| LED Digest 2288: SEO Legal Battles |
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================================================== The LED Digest Moderated Discussion List "Effective Online Advertising, Since 1997" Data > Information > Knowledge > Wisdom pair Networks: The LED's Web Host Hosting and Domain Registration from a Trusted Leader pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains ================================================== List Moderator: Published by: Adam Audette LED Digest adam, led-digest.com http://www.led-digest.com .............................................. November 14, 2006 Issue no. 2288 .............................................. .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== CONTINUING ================= --== Getting Sued for SEO Work ==-- ~ Dina Beach Lynch "Which will be more costly overall...?" ~ John Smart "...I realized in my case what it came down to - dollars and cents." ~ Eva Rosenberg "Can you counter-sue claiming this is a frivolous lawsuit?" ~ Bob Huntsman "...being on solid legal ground does you no good unless you defend and assert your rights." --== Web Accelerator and Traffic Stats ==-- ~ Viggie Bala "...there can be a perceived delay for jaded web surfers..." --== Booted from AdSense for Click Fraud ==-- ~ Chris Nielsen "I had a simular experience with Chitika..." --== HTML Editors ==-- ~ Kathy Wilson "All you need do is have a quick chat with a decent web development firm..." ==== BILLBOARD =================== --== Make My Site Faster [was: Web Accelerators] ==-- ~ Mark Abouzeid ======== CONTINUING =============================== From: Dina Lynch Subject: Sued over SEO > Apparently I am being sued by a previous client because I have > performed SEO duties for their competitor(s) and given them higher > listings on SERPs that my previous client used to dominate... - Anonymous, LED Digest 2286 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1342/55/ Dear Sued, Let me ask you a question. Which will be more costly overall: paying for the attorney who can possible resolve things without litigation or going it alone and possibly being subject to higher costs? I definitely hear your concerns around budget; I recently hired a new business attorney to redraft my contracts and it was pricey. However, I know that had I simply done the drafting myself (I'm a recovered attorney) I would have missed several key points that ultimately protect me. It saves both your time and money to invest in a professional. I'm sorry that you have to deal with this matter, and thank you for reminding all of us how important contracts and indemnity clauses and such can be to a small business. Good luck. Best, Dina Beach Lynch, Mediator, Business Mensch ADRPracticebuilder.com -------- new post - same topic -------- From: John Smart Subject: Sued over SEO This is not legal advice, I am not a lawyer, and am probably hugely under qualified to make this post. I was in a situation not too dissimilar to yours, and I realized in my case what it came down to... dollars and cents. I had to evaluate cutting my losses and losing the money against fighting for what is right. These things can be very stressful, it costs more than money to be in a legal fight. I created a web site, and posted all the documentation on it -- avoiding any chance of slander, if something was "grey" (he said this to me on the phone) I excluded it. I only included e-Mail / printed materials, and photographs (it wasn't identical to your case, just similar). I then sent them a mail, calmly explaining my stand, and stating all the facts again. I finished by saying where I would be sending press releases covering the story (local papers, their suppliers, contractors, BBB, chamber of commerce, etc) detailing their frivolous law suit. I got a non disclosure agreement which I signed (which is why I have to be so vague here) and that was the end of the matter. Of course, I did in all the above point out that the site I created would always be one place above them in Google! In the final negotiations, their CFO called me some very nasty things, and told me I was blackmailing him. I said that I was just telling people the truth about his company, and whenever people tell other people the truth about my company, I get more business -- which says a lot more about his company than it does about me. It is a game -- we are playing chess. Can you win? Can you make the right moves? Or are you better off paying your way out? Depending on what they are after, you may be better off paying them off, but have a lawyer create a document that ensures this is the end of it -- if you are an "easy touch" they may just sue you again next month when they are still behind your other clients. Sadly, there is a lesson for us all here. I have always done business on a handshake, but in this day and age, we need contracts stating obligations and expectations. It really saddens me, I like to be trusted, and I