue to work him and he doesn’t remove the requested items. I can only assume that he is well aware of the fact that the negative online reputation that he is getting, from being so negative towards others, will effect his clients eventually. The problem is that his ego makes him believe that his negative smear campaign against another company has no effect on his company or the companies he associates himself with, probably cause of his God complex. Well in todays world people do look at the companies that people choose to do work with as a marker of their professionalism. I for one would not want anyone to associate myself with a person like Scott who would rather hurt his clients than take 10 seconds to remove something.
I would strongly recommend calling him and letting him know that he was hired to look out for your best interests ( not drag your business name through the mud with his) and to remove the items immediately so everyone can go on with their life. In addition, he received this email too and is well aware that I am sending it to you, I guess he really just doesn’t care about his clients.
So that went out to clients, UNSIGNED I’d point out,Β with no links at all, or an explanation of anything. He even sent it from a cowardly Gmail address. How does this “hurt” me or my clients again? My last threat to SEND that email came from him came about an hour before he sent…
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, February 11, 2010 12:03 PM
To: Scott Hendison – Search Commander, Inc.
Subject: this is going out to your clients in 20 minutes if that stuff isn’t removed… this is step one are you sure you really want this?
this is going out to your clients in 20 minutes if that stuff isn’t removed… this is step one are you sure youΒ really want this?
He had a rough draft here of the letter above, then he thoughtfully, included the entire text in this one email,Β which made this post easier.
First of all this isn’t Quince, 2nd of all the entire incident occurred cause of a misunderstanding, cause from looking at the sempdx it looked like we were aloud to post things about our company. Unfortunately, there was no disclaimer that said if you are on the board of sempdx please post and reply to people here. I was the one who posted the two blog comments and I never reposted them I edited them. Instead of being an adult and just clicking deleting them you decided to call and argue with Quince. We manage blogs too Scott,it is easy to just click a button or even better you don’t allow posts to go public until reviewed.
You saying I would not work this guy cause of this message is spam as you interpret it on your post, have you read what you wrote on our reviews?
Oh we know what we did towards you was not right I am the first to admit it, but we did it in retaliation for your comments about us on sempdx, your site and google maps along with your little social networking.
finally your vague answer to my question is wonderful, so you don’t care if you negatively effect your clients income.
You can look at it this way is it worth your time and energy to deal with the ramifications it is going to bring to you if you don’t remove it? It will take you ten seconds to remove it and it may hurt your ego a little bit but just think there are still posts bashing us at sempdxΒ so you have won.That is the whole point you want to think you have won right?Β I can tell you for a fact the only way for you to win is agree your little game is over take your trophy, remove that stuff and move on with your life.
Scott Hendison – Search Commander, Inc. wrote:
You know, youβre probably not a bad guy, but youβre incredibly dense.Β I phoned you in the first place as a courtesy, one SEO to another, and you just didnβt get it. Β I TOLD you this would happen, and that Iβd end up ranking for your name, but no, you didnβt want to listen.
Now you dare to threaten me with some imaginary loss of income? Are you serious? Β To retaliate I guess Iβd just copy / paste this whole email as a new blog post. Β Care to bet on how fast I can get an indented listing for your name too? Β Maybe Iβll ask some friends if theyβll let me guest post on their blogs too, and take up some more page one real estate.
Youβre asking ME Β if I βcanβt stand to remove something?β Seriously? Β Dude, youβre the one that refused to take my voicemail off Youtube, and it cost me time, energy, a little stress, and more than a few bucks to Β get rid of it myself. Β (By the way, if you still have a recording, Iβd love to have it, and Iβll post it myself)
My whole point is that youβve never admitted the error of your spammy ways in the first place, and never apologized for the fake reviews you left me, because you still donβt think you did anything wrong.
