Marketing Muscle

January/February 2007 Issue: Page 86

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Are some companies stepping outside the law and using strong-arm tactics to intimidate online marketers?

Over the years stories about intimidation and goons knocking on the doors of various affiliates and search marketers have circulated at industry events. Some of these scary accounts have taken on a life of their own – much like a game of telephone where fact and fiction are often intertwined as the stories are told over and over again.

The victims claim to have seen a variety of intimidation tactics including death threats issued over the phone, visits at their homes from large, scarylooking men, threats involving physical harm, character assignation campaigns, general bullying and harassment, as well as cyber attacks on their websites and ultimately their livelihoods.

Most of the victims say the perpetrators of this behavior are typically overzealous business rivals or companies they spoke out against that are seeking to silence them.

Retelling of these accounts is often reserved for late-night, alcohol-fueled chats at a bar with colleagues at trade shows and conferences. But trying to get the sober details is much harder. It's difficult to confirm and corroborate many of these stories since the alleged victims are hesitant to speak in depth, or on the record, for fear of future recrimination.

So are these frightening tales the equivalent of urban affiliate myths, exaggeration or truth? Actually, it's often a combination all three.

One industry watcher, who asked not to be named, was skeptical of some of the stories.

"It's somewhat of a Curtis Sliwa syndrome," he says, "where he faked some crimes and attacks as a way to get more attention for himself and the Guardian Angels. These supposed allegations on the part of affiliates are a way to boost their profile. I may be cynical but unless I see a police report I tend to believe these stories are a way to raise themselves in the industry."

However, he does admit that regardless of the veracity of the accounts, "they seem to resonate with people."

Anti-adware/spyware expert Ben Edelman knows the feeling of having his work, which typically exposes unethical behavior on the part of an adware vendor, spark a negative response from those he has criticized.

Edelman says that he's experienced several instances of threats at varying levels from a variety of unhappy companies that he's exposed. The Cambridge, Mass.-based lawyer and Harvard graduate student says that's he not willing to speak about all the incidents right now. He declined to speak about two incidents that he referred to as "very, very nasty."

However, he did recall a time in the fall of 2003 when for two weeks, a private investigator hired by Claria (formerly Gator) was parked in a dark-colored sedan in front of Edelman's apartment. He claims the driver followed him to class, around the Harvard campus and to other destinations. The driver submitted to questioning in a courtroom and admitted to being hired by Claria. The driver also said he was simply attempting to serve Edelman with a subpoena, a claim Edelman, who is an attorney, disputes, noting that if the driver wanted to serve him he could have simply knocked on Edelman's door and done so.

Edelman says he found the situation "puzzling but consistent with [his] view of the company, which likes to play hardball."

Edelman also says the "intimidation efforts were unsuccessful." Although, he claims the company subsequently "did some other things that were more effective." Those are the matters he doesn't want to elaborate on.

Others have also seen the nastier side of how unhappy companies deal with dissent. That fear makes most afraid to even broach the subject.

One PPC search marketer questioned about his experiences with a particular company – one that is often named one of the most prolific at stealing commissions from affiliates – yielded this response about the company's CEO:

"He's not a guy to mess with either – do your checking very discreetly. I trust you'll be thorough as well, but honestly, I believe this guy is not someone you want to piss off. It ain't national security, but my affiliate income depends on keeping my distance from this man. I can go no further than this and provide no details."

Another source that was contacted via email about the same subject would only say, "This company is a bunch of thugs. Be very careful and watch your back. Seriously, tread lightly."

So just how far outside the law will a company go to get its message across?

To put things in perspective, Edelman says, "The people that I'm exposing are powerful people, but not that powerful. They can't rig elections or bribe the government."

Regardless, Edelman has taken practical steps just in case a company or individual wants to take out-of-court retribution.

"In the event that my apartment building were to burn down, I have an off-site backup of all files," he says. "It could happen randomly or intentionally."

He recalled a story from his mother, who actively pursues nursing home reform, where a colleague of his mom's had her home burned to the ground. "It was proved to be arson; they just couldn't prove who did it."

In his Search Insider column from August 2006, David Berkowitz, director of strategic planning at 360i.com, wrote, "Manage your search engine strategies so well that competitors want to kill you – literally."

The column detailed a discussion Berkowitz had with an unnamed search marketer in the healthcare field whose wife reportedly fielded a death threat via the telephone from an angry competitor.

According to Berkowitz, "The victim of the threat competes with his search engine marketing firm. He owns more than a few domains related to his business and services, including a growing number of local variations on the top terms. He gives some of the domains to his SEM, keeps some others and sees which sites can rank highest in the natural search results. For more than a few highly searched terms related to his business, he and his SEM will split ownership of the first and second rankings. The funniest part is that he gets irritated when his SEM holds the No. 1 position, since he's determined to figure out how he can beat it. For several terms, he's cornered the market, at times holding at least seven of the top 10 listings."

Berkowitz explains to Revenue that he was shocked to hear this story and that the recipient of the call "was caught off guard … and they don't know who was the source of the phone call."

For the most part, Edelman admits that the bulk of threats he receives are legal "and don't involve henchmen."

"Most are threats to see me in court," Edelman says. Continued on Page 2...

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