JustSearch Caught Short Causing SEO Forum Frenzy

Posted Friday 10th July 2009 by Tobias in SEM News.

Manchester based SEO agency Just Search found themselves in a sticky situation on Wednesday. One of their SEO specialists logged into the Google Webmaster forum and posted a request for help on one of their prospective client’s websites. Using the login name Gary, the Just Search employee posted the url of the client diydoctor.org.uk, voicing his concern as they had dropped from the rankings after 7 years on page 1 for the keyphrase ‘DIY’.

Gary listed what he thought was wrong with the site and then there was some back and forth with a seasoned webmasters member called Ashley. Gary and Ashley discussed a superficial analysis of the site then Gary finished by saying, “… I personally don’t think this will get them their rankings back.” Little did either of them know that this would be one of the most virulent and popular threads in Google webmaster forum history.

Elsewhere on the site a new thread was created asking for help using the same DIY doctor url. Assuming the new user gardnico1307 was starting multiple threads, Ashley directed him back to the original thread. Much to the amusement of other forum users, it turned out that gardnico1307 was Mike Edwards, the MD of DIY Doctor and had been quoted up to GBP5000 by Just Search for a website audit.

Mike Edwards was understandably perturbed due the fact that Gary had sought free advice on a forum when he was supposed to be an SEO specialist and that Just Search were prepared to charge 5K for a service which Gary did not ultimately think would benefit the rankings. He unequivocally stated, “From where I stand this is pretty despicable behaviour and not what I would expect from a ‘professional’ SEO company.”

After this searing condemnation of the search engine optimisation company, unsurprisingly we heard nothing further from their representative Gary. By now news of the blunder had spread virally across blogs and social networks such as Twitter.

Then in an unprecedented influx of new users, the forum was inundated with people responding to the Just Search bungle. Mike Edwards suddenly found himself the target of a shower of accusations regarding his intensions and integrity. He was at one point described as a ‘marketing troll’ and grilled about the profitability of his website.

He took most of it in stride although he finished his posts saying, “I have been called a Troll, virtually accused of exploitation and lies and my website has been called rubbish. All by people I have never met in my life and hope to God I never have to.”

He did receive some valuable consultancy from senior webmaster forum users which he is now planning to implement and he also stated that from a marketing point of view he was pleased with the viral response to the Just Search cock-up. “…, as a marketer I cannot say I’m deeply unhappy about the viral publicity this problem has caused. I really wish I could claim it was part of my DIY Doctor marketing plan and pat myself on the back for it.”

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