You even had the balls to register variants of MY NAME with Google and for that alone I should come after you.
http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=112369592856088633717&hl=en&gl=us
http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=102014840258178979812&hl=en&gl=us&ptab=1
http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=103099292697466303277&hl=en&gl=us&ptab=3
http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=100424242897549655456&hl=en&gl=us&ptab=0
Not too smart for someone whoβs own name .com is still available β (donβt worry, I wouldnβt stoop that low)
Anyway, thanks for sparking some Β more comments on that year old post today , by the way.Β Why donβt you just let this die off, before you become even more of a trending topic at Twitter http://search.twitter.com/search?q=peak+studios β
Youβd better wise up, quit while youβre behind, and stop pissing me off or I really WILL make it my mission to drive you completely off page one for your own name. Β Believe me, Iβll find the time, with legitimate facts posted at a few domains, and a few choice links.
Go ahead, dare me toβ¦
Scott
(PS – My apologies to those Iβve annoyed with my bcc, but please let me know if youβd either like to write about this fiasco, or might let me do a guest post in case this guy wants to continue to escalate)
From: Jeremy.wyss [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 3:20 PM
To: Scott Hendison – Search Commander, Inc.
Subject: Re: page removal – Peak Studios
So you thought about the effects it could have on your income and the income of the businesses you market for? really are you an adult or is your ego so big that you can’t stand to remove something?
Scott Hendison – Search Commander, Inc. wrote:
Gee, whatβs wrong? Are you not happy with it ranking highly for your company name?
Do you really think Iβll respond to this by taking it down? Hilarious.
Sorry, but nothing about you on Β my site is coming down, because nothing there is untrue. Β Nothing.
I show my facts there pretty well, I believe. Frankly, Iβd forgotten all about it, and have better things to do.
Also, NONE of my own Google reviews are anything less than 100% true, including my thoughts on my own dentist, my kids dentist, my kids school, my friend Randy, Β Marvin the fishing guide who took us fishing, David our mortgage broker since 1999, and so on. Β Iβm not sure what your beef is with my REAL reviews, UNLIKE what you guys were doing Β – or for all I know still are β thatβs what reviews are for!Β Do you really not comprehend the difference?
Donβt worry, I wonβt contact you because Iβve got NO INTEREST in discussing anything with you, however, feel free to comment on the post in question.
Actually, lets see if people think I should remove it or notβ¦
http://twitter.com/shendison/status/8922559578
Iβve also bccβd the board of SEMpdx (who all remember the situation quite well) Β in case any of them want to weigh in, and Iβm debating placing this email online as another post to outrank you for your company nameβ¦
Sincerely,
Scott Hendison
From: Jeremy.wyss [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 2:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: page removal.
You need to remove this page https://www.pdxtc.com/wpblog/viruses-and-scams/peak-studios-actually-harming-clients/ from your website along with the two reviews you and your friend left on peak studios local listings David Kyle reviews and the reviews in your own name within the next 24 hours. This is not a negotiation or discussion the 3 items will be removed within 24 hours. no point in contacting us to discuss we will just make sure it has been done by tomorrow at noon. If you need guidance I would look to your family, friends, the companies listed bellow and god to help you make your decision – I am sure they will lead you in the right direction.
(aboutΒ 25 domains have been snipped out here for privacy – even though less than half ever were actual clients of mine)
Have a wonderful day and may god bless you!
So, there you have it, and thanks for reading. I’m sorry to waste your time, but this was just too rich to pass up. What do you think?Β Am I completely out of line?
This is like SEO: Heroes vs. Villains π
Thanks, but I’m no hero, and I’m not even sure they’re villains!
In the legal system, if you don’t have the capacity to distinguish right from wrong, then you’re mentally incapable of being held criminally liable.
In this case, they really don’t see anything wrong with what they’ve done!
Wow, he brought out the old, “I’m going to email your clients and tell them you’re a dbag but not sign the letter” trick. That’s a tactic that has solved countless disputes throughout time. I hear Poland did something similar to Germany in the late 30’s. IIRC, That worked out really well for them. lol
Josh
What a coward and piece of crap! Peak Studios sounds to be a very unethical company. I feel bad for their clients, hopefully one of them will have the opportunity to read this.
About Some of the Peak Studios Clients who may want to look into distancing themselves from that firm:
Craig McKenzie – Craig McKenzie is a sports agent, marketing and entertainment agent, writer, documentarian and philanthropist, who is becoming known for his civic and volunteer activities. How would Craig McKenzie feel if he knew how unethical his Web Design / SEO firm was?
eSwarm – eSwarm is a free website where swarming makes the best deals happen. How would eSwarm feel if they knew about Jeremy Wyss and his writing fake bad reviews about competitors and other unethical practices?
