LinksHog (Nate Figueroa) Thinks I'm a Plastic Surgeon

A company who’s domain is linkshog.com

has been spamming my clients. Here’s why I call it spam versus just unsolicited email (I’m not averse to well done unsolicited email).

  1. They clearly have no human review
  2. The search phrases they call out are inappropriate
  3. In a few instances they’ve been wrong (telling one of my “New Orleans Chiropractors” that he was in position 18 instead of position 4)
  4. They’re offering inclusion in some sort of link-network (clearly not good SEO)

For instance, I got an email because Search Influence ranks on page 2 of Google for “New Orleans Plastic Surgery”

I wouldn’t be so quick to call them out, but this is at least the 5th copy of this email I remember having seen from different clients. In 3 of the 5 instances they were highlighting inappropriate search phrases and in another misrepresenting the position.

And I’ve seen a dozen others with text similar enough to make me think they’re using different company names for the same offer.
Hey Links Hog, please spend the extra $0.50 per contact and make sure you’re spamming the right target.

If you get a call from these guys please feel free to give us a call at (504) 208-3900 and we’ll be happy to tell you why this is not a good idea.
Message Follows:

Subject: I visited your website and had a question

Body: I was looking at websites under the keyword New Orleans Plastic Surgery and came across your website http://www.searchinfluence.com. I see that you’re not ranked on the first page of Google for a New Orleans Plastic Surgery search.

I’m not sure if you’re aware of why you’re ranked this low but more importantly how easily correctable this is.

There’s no reason you can’t have a top three ranking for the keyword New Orleans Plastic Surgery based on your site structure and content. You have a very nice site.

You need significantly more one way anchor text backlinks. If you’re interested I can help you with this…

I’m talking about getting you ranked for ALL your keywords. Adding new backlinks on a steady and consistent basis from high PR quality websites is what produces the rankings you are looking for http://www.searchinfluence.com .

The right kind of links are very critical in getting top ranking….and I can hand deliver these quality links to you.

My partners and I own 1000’s websites and offer private linking to hundreds of website owners just like yourself.

I didn’t send this email out to very many people but I am currently reaching out to a list of your “keyword competitors” as well. But I do favor your website because I can see your website monetizing the targeted website traffic the keyword New Orleans Plastic Surgery can deliver.

I have your contact information and phone number. Is it ok if I give you a call?

I have a very simple way to prove that what I do works and it’s risk free for you to try. Nothing beats seeing the results with your own eyes

Is it ok if I give you a call? I would love to pursue this further over the phone with you or should I go somewhere else?

Sincerely,

Nate Figueroa
(480) 445-9297
www.linkshog.com

P.S – If the tables were turned and somebody I didn’t know came to me with a proposition, even one that was appealing, I would be hesitant because I would be wondering – what’s the catch? What does this guy know that I don’t.

But then I would think he does know something that I don’t know. He does have thousands of high PR websites, he does have hundreds of thousands of pages indexed and ranking in Google Yahoo and MSN. Sites that can deliver the quality anchor text backlinks. I would also think that I need to get my website in the top rankings. And he is offering to turn key top rankings for me…on all my keywords including New Orleans Plastic Surgery. Even keywords I’m not currently competing for. Keywords that produce traffic that’s potentially worth tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars.

I emailed you because It’s a win -win for both of us. Think of it this way – Who wouldn’t be interested in buying money at a discount? Because that’s what I’ll be able to do offer you…Money at a discount.

Is it Ok to give you a call? Or you can can call me anytime at the number above?

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Author : Will Scott
Date: Thursday, May 8th, 2008

13 Responses to “LinksHog (Nate Figueroa) Thinks I'm a Plastic Surgeon”

  1. Local Hound Says:
    May 12th, 2008 at 3:41 pm

    The shame is that they probably get a lot of response from that email. Business owners are so hungry for information that they might respond to this sort of stuff…

    Gotta run… my packages for otc pharmaceuticals and deeper pleasure just arrived.

  2. Tom Says:
    May 27th, 2008 at 11:16 pm

    I just got the same email from linkshog.

  3. Freddy Says:
    June 3rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm

    I just got this email too…thanks for writing about it.

  4. Will Scott Says:
    June 10th, 2008 at 1:18 pm

    The following is in response to an email inquiry relative to this post and LinksHog.

