There is an interesting thread over at Search Engine Watch Forums pointed out by Barry Schwartz (thanks Barry) entitled "Blackmail by SEO" that deals with the issue of SEOs having the ability to tarnish reputations. That sounds like a negative thing but can be used for good as I will descibe below.

In today's age of blogs, forums and good ol' SEO, it is fairly easy to post something negative about a person or company and have it appear within the first page of the search results. Take the case of Traffic Power for example, a not so reputable SEO firm that ended up getting thousands of their clients banned because of their less then ethical marketing techniques. You search for their name today at Google and the entire first page is filled with negative but true stuff about them.

Therefore it is really in the best interest of every company that wants to maintain a good reputation to provide the very best product and/or service that they can. If they fail to do so, the consumer may write about it on a consumer review type of a site, a forum or a blog, as I have done myself.

My recent experience has to do with a local body shop who did a really poor job repairing a vehicle of mine. Despite my complaints, they would not make it right but instead wanted more money. I wrote about the experience on my blog and within one week, a search for their name shows my blog post sitting in the # 1 spots on both Google and MSN and currently # 3 for Yahoo. Wow! Now they have a reputation problem not because I am slanderous or liable but simply because I relayed my experience in a blog post in the same way I would tell a friend or family member. However a popular blog can have a far more impacting reach!

Makes you think twice before brushing off that little customer, doesn't it? It does for me. I don't want someone writing negative stuff about my company and then having to clean up the mess afterwards. I enjoy referred business too much.

How about you the reader? Have you ever been burned and thought about warning as many people as you can? Would you post your bad experience to a blog or forum or do you feel that is an unethical tactic? I'd invite you over to the Search Engine Watch thread and share your opinions.