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Cheers Evan, will DM

Cheers Chris. Something like that would be a good fallback plan, but in our case the referral and direct traffic is way more important than organic search. In the absence of any better solution and because we can't ditch the brand and all the non-SEO traffic we've decided to go down the cleanup route.  Even if it doesn't work it's better than sacrificing the referral and direct traffic the brand gets.  Sucks that there seems to be no better solution to this problem, it seems like a common issue.

Hi Matthew, Thanks for asking about MediaWhiz SEO (formerly TLA). As you may have heard, we recently rebranded as part of the larger brand consolidation initiative at our parent company, MediaWhiz. You can read all about that initiative, and why we made the brand change from TLA to MediaWhiz SEO, here in Search Engine Journal: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/embracing-change-in-seo-goodbye-tla-hello-mediawhiz-seo/65421/ Bottom line: much like the rest of the SEO industry, we are evolving as a business, and our product model is evolving as well. If you’d like to know more about our evolution from TLA to MediaWhiz SEO and what we are up to, please feel free to email me at bboser@mediawhiz.com. I look forward to hearing from you. Brock Boser Senior Vice President MediaWhiz SEO

I agree with Moosa that it's likely not a problem. That said, I think it can be a problem when the "chrome" of closely related sites start linking together aggressively. One tactics spammers use in link networks is using the same content templates again and again, and I wouldn't be surprised if Google used this in their detection algorithms. On the other hand, Google has also said they look at site structure and design elements when determining if sites on separate subdomains (but the same root domain) should be considered part of the same site for ranking/link purposes. Regardless, in your case I think you should have little to worry about.

Some good responses there, thanks everyone.

"in a case like this is it sensible to preemptively remove the links with the disavow tool?" Once again, the Disavow tool was offered as a last resort by Google. Many webmasters seem frustrated the tool is not working as they expected, and the issue is typically they ignored Google's instructions for the tool's usage. Prior to using the Disavow tool, you need to make an exhaustive effort to remove the links. Send a polite letter to the WHOIS address for the domain explaining the problem and identifying specific links from that domain which are pointing to your site. If there is no response within 3 days, send the same letter to an email address found on the site itself. If you still do not receive a response, check for a Contact Form on the site. Try to learn what is going on with the site. Ask site owners how these links were created. It surely can be the result of negative SEO, but in the overwhelming majority of cases I have worked with, it is either the client or an agent acting on behalf of the client. Try digging a little deeper.

According to ShareThis, the plugin should interface directly with GA, but the data we're getting doesn't match up at all. Has anyone else had similar issues?

Thanks John!

Optimizing a flash website is like fighting a boxing match with one hand tied behind your back. You could do it, but why not go the easier route!?

Thanks so much for the recommendation EGOL. Matthew, I've sent you a p.m.  I'd love to help.

I guess an approach like mozcast would be the most indicated, X amount of terms/webpages that have an associated domain/page authority and author associated and you need to monitor how that shows in page rankings. I am not aware of how Klout or similar services score their users or even if they leave it open.