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In Content Chemistry, there is a story of how a company hired a PR firm to launch their new website. The firm got the site blacklisted. Learn what happened....
Rather than write an original news release, though, the PR firm simply copied the text from the website’s home page and submitted it to the online newswires. Oh yes. They copied the text from the website’s home page as their “news release” (I seriously hate PR people sometimes; more on that here).
What is wrong with people? Can you imagine paying for a PR firm to do that? I’d be furious. But I’d be even more furious when I discovered what happened next. Because the wires automatically post to websites around the globe, within minutes there were more than 1,000 instances of that home page content on the web.
Duplicate content is a big no-no for the Google algorithms, So the site was flagged as likely spam and they blacklisted the domain. Suddenly the website dropped from search results, even when you typed in the exact company name....
Via Jeff Domansky
What You Don't Know Can Kill Your Website
This story demonstrates two of my favorite Internet marketing points:
* There are no more than 1,000 people in the world capable of making millions online.
* Stupid is as stupid does.
The second bullet may feel like a tautology, a circular truth, but there is enough blame to go around here. Sure the PR agency should be SHOT but so should the IT group, the marketing team and even the customer service team.
Any job that is outward facing must know SEO basics, and all of the authors who've been pounding the "SEO is dead" drum need to read this article. SEO is not so dead that a mistake can't get your site in Google jail, so not dead at all.
Here is how your website can avoid such a mess:
* PR Releases are NEVER copied to your website UNLESS they are in a "no follow" zone (an area your IT tem prohibits search engine spiders from reading).
* Safer to simply BAN any wire release from your website always.
* If the content of the release is valuable REWRITE IT (even though I am not a fan of using PR newswire content on my websites).
* If there is any doubt then the content in doubt is duplicate and should be removed or rewritten.
* SEO Press releases are, much like email marketing, LIVE AMMUNITION so proceed with extreme caution.
* Vet anyone touching anything on or about your website.
This last bullet is TOO IMPORTANT to skip over. If you don't know SEO as well as you would like HIRE SOMEONE to help with vetting of a PR agency, content writer or web designer. I've been an Internet marketer for more than 12 years and can vet SEO TRUTH from FALSEHOODS very fast.
If you can't do the same HIRE ME or someone like me to help vet those about to babysit your website. Least you think I am shilling for work I will do any such vetting FREE OF CHARGE (but subject to my availability which is getting less and less every day).
I already have more work than I can handle (just about), but it takes me 5 minutes to know if someone about to mess with your website knows their stuff, so sent me an email (Martin.Smith(at)Atlanticbt.com) and I will be glad to help.
Your website is the crown jewel of your brand. As your website goes so goes your company, so don't play with it, don't let strangers approach it and never let an idiot do something to it that can't be undone.
Great lesson and a bad PR, SEO outcome from a lazy PR firm.