Is Dean Hunt for Real? (Can Matt Cutts Confirm?)
Posted by Tamar Weinberg on December 13th, 2006
I read with interest about Dean Hunt’s bizarre Google request where an online store owner threatened him via email since Dean’s blog ranks better than the store for a particular keyword term. He writes for a partial SEO-themed blog, yet he needed more advice from individuals on a number of forums (with a link to his story, of course, one of which was removed).
I wrote about the story myself (since I think it’s a good lesson regardless), but I can’t help but wonder if this was all a scam. I mean, after all, Dean wrote on October 4th that he will be creating a viral campaign with the intention to promote his site via related sites. And since his site is still really in its infancy (138 blog posts in 6 categories since June), I don’t think that his blog could truthfully rank better than an established online store.
Without providing the search terms in question for verification, nobody is really able to believe that Dean is actually telling the truth.
Well, maybe Matt Cutts can — if Dean really told him.
So — which is it?
Tamar Weinberg is a social media enthusiast with a passion for all things tech and productivity. She provides consulting in internet marketing and blogs for numerous online publications, most notably Lifehacker, Search Engine Roundtable, and Mashable.
December 13th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
Good post Tamar but the question now is: If he isn’t for real won’t this just help him more?
December 13th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
I’ve covered my bases with a nofollow.
December 13th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Ha - I saw that
but what I meant was - traffic wise. Your story is now on digg - say it hits the homepage - that’s more traffic and then more links. Also - I have to say it but if he could think this up - it’s really creative IMO and then maybe he deserves it…
December 13th, 2006 at 11:40 pm
He already hit Digg’s front page (twice?) and Slashdot is having a ball with him from what I see. I’m not sure if my little blog will make it, though it would be nice.
Hopefully they’ll call him out for it too, and hopefully they won’t be evil about it and avenge the situation by crashing his web server a third time.