Chem Dry Carpet Cleaning of Boulder – I’m willing to bet Chem Dry would be disappointed to find that their Boulder, Colorado Web Design company partners, Jeremy Wyss and Quince Wyss are parading around the internet like a bunch of Morons…
Keith Kirchner – The Keith Kirchner. How would this Boulder real estate agent feel if he knew what his retained SEO company was doing?
It is downright shocking to see this type of behavior an in industry of supposed.
Again, disappointed to see this person be such a disgrace to the SEO Community:
QUINCE WYSS
3835 SILVER PLUME CIRCLE
BOULDER, CO 80305
Scott,
I would be more than happy to provide any resources / time to assist you in this matter.
What they are doing is NOT okay, and just plain wrong.
I can be one that said I had the privilege of hearing the infamous voicemail on YouTube and do have to say it was definitely a Scott voicemail, and extremely entertaining but threats should not be taken lightly.
I feel you did the right thing here. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Charlie
Thanks for the support!
100% behind you Scott. At least this answers the question of what does it take to get you riled up!
The utter lack of professionalism exhibited by Jeremy Wyss and Quince Wyss is reprehensible. Peak Studios is not a company I would consider working with after witnessing this incident.
Much appreciated, Michel!
2 days after being warned? Couldn’t resist, and had to register their name .coms.
The email they wrote assumes your clients care what they think and that they actually matter.
You know what they say about assumption.
Wow, I can’t believe you did that! But it’s funny, and they deserve nothing less. I wonder if I’ll hear from anyone they’ve harmed?
This is *exactly* why I won’t do public arguments with crazy people. There is no logic, no reason with them. Unless you give them exactly what they want plus your first born, they think they have the right to try to destroy you in every way possible. And it’s always when any reasonable human being would know they are *effing loony*.
I had one of my old writers do this to me – all I did was shut up about it and she did a fine job of making herself look like a raving lunatic. She needed no help from me. π
Yep, valid point, so I decided to explain fully and honestly why I’m ramping up my efforts and going after Peak Studios so hard…
This guy is definately misguided to pick a fight with you about this. He sounds like a bully and what he is doing is NOT OKAY. I almost cringe at what is about to happen to his online reputation though. Guess he never heard of the Striesand effect.
I will be following up on this, Let me know if you need anything.
-Doug
Thanks Doug, and i’m glad you’re not put off by it… So far I’ve yet to hear much “so back off already!” advice from anyone either…
Said it before and I’ll say it again-you’re badass;) Thanks for having the huevos to stand up to a bully that just makes our industry look bad. – Lisa
My favorite is their fake comments even in their own blog.
http://peakstudios.com/keith-kirchner/
Now I don’t want to encourage these guys but when I saw fake comments on every blog page, I had to mention it.
Wow – I looked at the link, and you’re right! Sure, many of the comments are “suspicious”, but a “glowing review” comment added by someone named Jeremy, who’s name links back to their own domain sort of proves the fact that it’s bogus, doesn’t it? Wow – Un-Be-lievable π
But Garry how did you realized the comments were fake?
Aah, an excellent question.
On that page, check out their review by ‘Jeremy’ and hover over the link. PEAKSTUDIOS.crap link. Then look at the user’s names and make note of the date of the comment. Then check the OTHER pages on that site looking for the same name. Apparently, people like ‘Steve’ and ‘Bob’ went through EVERY single page on during their visit and make the same comment type ‘nice design’ on every page. Then a few weeks later, supposedly, another user did the exact same thing…visiting every page. Ridiculously fake. People don’t methodically visit every page and make the same comment with a generic name.. Hilarious, actually.
This aside from the obvious JEREMY comments throughout the site which are written to sound like a random visitor.
Don’t take my word for it. Do your own research and weigh-in on this one. I just know fake when I see it…you will too.
Cheers and thanks for your comment.
Funny, I hadn’t even heard of Peak Studios until I read this and we’re in Denver. Thanks Stumble.
What a bummer all around.