like to trust. But in this world, we have to wrap ourselves in contracts. I hope that helps, again, do remember the source -- I am not a lawyer, and although the above worked for me, it may make things worse for you -- I truly am unqualified to say. John Smart InternetDesign.com - A Human Touch in a Digital World -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Eva Rosenberg Subject: Sued over SEO You know that if you go to court, you will win. So if you go ahead and let them sue you.... a) What will it cost you to go to court, in person, in their geographic area? Yes, their location, because even though the work was done in your town, the work was specifically localize to their town. The court will probably not accept a claim that they don't have jurisdiction. UNLESS they signed a contract with you that spells out the jurisdiction where suits will be brought. (You may want to start including that in your contracts, sigh...) b) How much time and money will you lose by wasting time on this, fuming and being distracted from other work? c) Can you counter-sue claiming this is a frivolous lawsuit? And what are the damages for that? d) When you do win, will you be able collect costs and damages from your client? On the other hand, the best way to settle is do some more work for them - which I don't think you EVER want to do again. So, your last option is - what do they want? How much money do they want from you? If it's comparatively cheap - settle and pay them off and have your attorney write up a permanent release of all claims, now and forever. And include a confidentiality clause preventing them from revealing the terms of your arrangement - or even that there was one. With penalties if they breach that clause. With the jurisdiction to sue, being in your area. Yes, I know it's offensive, insulting and you don't want to encourage this kind of irresponsible, immature behavior. They didn't do a thing for years and now it's YOUR fault. Fools! If they want way too much, go to court, and bring your counter-suit for everything you can think of, so it's not an utter waste of your time. I am not an attorney. Just someone who understands the value of time and peace of mind. Good luck! Eva Rosenberg TaxMama.com - A daily cure for your tax blues http://www.taxmama.com/taxquips P.S. Please vote for TaxMama in StartUpNation.com's current Elevator Pitch Contest - pretty please! -------- new post - same topic -------- From: Bob Huntsman Subject: Sued over SEO > Every incoming job is required to sign a non-compete > so I can work for their potential competitors, too... As a general rule, you are allowed to take on competing clients, unless you contractually agreed not to do so, so unless your are in a state from hell you are probably on legally solid ground. However, being on solid legal ground does you no good at all unless you defend and assert your rights. Without knowing the text of your non compete, the exact cause of action you are being sued for, what state you are in, and additional facts not included in your post, it is difficult to "opine" with any certainty. Speaking generally, your non-complete was a smart idea and is supposed to curtail this sort of thing. Unfortunately, the U.S. legal system allows anyone to bring suit for just about anything, and you have to defend, even with a rock solid defense. Many states (but not all) provide for a recovery of attorneys fees for the prevailing party for certain types of suits, but the problem with such provisions is you are required, at least, to (1) litigate, (2) win (3) not settle, and (4) have the other side not go bankrupt, to collect. Whether you should defend or not is a primarily a difficult business decision, but I personally would be hard pressed to "settle" and compromise my livelihood under the circumstances you have described. Bob Huntsman Registered Patent Attorney & Attorney At Law law, bobhuntsman.com -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Viggie Bala Subject: Web Accelerator > Apparently 4 seconds is the "magic threshold" > where enough-is-enough and people click away > from a page... for me 4 seconds is nothing... > 60-80 seconds is more like my pain threshold. - Nathan Holley, LED Digest 2285 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1327/55/ On theory 4 seconds seems too short. But there can be a perceived delay for jaded web surfers who spend more time on the web. Recently I had a slightly unrelated experience on time duration. We had a new 'un-interruptible power supply (UPS)' installed. Everyday when we switch it on, it gave a long beep for about a minute. It's an irritating thing to hear at the start of the day. After trying to live with it for a few days, I decided to complain to the manufacturer. Before doing so, I tried to guess the actual duration of that beep. On thinking over the duration, it seemed that 1 minute is too long, perhaps it gives a beep for about half-a-minute. Anyway I decided to measure