Fox News Blasts SEO

I'm no fan of Fox News but I won't blame a large organization for the ignorance of a news producer.

I tend to think that with Fox News the lies / distortions / hyperbole / misquotes / misinformation is systematic rather than a series of isolated accidental mistakes.

I have a (die hard liberal) family member working for Fox in Denver. And according to that person they wouldn't be surprised if the whole station closed the doors. Advertisers are picking up on the BS Fox allows to passed along as news, most recent example of Glenn Beck. But just like the Ted Haggard's of the world the house of cards will eventually come crashing in.

Thanks for the great post.

Chris

Good post, I bet this will turn into a political conversation/debate. =)

I think they should of just used the word "scammers" not "SEO scammers".

Would they not be considered "news scammers" for incorrect or misleading news?

"If you ever thought Fox News was real reporting then your political ideology trumps logic."

Actually, if you ever thought any of the TV News were real reporting then your political ideology trumps logic. They are all ridiculously inept - liberal and conservative alike.

I've got to agree with mattmorr. No matter what your ideology, any close examination of the so called news reveals how inaccurate most stories are. Writers are under daily deadlines and they know the public likes provocative content. They don't bother checking the facts because a)they don't have time and b) they don't want the facts to diminish the impact of their story.

In the case of the example you cited, though Fox may well have an agenda, it's more likely they simply think this "news" item will resonate with their viewers. News outlets are businesses, and just like any business, they have to satisfy their customers if they want to continue to make money.

Have you ever seen this wonderful reaction from the Dutch guy who got annoyed about Fox News reporting about Amsterdam, you can see the video over here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTPsFIsxM3w

I thought I would share for enjoyment.

"Worse yet, Fox has had an in-house SEO team for nearly as long as I have been in the SEO business, which is just one more layer demonstrating how shallow and worthless most of their reporting is. Faux News - worse than you thought!"

Come on Aaron. The article is referring to SEO **scammers**. Not honest and legit SEOs. The fact that Fox has an SEO team means nothing about the integrity of their reporting.

Who cares about what Fox News says? They're not the point.

You brought up a really interesting point about how the general public is starting to view SEO. A few months ago my wife complained about how when she looks for products on Google, the top results look a bit spammy. It's kind of off putting. Since I started learning about SEO she was wondering how people could get away with that. Interestingly, when Bing came out a few weeks ago, she hypothesized that Microsoft is hiring people to "dirty" rankings on Google. Sounds funny but hey, it's possible!

Aaron, thought leaders like you should provide some insight on how SEO's can counter this kind of negative PR. I think you wrote a post along these lines, and it would be helpful to share your ideas here.

Online marketing attracts its fair share of scumbags and losers. So how can legitimate internet marketing and SEO professionals proactively counter these stereotypes?

Eagerly waiting for your response.

Thanks,
Raza

Hey Aaron,

Great site but just to clarify, the in-house SEO team you mentioned was not affiliated with Fox News. I ran that team when I was with Fox Interactive Media and we only worked on SEO for the online properties that were part of the Fox Interactive Media division (MySpace, IGN, Fox Sports, etc..). FoxNews.com was in a different division entirely (I believe Fox Broadcasting Company).

Thanks,

Bill

Thanks for that comment Bill. Still doesn't change how inept their reporting is. :)

so in regards to their reference to 'search engine optimization' and its references... that, my friend was funny.

Right on the same page they have zedo ads with the title as 'learn the trick'

hahahaha.

Aaron, thanks for posting this. I do think we need to point out to all that the news is not always a trusted source. Doesn't matter whether it is Fox, NBC or your local paper. They have to crank out content 24/7 and the do... good and bad.

Can anybody explain to me (someone from Europe) why Fox still exists and people even watch it?
I hear stories about Fox spreading rumours, telling lies, telling only one side of a story and so on every few weeks. Are the Americans really that stupid? Or is there something else going on?

But Fox (faux) News has a big brand, they MUST be good! Right? Right?

Does anyone really truly believe any news outlet doesn't push their own ideological agenda? Is there anyone who can say with a straight face that FOX, CNN, or MSNBC shoot straight and show no bias?

As for the ads example...lame.

Go here:
http://money.cnn.com/?cnn=yes

Seems CNN supports mothers who can make $63/hour online and part time jobs earning $88/hr "from only a computer"

And here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/

MSNBC "promotes" two mothers who followed "1 rule" to losing massive weight...strange they both are named Rachel Ray....

And don't get me started on the "Hugh Downs Reports" ad running on ABC's homepage :-)

Who again is littering the web with scams CNN , ABC and MSNBC? You are :-)

This might be one of the worst journalistic articles I have ever read regarding SEO or FOX NEWS, and it doesn't even make sense to have on this particular site. After this post, I will be removing myself from all future email inquiries, not just from here, but your affiliate sites as well.

