RipOff Report and Google

[RepairsUniverse]

This post is deleted!

[DanielFreedman]

Ah, yes...Ripoff Report, the bane of my existence. I could tell stories....

But it's not quite true to say the reports are bogus. It would be more accurate to say those who submit reports are the unwitting accomplices of a scheme that falls short of illegality -- or even spam.

The reports are "legit" in the sense that they are the honest expressions of a real person's opinion -- however ill-founded. These reports can be made to disappear (or be downplayed) for a price that masquerades as a "mediation service."

It's actually diabolically clever in a Dr. Evil sort of way.

As to why Google hasn't de-listed Ripoff Report...well, it takes a lot for Google to take such a drastic step: advocating violence or crime for example. But Ripoff Report is doing nothing illegal.

So I'm guessing Google is reluctant to set itself up as an adjudicator of editorial standards. Such a stance runs counter to its corporate DNA. And there may be liability and other legal issues.

Make no mistake: I think what Ripoff Report does is despicable.

And i also  think the Better Business Bureau operates an older and more sophisticated version of the same "pay or be damned" scheme. I expressed my views here

http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/the-best-link-your-clients-may-be-missing-12889of

And I got very little support. Most people disagreed or had no idea what I was talking about.

So don't count on Google to be the standards police. If you get hit with Ripoff Report, you have to take your own countermeasures to push the negative reports down.

If the other kids on the playground are being mean, running to Mommy doesn't always work. Mommy may be busy with other stuff or think it's not her job to get involved.

[TinaGammon]

"And i also  think the Better Business Bureau operates an older and more sophisticated version of the same "pay or be damned" scheme. I expressed my views here

http://www.seomoz.org/ugc/the-best-link-your-clients-may-be-missing-12889

And I got very little support. Most people disagreed or had no idea what I was talking about."

I read that whole post, and the feedback in the comments area. Funny how most of the people rooting for the BBB were members with a total of 1, or 2 posts. The BBB contacted us when we first started they wanted over 1000.00 a yr for their service.

We kindly turned them down, and they gave us a C- rating. Fast forward 7 yrs with zero complaints, and still a C- rating while our competitor that paid the fee had an A+. Our competitor also had  "166 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years | 56 closed in last 12 months".

I just checked it and it seems now we have been demoted to a no rating? It seems companies that don't pay are not even ranked now.

Here are some unusual rankings

Bestbuy.com 9571 cases closed with BBB in last 3 years | 3380 closed in last 12 months A+

http://www.bbb.org/minnesota/business-reviews/electronic-equipment-and-supplies-dealers/best-buy-stores-lp-us-headquarters-in-richfield-mn-7663

However, Verison is not accredited and has only 2 cases closed with BBB in last 3 years | 1 closed in last 12 months A-

http://www.bbb.org/eastern-michigan/business-reviews/product-sales-general/verison-in-jackson-mi-54001392

How does the company with 9568 more cases have a better score pretty simple they buy it! I wish I would have been around when that blog was posted I would have gladly been on your side.

The 20/20 video was spot on if you pay you get an A. If you don't pay your businesses reputation is held hostage. We contacted them after receiving our C- and asked if their was anything we could do to improve it, and was told "yes become a member."

[TinaGammon]

Personally I believe it is an outdated approach that will be changed over the next few years. I think Google, and Bing tried to establish a system early on that would allow positive, and negative reviews to rank higher in the serps, and as the majority of webmasters, and bad seos,  spammed the positive stuff it was demoted through the years. This eventually gave the negative sites the advantage, and sites like Rip off reports flourished.

One of the easiest ways to rank a site for a keyword is to buy the sucks version of the keyword. Take Pay Pal for example one of the largest payment processors in the world with millions of backlinks but when you Google Pay Pal you will also find the Pay Pal sucks site. https://www.google.com/search?q=PAY+PAL&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a