back to article Let's go ARM wrestling with an SEO link spammer

Many times a week we get emails from SEO link spamming bunnies asking us to add links to Reg stories, often many years old. We always say no - and mark as spam. Some get it hilariously wrong: here is an example from today’s mail-bag, inspired by our August 2016 article entitled "Little ARMs pump 2,048-bit muscles in training …

  1. Craig McGill 1

    Heh. That is a belter - but are you saying that legit SEO types also shouldn't bother getting in touch asking for a link as well?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      >legit SEO types

      That's a thing?

      1. Frank Bitterlich
        Angel

        Sure is...

        Of course there are legit SEO firms. They promise that in every single spam interesting offer they send me!

      2. Wibble

        >>legit SEO types

        >That's a thing?

        An Oxymoron?

  2. frank ly

    At various times in the past, El Reg has published articles involving the 'love muscle' (of both sexes). Have you had any SEO contact about those?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Wow.

    I will now sacrifice my account reputation for the purposes of pop science.

    Click thumbs up if you believe that google would associate a link from "el Reg" on ARM processors with biceps and give them a higher page rank.

    Click thumbs down if you believe that the google algorithm is smarter than the SEO spammer that wrote the original email.

    (Yes I could have reversed the questions and what I suspect the outcome to be, but it's only a forum)

    1. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

      Re: Wow.

      No judgment on Google, but the SEO who may have Googled himself onto the Reg's page did also have the "muscle" of the ARM processor, as mentioned, to attract him.

      Anyway, isn't there still plenty of room on Reg's pages for proper paid-for advertising?

      I say Reg tried the shake-down on Patrick and he didn't go for it.

    2. BristolBachelor Gold badge

      Re: Wow.

      I would like to think that the Google bot is cleverer, but my experience with Google search results suggests otherwise. Whatever happened to the planned Chrome feature where I could flag websites as SEO spam and never see then in search results again?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Stop

        I'll bet the email the Reg received was automated

        If so, it used a search engine to find the article. What's the search engine SEOs target? So I think it is in fact likely that Google's algorithm was dumb enough to find that article, because how else do you think the SEO found it to send the email to the Reg? Certainly they don't have a person reading all the Reg articles looking for ones applicable to their customers.

        1. Mark 85

          Re: I'll bet the email the Reg received was automated

          Certainly they don't have a person reading all the Reg articles looking for ones applicable to their customers.

          Maybe not knowingly... but the site developer might and possible he forwarded it as a gag... or it's just another round of Stupid Human Tricks*.

          *Apologies for David Letterman.

      2. Keven E

        Re: Wow.

        "Whatever happened to the planned Chrome feature where I could flag websites as SEO spam and never see then in search results again?"

        Methinks the *blacklist would soon outpace the delivered... leaving the term "search" in the dust... morphing into an "ignore engine".

  4. Adrian Jones

    You didn't even ask for a picture of Wil Wheaton collating paper?

  5. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Why are you surprised?

    I am the main editor at [website promoting bodybuilder supplements].

    I thought you know what these do to your brain...

  6. DCFusor
    Thumb Up

    An even better one....

    Ken White at popehat, just the other day. Oh, my sides!

    https://www.popehat.com/2017/01/06/theres-a-pony-born-every-minute/

    Excellent troll of a troll.

    1. Mike Pellatt

      Re: An even better one....

      Oi !!! I was going to link to the estimable Mr. White's hilarious conversations with the usually-deaf.

      But I hadn't seen that one. Hilarious. And he managed to avoid any mention of ponies until his second email.

  7. disgruntled yank

    On the other hand

    The ads to the side of your story ask whether I can squat or dead-lift my body weight. (No.)

    1. BongoJoe

      Re: On the other hand

      I can squat my body weight after an evening of dodgy beer and curry...

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not very bright

    I get these every so often, including one which sends a follow up every month or so "in case I'd missed" the previous one. Except that the reply/return address bounces... making the whole SEO-spamming exercise even more pointless, because I couldn't engage even if I was gullible enough to want to.

  9. Mike 16

    Targetted ads

    Can't say for Google Search (as I use other engines), but I noticed a few years ago that a gmail thread on functional programming was decorated with ads for kilts and bagpipe lessons. I have to assume that some "too clever by half" algorithm at the big G had done

    FP -> Haskell -> Glasgow -> Scotland -> Scottish cliches

    At least they didn't try to pitch me on Haggis

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