First of all this video is from 2006 and is compiled of dozens of 3 second clips. Really? DO I even have to say why this is stupid?

Secondly, the reporting in the quote you are discussing is accurate. I did some ACTUAL research showing that www.spamlaw.com has over 100 pages in their index, so to say that NO SEO has been done is a lie... yet you resort to make FOX NEWS look like the bad guys? Seriously?

Thirdly, the domain name has been registered for more than 9 years and has had multiple sites and companies using it. According to the Way Back Machine, the site looked to be an automotive company running it around the time period of this video.

Why would an automotive company be running a site under the domain www.spamlaw.com? Sure sounds like spammers to me.

Fourthly, FOX NEWS is destroying every cable news network in existence. The fact that their ratings beat the other cable news networks rating combined just goes to show how lame your perception on reality is. Instead, this article sounds like an angry "I Hate FOX" broadcast that has virtually nothing to do with SEO.

What was the point?

Kevin Webb

I just read everything and watched the video again. I'm still really confused as to why this video is posted on an SEO website?

Any amateur could make a short video like this in regards to every cable news and non-news station out there. If I wanted to bad enough, I could snip clips and make Barney say he wanted to destroy America and punch kids in the face.

This site has completely discredited itself for letting this even be posted.

Aaron,

Did someone switch out videos because there's no mention of SEO anywhere?

thanks,
Ryan

Aaron, I thought I was just losing my mind... the video makes no sense to be on here.

Aaron,

I get that. I'm saying that when I watched the video, there was zero mention of SEO or Scammers. It's a montage of video clips just bashing Fox News. Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with bashing Fox News, CNN, and just about any other mainstream news outlet.

I'm thinking someone swapped out videos midstream.

I wrote this above...worth mentioning again though: It was this presumptuous line that made me include that video "That’s because search engine optimizing scammers"

For them to call SEOs scammers it means they must believe in some sort of pure / untainted media. Thus highlighting how tainted their media is shows how bogus their claim of moral superiority is...particularly as their sites are wrapped in ads selling various flavors of reverse bill fraud.

If ignorant clueless & hypocritical scumbags crap on my industry for self promotion then I will highlight them for being what they are. Why should I work so hard as an SEO and then let the sleazy folks working at Fox try to brand me as being on their level? No thanks.

I think the most troubling part of this whole situation is the inability for Fox News to provide an outlet for SEOs (or anyone for that matter) to respond. Fair and balanced journalism is all about providing voice to both sides, yet I do not see any ability for one to comment on those slides - there's only a "Share This" option. Tisk, tisk.

Aaron, you are completely ignorant.

You used a 6 word snippet from an anchor as a bases for trying to discredit them? Really?

What if she was quoting somebody else? What if she said "That’s because search engine optimizing scammers, report that they work from home and for clients they never meet?"

The possibillities are endless, but for you to write such CRAP over a snippet like that is just dumb.

THE FACT is that there are SEO scammers/spammers out there who use black hat techniques to try and manipulate rankings and sometimes they even go as far as hijacking other company's brands.

Why is that such a hard concept for you to grasp?

I think you're just making crap up now. Nothing you say makes sense.

@danielbaily

Hehehe. Yes, because Fox News is so concerned about link juice. :-)

@KevinWebb
How long have you been a member of SEO Book? What is your level of expertise in SEO? Please share :-)

Thanks for posting about this Aaron - I wanted to but didn't have the time this week. Glad to see someone taking them to task; that kind of reporting shouldn't be called "news."

Here is a great video explaining how Fox News operates. It is a bit long (7 minutes) but you can just watch the last three minutes to see the meat of the discussion.

Obviously this would not convince people like Kevin Webb, but it is certainly an interesting perspective.

http://fliiby.com/file/311476/vnfe32o9in.html

Haven't we been called spammers for years? I'm with Kevin on this one.

If people talk trash, lie, and misinform consumers about a topic often enough then they destroy some of the perceived value of that field.

Maybe you don't work as hard as I do and maybe you don't help out as many people as I do. But I work way too hard to just not care when a bunch of sleazeballs trash my trade by pumping biased misinformation through a megaphone.

the landing pages made by "professional money makers", has so little to do with Seo that looks like a fraudolent attempt to play on the ignorant side of the poor tv watcher

Great post. For years no one knew what I did or that SEO was a real profession. And many of those people are now getting their initial impression of SEO via an outlet that quickly uses "SEO" and "scammers" in the same breath. You know what they say about first impressions....

Maybe I'm old school, but news, no matter what the source, doesn't name call or insinuate moral superiority - otherwise, it's just opinion, not news.

Loving the discussion!