the time the next day, so that I can complain factually. The next day I measured the seconds when switching on the thing. That irritating beep actually lasts only 3 seconds! But even after knowing that it is only 3 seconds, it seemed like too long to bear when I hear it everyday. I am not a restless teenage lad. I usually immerse on the web for hours. But still, that 4 seconds delay might look like 60 seconds when I'm looking for info in a hurry. Hope this helps. Viggie Bala Helping websites to work http://www.viggie.com -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Chris Nielsen Subject: Booted by AdSense > [Google's] appeal mechanism requires you to provide > specific details about the site that generated the invalid > clicks - a classic catch 22 situation. - Paul Johnston, LED Digest 2286 I'm a big fan of Google and sad to hear you have been put in this situation, assuming that you are innocent. I had a simular experience with Chitika, after hearing about how well their innovative ads were working for some people. I put their ads on a number of our sites and started to see some pretty good results. Then, in about a month after earning less than $100 I was notified as you were that their had been some kind of problem and they were dropping me. I too, could not get a clear answer from them on what had happened and I offered to send them my site logs and cooperate in any way I could to help them (and me) understand how this could have happened. I dogged them with messages and phone calls for 3 months! At first, I wanted to defend myself, since I hate any kind of fraud. Then I was angry that they treated me as the one committing the fraud. I finally gave up and now just tell my story whenever given the chance. I would persist and not let Google get away with treating you like the one that is doing something wrong. They need to work with honest site owners, not against them. If a site owner is not doing anything wrong, then Google needs to work with them to try and solve whatever the problem is. But after my experience with Chitka, I doubt I would spend as much time and energy to help Google avoid this kind of mistake. There are other ad networks out there and I'm sure they would be happy to place ads on another site. We have a few sites that let people know they can place ads on our site directly and this has started to work pretty well. That may also be a good option for you. Good luck, Chris Nielsen http://www.mnfd.com -------- new post - new topic -------- From: Kathy Wilson Subject: HTML editors > Does anyone know a good website editor? - Mary Findley, LED Digest 2284 - http://www.led-digest.com/content/view/1326/55/ All you should need do is have a quick chat with a decent web development firm and then let them set it up so you can edit the pages you need to via a secure admin system you can access from anywhere in the world. If your website developer / designer isn't willing or capable of offering this type of service, there's a very easy to use program available from the same people who brought you Dreamweaver. It's called Contribute and allows you to make text changes, insert pictures, and create links. Several of my website clients use it and love it, and none of them are "techie". Although Adobe bought out Macromedia, they still offer this fine program. You can download it and try it out for 30 days to see if you like it. Purchase price is $149: http://www.adobe.com/products/contribute/ Love, Kathy Wilson http://www.under-one-roof.net Life Purpose Coaching ~ Spiritual Teaching ~ Vibrational Healing ==== BILLBOARD =================================== From: Mark Abouzeid Subject: Make My Site Faster [was: Web Accelerator] > ... I wondered if someone would be prepared to take a > look at my website and advise me how to make it load faster. - Val Waldeck, LED Digest 2286 Waldeck, in his request for suggestions on how to make his site load faster, gave the perfect example fo why not to use FrontPage and why webaccelerators are not necessary if you code correctly. I took a look at the website and it's source code. It is a relatively simple site that could be accomplished with very little code assuming good CSS. However, it is bloated with FrontPage additions and uses images far too often to accomplish what text and CSS can do just as effectively. This would also make it much more visible to search engines. I won't go into a deep critique but highlight this example to bring us all back to basics... I don't fix my own car, nor build my own store... so why does everyone believe they can build their own website as well as a professional? Mark Abouzeid http://markabouzeid.com/ ------------------------------------------------------- The LED Digest is sponsored by pair Networks: pair.com for Hosting | pairNIC.com for Domains Copyright 1995-2006 Orange Wheel, LLC. All Rights Reserved. ----------------------------------------------------------------- "Unity is power." - Arabic proverb |
