I get a lot of amazing messages from people via my contact form — and I get a lot of trash too. And this is one piece of trash I want to warn you about.
The reason I’m focused on telling you about this particular piece of trash is because I know that web traffic — particularly Google traffic — is a top priority for everyone on the web.
Incredible good things can happen to the growth of your business just by being in one of the top three spots. And because of that, sometimes the radar goes off kilter a bit and we get sucked into things we shouldn’t. This is one of those things.
This message is a solicitation for search optimization services (SEO). Reputable SEO firms don’t do cold emails to solicit business. They don’t have to. Always remember that. If you want SEO help for your business, do your research and pick a firm that’s a good match for you.
OK, so just for grins, how about we pick this email apart and identify all the things that are wrong with it? Take a quick read and we’ll talk about that below.
Here we go…
- Improper greeting (no name, in all caps)
- Bob Smith (seriously??) How many Bob Smiths are there in the world?
- Improper grammar and word usage (doesn’t appear to be a native english writer)
- They want a long relationship based on two sentences of poorly written snippets of what they do? Don’t think so.
- No website, generic email address from a free service provider.
What else can you find wrong with this?
About Denise O'Berry
These letters are usually from offshore places like (India). By the way to add to what’s missing, a phone number.
Thanks Neil. What’s bad about it is that desperate people will fall for it. And great pick up on the missing phone number!
Great example Denise. It is no surprise that SMBs are often targets for attacks. Emails like this are typical of large scale phishing attacks aimed at scamming users or tricking them into installing malware. While this email may have been mailed to thousands, research shows that SMBs are increasingly on the receiving end of far more sophisticated targeted attacks. Instead of sending malicious e-mails to many recipients by the thousands, attackers send a single malicious e-mail to a single identified individual that has been researched by the attacker and is known to have access to the data or systems that the attackers wish to access. Though rare in nature, Symantec research has found that 40% of targeted attacks were sent to SMBs since 2010. Your readers may find this Symantec blog post of interest and helpful: http://bit.ly/qUsAs7
Chris Halcon
Symantec
Thanks Chris. That’s a startling statistic. Appreciate you hopping in and sharing your thoughts along with the link to that article.