Emailing your client list is pretty low. There is really no excuse for that – no matter what you’ve done.
I can see this company going the same way eperks did (down the pan by their own hand). Peak studios sound like a fun keyword to attempt to rank for. Come guest blog for me if you want.
I would love to get my hands on this guy for you Scott if I lived in Denver. Friggin class act #%##face. How the hell you gonna spam someone’s forum and threaten them. What a friggin joke.
Anybody can spam anything, and i’m not gonna care, but it was the irony of spamming a search forum with search services, then not seeing the stupidity, then leaving the fake reviews for us that cinched the deal, that told me they weren’t “all there”.
Spamming is on the increasing fashion. But spamming the search services and leaving us with fake reviews is very bad.
Talk about “wonderful” morals and ethics. Seriously, impo, I would not waste my time of them, but hey… life’s too short not to have some fun as it were. I agree emailing someone elses clients, and saying you suck really is pretty pathetic…
Who in their right mind would continue this and drag their own name through the mud for this long, it makes no sense to put more damaging info out there about yourself or someones stupid mistake or deliberate act…
I bet the guy that did that forum post got promoted too…lol knowing how things work in today’s society.
Thanks – I’m pretty much over it, and I lost no clients due to their emails, and actually re-engaged with one from long ago, so i guess I’m done ranting until they come at me again…
Showing the difference in SEO white hat vs. black hat? LOL
http://peakstudios.com/company/ this says is all, in the flash header on this page it says: “Assert Your Web Presence!”
I think they have taken “assert” to whole new level.
It is important that companies that are negative, spammy, or just down right malicious be called out, so “props” to Scott on this one. Let this be a lesson to others who use “spammy” black hat SEO strategies.
Also, you should always be sure that anything you send, be it an email or posting on the web that you are sure it is professional and ethical. As Scott has shown, it could come back and bite you! π
I know your temper Scott and it was funny to see it in full force here with good reason. I am totally behind you buddy, physically and mentally. I have got your back!
Oh that’s hilarious – they even spelled “pressence” wrong! LOL
OMG, I didn’t even pay attention to that! Hilarious…so true!
After reading your post I sent Peak Studios an email telling them how stupid they were they sent me back a full copy of all email between you and them. It really seems like they were trying to be the nice guys and you were just had it out for them for over a year now. I don’t know that what they said to you was right thing but I don’t blame them either. Also I found this post a bit misleading after reading all of your emails and hearing your phone message that they attached(a bit more nasty than I would have imagined).
Joe
You’re entitled to your opinion Joe, but I can only assume that they didn’t give you all the emails if you think this is at all misleading.
Also, as far as the nasty voicemail goes, yeah, it was bad, but after they left fake negative reviews on my business profile and on the profiles of 5 other SEMpdx board members, I was feeling pretty nasty.
Ya the above is misleading to me cause you didn’t even place your last email to them in the email string. When reading through the actual email string without your comments i noticed the threats more were coming from you. They even sent me a screen shot of themselves posting comments on this page which you never published, though you said you would? I am confused why didn’t you allow their comments after you expressly said you would and claimed to never have not aloud them. I guess I feel like after reading the fully disclosed story, or should i say partially disclosed but from both sides, that there is a bunch of information you are misrepresenting to make them look horrible and make your self look good. If you are so confident that you are in the right then why hide any of the details?
Also I took a look at the emails again and I only saw complaints from your side about a post on your listing and Sempdx not 5 other board members.
I think others should ask for copies of the emails from them before assuming they or you are right.
Not sure what my “last email” was, but it might have been after I posted here. If I had it, I’d add it, for transparency sake, and feel free to add it here in a comment. In fact, you’re free to post whatever you like here that they sent you and I’ll approve that too. Everything is unedited here…
Fair enough for you to wonder why I’d not “allow” their comments, but I assure you they’re lying. No comment was submitted here by them that I ever saw, EVER. Feel free to tell them to post it again, or they can poost on their blog and i’ll quote the text here if they really do it. There’s NO WAY I wouldn’t welcome their comments, so I’m not sure what to say.
Yeah well it’s not surprising they left out all the other board member emails, and their lawsuit threats, when they were initially trying to drill some sense into ’em. Not sure what to say, and not all that concerned. This is more about their emailing my clients now, so yeah, I do have a vendetta / axe to grind.