@AaronWall I noticed he wasn't a member for long, which made me wonder whether or not he was one of those angry TV watchers made dangerous by "just enough information" on SEO. Granted, it was bad information, but still, it sparked a debate not only about the nature of SEO, but also journalism ethics and credibility. :-)

@Slimster I totally agree with your last line:

"Maybe I'm old school, but news, no matter what the source, doesn't name call or insinuate moral superiority - otherwise, it's just opinion, not news."

Aaron you are completely flipping out here. I respect your SEO views. It would probably be a good idea if you stay with them instead of venting your leftist anger towards a news network that dares not to tow the liberal line.

KevinWebb is right, this is a teeny, tiny snip of words that could be disparaging to SEO professionals, depending on how you read it. It probably could have been better worded, but your response frames you as someone in the extreme left fringe - a 9/11'er perhaps.

Oh, and yes, I've been a member for only a few minutes...and that's relevant because? Just stick with SEO Aaron - everyone will like you more and you'll appear much smarter.

Hi Aaron, thanks for covering this story. It will prove to be increasingly important within the industry to directly confront such issues as they arise.

Calling for accountability from those who actively seek to perpetuate negative misconceptions about the search marketing industry is a worthy endeavor.

I would like to mention in passing, that I have a simple "2-Strike" rule that I live by when confronted by careless misinformation outlets:

First I politely address the responsible party with a thoughtful and well researched refutation of any inaccuracies. I suggest that perhaps a public retraction is in order.

If my suggestion is ignored (STRIKE ONE!):

I demand a public retraction of the inaccurate information as well as a public apology.

If my demand is ignored (STRIKE TWO!!):

I craft a more strategic and attention-worthy response in the form of a full SEO campaign.

A special SEO campaign; the kind that instructs the ignorant, inspires fear and stings for many days to come.

Aaron the study you cite is from a left wing org. so I'm not giving it much credit. What criteria did it use to determine whether the people were "ill-informed"? You'd probably say that I'm ill-informed about the Iraq war (I'm not) and I'd say that from your comments you're ill-informed.

I'm with on the Bankers robbing the country blind right now. Glenn Beck did a really great investigative piece showing how Goldman Sachs put their hand in all the cookie jars and got the US Govt. to wipe out it's competition. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wVQ3_ZaYB4&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffing... )

You're a libertarian? Really? Maybe a Liberal-tarian ?
I mean, your last comments do fall in the Libertarian camp, but your former rants do not. Beck and O'Reilly are libertarians - are you a fan? They're on the EeeeVille FoxNews channel you know.

I tend to be more into media from sites like iTulip.com, Karl Denninger's Market Ticker, and Barry Ritholtz. I have always thought Bill O'Reilly is a bit of a jackass, but as a marketer I realize that a lot of his oversized ego and whatnot are just part of the entertainment / show aspect of his offering.

Hey Aaron: Linking to the FIM article in this post is like writing about Neutrogena and linking to an article about BabyCenter.com (both owned by Johnson & Johnson); of course this is easier to confuse as both have Fox in the name. I was also on the FIM SEO Team & Fox News is in a different division (just as the Wall Street Journal- also a News Corp company - is in a different division). Is there a reason why you didn't correct this, when you updated the story?

Hi Natasha
If all SEOs are scum (and Fox News publishes anonymous hack hate articles to postulate such) then why is it the job of everyone else to

• give Fox the benefit of the doubt
• know the internal corporate structure of their company
• use granular language to reflect that convoluted corporate structure (particularly after Fox trashes everyone in a profession as spammers)

SEOs + entrepreneurs are supposed to be the "dirty spammers" while Fox is actually foisting scams and misinformation onto people.

And yet (even while seeing the above as fact) people who worked at Fox are asking me to hold myself to a far higher standard of journalistic integrity than Fox does.

Once Fox updates their article with an apology I will be glad to spend a bit of effort updating mine. But if they brush with broad strokes I would be an idiot to paint with a half inch brush.

Their company having multiple divisions is irrelevant to me.

Why should anyone give a bunch of hack jobs (Fox news, not you guys) the benefit of the doubt when Fox's goal is to misinform and spew hate?

Aaron,

You should keep your political and personal preferences out of you seo site.

Fox News is the only media outlet that isn't in bed with the Obama administration.

5 to 10 million people a day watch Fox News, and you making silly comments like a pouty teenager (I hate Faux News - whine, whine, whine) is immature for someone running a legitimate business.

You should learn when to keep your mouth shut. Don't mix politics or religion with business. There is wisdom in that.

5 to 10 million people

How many people use heroin? Popularity doesn't make something right/just/good.

You should learn when to keep your mouth shut.

Likewise.

Just because other media channels are ***also*** garbage, it doesn't get Fox off the hook for publishing poorly researched ignornant anonymous hate spewing content.

They don't stand for journalistic integrity and so they can't be trusted as a media outlet. Simple as that.