Oops it appears I am being sued (threatened with a law suit / court case) for Defamation and Libel. Apparently some company thinks an article I wrote slamming a crap seo company was about them.

I didn’t actually name the company in question in the article, and I won’t link to the article in question on the Hobo Web site, and I won’t at this time confirm if the article was about them but i basically stated I thought the company in question was, in my opinion, using fairly primitive (OK the word I used was “incompetent) seo techniques, and in my (very niave, perhaps) opinion, quite ********* business practices. This has lead to my current situation.

Relying on ignorance of seo rather than expertise of seo, to make money, I think was the gist of the article. Returned from my holiday and there it was. DEFAMATION! No warning, no contact, no correspondence on the blog from them (they could have got a free link there!)

  • A friend’s reaction was “I thought everybody new you where a cheeky bastard”. He’s a policeman.
  • Another friend said “….but you didn’t actually name the company???”. He’s an MP.
  • Another friend asked “what’s an seo?”. He’s a waster (good friend none the less).

So I’ve just let my all my clients know. They have a right to know, after all, and it’s in line with a very transparent business model we run at my seo company, Hobo. I’ve not yet been able to contact all my clients, but i know they read my blog from time to time, so I wanted everybody to know, rightly or wrongly, so there’s no misunderstanding. I think I am getting sued because I said they were unethical, nothing to do with our business practices.

I’m very tempted to reprint the entire letter I got at the bottom of the said article, but I’m taking legal advice first, and of course that would name a company in that article. I’m also very tempted to go toe to toe over my right to saying something is crap when it obviously is, in my opinion. I may be forced to withdraw the article and issue a heartfelt appology. Who knows, even this post might dissappear. In the end I’ll need to think about the reputation of my company and the people who work with me. I don’t give a fuck what people think about me, as long as everybody gets it I love online marketing.

The thought of going down in a blaze of glory, is somewhat strangely, very appealing. Taking a crap seo company (in my own opinion) down with me doesnt make me lose any sleep either. Causing innocent bystanders grief and stress, I’m not too keen on that bit.
I’ve not got anything against said company but I do have clients they used to have. I do have an obvious competitor relationship, but in an industry plagued with ineffective and secretive seo firms the aim of my company is to stand well outside this ring of cowboys and be counted alongside the ethical seo companies out there. We don’t spam, we don’t cold call, we don’t rely on an ignorance of seo client-side to make money. Maybe I am niave but this is how I have chose to market ourselves. Time will tell if I have made a mistake to learn a lot from.

PS - If you work for said SEO company, don’t consider anything I say as a personal insult to you. I’m talking about a specific strategy that must have come from the top as it is being sold on and on. Some of you may be very talented, and I’m sorry for the grief i am undoubtedly about to cause you.

I’m also not even talking about unethical seo as such, if there really is such a thing. I’m talking about unethical business practices.

More as I get it.

Any libel lawyers in the house wanting to give your support then please get in touch

(Edited by Michael Bonnar)

Michael, you are a *****

(Edited by Shaun) :)
Oops edited again seeing as I got sphinned! Thanks Andy! I will try and keep the language to a minimum good standard next time. :)

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