People can just contact them and I’m sure they will be more than happy to send out a copy of all the emails.
I’m out of here before you try to come after me to for disagreeing with both sides.
This all stemmed from two posts and you immediately attacking them. Then they didn’t let you bully them around.
After that you asking your other board members at Sempdx to help attack them….of course they are going to fight back. You’re trying to ruin their name with black hat SEO such as misleading links that use their name and link to another site of yours. Making a bunch of sites and rewriting the same article to increase linking between your sites and make it look like a bigger deal than it is. Having your friends and/or board members post comments on all of your blogs and so on…
Good luck Scott I would have dropped this subject long ago when they offered to remove the negative review.
Did you forget (or not realize?) that I HAD dropped the whole damn thing for over a year, but out of nowhere they came at me hard with the blackmail thing? You’re certainly entitled to your opinion though, and thanks for sharing…
I would just post all the emails, etc and let people decide
I would too – and I DID post everything I have – I know of nothing else…
I find it hard to believe they would do this?!? Don’t they understand that a proper view needs to be balanced to be credible.
I agree with Wendy’s comment above about, what we call in Australia, giving them ‘enough rope’… to hang themselves, but I also think what you’re doing is not only right but admirable. Hang in there mate.
Thanks for the support, but I’m pretty much over it. My desire to own 9 of the top 10 listings has dwindled, and unless I get more threats or flak from them, I’ll be content with just a couple listings on page 1 for their name and not pursue it. … π
now there is a post you dont see everyday… its interesting yet somewhat scary…. LOL! i wount think of messing with these guyz even in my dreams…. very nice post thanks….
http://cheapairtravelpackages.com/destinations/italy/tuscany_italy.html
More info on Peak, they are located at the same place ChemDry of Boulder is caue the owner of ChemDry of Boulder happens to have the dirt bag Jeremy as his Son, he is a weasle, also have had a few run ins with him about 2 years ago my self.. Its time everyone that has been effected by this guy to get together and sue him for damages.
Is it just me, or did anyone else notice that Joe Ponicilli misspells “because” the same way Jeremy did in his emails? That’s pretty coincidental given the topic and activity being described. Could they be one in the same? Things that make you go hhhmmmmm?!
Great post Garry! but how did you realized the comments?
I agree with Wendyβs comment above about, what we call in Australia, giving them βenough ropeββ¦ to hang themselves, but I also think what youβre doing is not only right but admirable
The Keith Kirchner. How would this Boulder real estate agent feel if he knew what his retained SEO company was doing!!
I am amazed and appalled at the actions taken by all parties including those commenting on this post. Everyone seems to be in an uproar from what I have read is a misunderstanding.
Everything I see here is just guys posturing, but I believe Scott has been the most unprofessional. If he would have just taken down the post about peak then none of this would have escalated. Unfortunately since he says this has not impacted his income and done no damage, hopefully peak has had no damages done as well. Just saying that maybe you scott should remove the posts and be done with it.
You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but this is why I’m standing by my decision to leave it up…
Yes Scott I agree with you sometimes you have to stick with your decisions whatever be the matter.
DEFINITELY leave this post and the original up. Thanks for calling them out.
Scott, this has to be the most epic seo callout series ever. What more could we ask for? You even have video proof of fake google places comments (which has become far too common across multiple shady seo companies). For me, its certainly more entertaining than the recent JCpenny/overstock callout and even more hilarious than that cc’d email sent to the top 50 Best Seos that Rand from seomoz reported a couple years back. Thanks for the laughs.
I’m glad it was good for a few laughs. Oh it got me was two
copyright warnings on my youtube account after peak studios complained..
So proud of you for not backing down to all the threats. When they first spammed the SEMpdx forum, I was sure they would graciously remove the spam and get on with their day, no such luck for them. Thanks for taking this on, I know it’s been a hassle. That’s why your the Search Commander;)
I am really glad his efforts at making you back down yielded no fruits. I guess this is whitehat vs. blackhat seo personified π . I followed the entire conversation thread and sure did have a very good laugh! But seriously Scott, thanks.