    On Jun 10, 2008, at 1:45 PM, XXXXX wrote:

    That’s fine, I would appreciate the omition of my name and contact info. It might also be a benefit to post the comments you emailed me, I was looking around all over the net for more info on linkshog, there just isn’t much out there. They say they have 10,000+ sites, but I can’t find a listing of what sites they have, and their home page doesn’t even have a pageranking, which I know is not the most important thing in the world, but you would think someone making these offers would at least have a decent page ranking on their home page!

    —– Original Message —–
    From: William W Scott
    Sent: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 11:47 AM
    Subject: Re: Linkshog

    Hi XXXX,

    I have 3 main issues with the approach:

    • Unsolicited email is often completely legit. If however they’re going to call out search phrases and ranking, they should at least be right (I’m not a plastic surgeon and one of my other clients was identified as on page 2 when in fact he’s in position 2).
    • Link networks are inherently bad and can have a negative impact on your ranking. http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/tell-me-about-your-backlinks/
      I’ve seen the same email at least 5 times in as many industries and it seems it’s being sent indiscriminately.
    • Links are definitely important but all the experts agree they need to be diverse in origin and are improved by the authority of the source… and they’re only one factor.

      • It may work, but I think the same energy invested in good SEO and link-building that you then own will be of much greater value.

      Finally, and this is a problem I have with many such services, one size doesn’t fit all. My experience indicates each client is unique.

      I hope that helps clarify my point of view. If you don’t mind I’m going to post this as a comment to the post for everyone’s benefit (omitting your name and contact info of course).

      All the best,
      Will

      On Jun 10, 2008, at 12:41 PM, XXXXX wrote:

      Hi, I read your blog article that mentioned Linkshog being a bad idea. I was contacted last week by this group, offering a 30 day trial, and am looking for additional information on them. I’m curious as to why Linkshog is a bad idea, any information you could offer is greatly appreciated.

  5. Nate Figuera Says:
    June 26th, 2008 at 6:57 pm

    Thanks for your feedback

  6. Yelp Makes Small Businesses Scream | Website Promotion is not Voodoo Says:
    July 4th, 2008 at 9:48 pm

    [...] don’t fall for a slick sales pitch from the likes of SEOMatrix, Yodle (formerly Natpal), or LinksHog (or one of their hundred other [...]

  7. Quinton Figueroa & Marvin Jones Jr. Esq Says:
    July 14th, 2008 at 3:03 pm

    linkshog is the same thing as DBD Results (www.dbdresults.com) both listed as marvquin.com companies, go to their brands page at marvquin.com/brands. listed are the following individuals as the owners and board of directors:

    Marvin Jones Jr., Esq.
    Executive Vice President,

    Quinton Figueroa
    Executive Vice President, Technology

    Vui Le
    CEO, VUICO

    Andrew McAdams
    Managing Member, AJM CAPITAL

    Philip Gray
    CEO, CREDIT MANAGEMENT GROUP LLC

  8. highwebrank.com (Gregory Fort) Thinks I’m a Chiropractor | Website Promotion is not Voodoo Says:
    July 17th, 2008 at 10:38 pm

    [...] a little background please see my Links Hog post. [...]

  9. PrivateLinksBuilder.com (Peter Cogan) Thinks I’m A Plastic Surgeon | Website Promotion is not Voodoo Says:
    August 13th, 2008 at 1:01 pm

    [...] also: Links Hog and High Web [...]

  10. Brian Says:
    February 23rd, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    I’m so tired of this spam.

    We are an SEO company, and while our clients might be on the 3rd page for a keyphrase, they are more than likely ALSO on the 2nd page AND the 1st page. Most of the time our client is number 1 for the keyphrase mentioned in the email.

    I just called and mentioned they might want to do a little better research before sending those emails so they weren’t misrepresenting the truth. As you can imagine, they weren’t very receptive to my advice.

    If you receive an email from Linkstiger.com (they keep changing their name, I wonder why ;) I would recommend hitting the delete button as quickly as possible.

  11. admin Says:
    February 23rd, 2009 at 5:14 pm

    @Brian,

    Thanks for dropping by — I couldn’t agree more! The delete button is the quickest and most effective way to deal with this problem :)

    Will

  12. Spam Site Says:
    August 7th, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    You know I totally agree with everybody here. I would have to say delete is a good option. I checked there site no page rank and where are the backlinks to there site? This is what they promised, right?

  13. Spammed Says:
    October 27th, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    Just received identical email offer from:

    Jason Miller
    (480) 445-9297
    http://www.linkstiger.com

    New name, same pile..

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