Cash4Gold : SEO and Reputation Management

Many of you know I did SEO for a number of years and still try to keep up to date on the latest techniques. Seems Cash4Gold is even more interested in SEO than I am.  Cash4Gold is also wisely monitoring SERPs for repuation management. 

Over at http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/goldkit/reputation.shtml they blogged about Cash4Gold’s interesting marketing and business practices.  He determinded that Cash4Gold was paying as little as 30% of the going rate for scrap gold and how to better negotiate with them for a better return.

Check this out. This is straight out of a movie. Remember the “Cash4Gold” article I wrote following Brent K’s experience sending them gold?Cash4Gold Will Offer One-Third of the Actual Value for your Gold You should read it…later. In a nutshell, Brent sent in scrap gold valued elsewhere at $180 and was offered one third of that amount by Cash4Gold. Brent balked at their $60 check and called their customer service line, where he immediately got a new offer: $178! On October 6th, that Cockeyed article was featured on Consumerist.com  (http://consumerist.com/5059452/how-to-avoid-getting-ripped-off-by-cash4gold). Consumerist is so popular that thousands of people read the article, and the high Consumerist pagerank meant that the Cockeyed article would take its place at the tippy-top of  Google results on searches for “Cash 4 Gold”. Anyone searching for “Cash4Gold” had a very good chance at this new insight: Their cash offers for gold are measly. I guess someone at Cash 4 Gold noticed, because a week later, I got an email from Joe Laratro:

I work on the Cash4Gold site. We are trying to clean up their first page of results in Google. Your article: http://www.cockeyed.com/citizen/goldkit/cheat.shtml is ranking very well for term “Cash4Gold”. The site looks like you may do well from Adsense. Is there a financial arrangement we can come to that will offset your Adsense income and make it worth your while to take down or at least “de-optimize” it for that phrase? I would be happy to speak more about this on the phone… Thanks, Joe Laratro President Tandem Interactive – Trendy Online Marketing Solutions Hollywood, FL 33020

How about that? A polite letter, with a clear goal: Bury the “Cash 4 Gold” name in my article so that it doesn’t scare off every would-be gold seller with an internet connection. I was kind of thrilled. People approach me all the time looking for ways to promote keywords, but this was the first time someone else was trying to buy me out of their Google search results. This was just like in the movies, right? Guy writes an article exposing underhanded business practices, business leader arranges a meeting to kill the story. It was fun to fantasize about how much they might pay, and how much editing they would want to contribute for their investment. It was a genuine real-life business dillema! But I wouldn’t ever actually take them up on an offer like that. I’m just not like that. I didn’t do anything. Two weeks later, he sent a follow up.

Rob, I work with Cash4Gold on the reputation management. Your article is ranking #3 on their brand term. They would really like to make it worth your while to take it down or make it more positive. They did something similar by joining (OTHER CONSUMER AFFAIRS WEBSITE)’s advocacy program. Is it worth a few thousand to take it down? If not, maybe a donation to your favorite charity is more to your liking? Feel free to call me anytime to discuss further. Thanks, Joe Laratro President Tandem Interactive – Trendy Online Marketing Solutions Hollywood, FL 33020

Hey! $3,000! That’s more than I made on the Dwight Shrute Bobblehead Costume article! Finally I’ll have an appropriately fashionable tracksuit to wear while puttering around on my Segway. Sweet! Just kidding. I didn’t bite.

Can you believe he outed another consumer “Rip-off” website? They totally took the bribe and let Cash4Gold write the rules on their website!So, loyal readers, there you have it. This is my declaration of not selling out. I think it will work out better this way, don’t you? Still, I’m left wondering, was this their best offer or was it just one third of what I could actually get?