Ethics of filing a spam report with google

[CasinoMack]

and Google knows this. Maybe they place that cheese out there for the rat to take it?

[imteaz]

Alright, let's just go back to the original post and focus on that.

Different class c ips. No one really talked about this, so here's my comment: Nothing wrong with it. If I have 2 sites on the same server and link from site A to site B, there is a belif that the effect will be better if the IP's are different. Hence the whole "SEO Hosting" frenzy. Assuming that is the case, then I would prefer to use such a service to build links from Site A to Site B, and vice versa. If my links are relevent, why should my link juice be reduced just because I'm linking form the same IPs? How is that fair? If I link from related content and pages, google won't have a problem with this at all. That is what the engine is built on. But if keep linking from my Viagra site to my Hannah Montana site, and vice versa, then I'm just an idiot because those links won't really be effective anyway. In a way, you'd be better off letting me waste my time doing the wrong thing, than having google stop me so I can then focus my time on doign the right thing and really kick your ass at ranking!

There is nothing wrong with having a network of sites that interlink when the content is related yet unique. The issue that google has is with using this tactic to artificially influence the SERPs. But if all my links are relevent, then shouldn't they count? A lot of people here have networks of sites and link from one to the other. You can't rank otherwise for a lot of competitive keyphrases unless you are willing to spend a lot of money buying links, which is much worse. That's just reality.

When it comes to "ethics" regarding filing a report, let me assure you that there is no such thing. Anyone can file a complaint, and they should feel free to do so if they want to. Google will investigate and make the decision themselves. Really, it all comes down to one person being a dick. That's either going to be the person reporting something that is just going to be a waste of Google's time and that no one cares about, or the person being reported because they did in fact push their luck and deserve a google slap in the face. So it's not about ethics at all, it's all about one big dick.

The person reporting will always do so because it grants them an advantage. If I don't know squat about SEO, don't have websites and I just browse pr0n sites, why would I ever file a google report? The only reason one would do so is to hurt the competition, and if you're doing so legitimately, it's fair game. This is a business after all. If you're competition is really manipulaitng the system and you can prove it, go ahead and burn them. If you're just trying to get people to be removed because they are better at SEO than you are, and they do so without resorting to shaddy practices, then you're just a dick. (And I'm not personally calling you a dick, I'm using this term generally troughout this post).

The only reason you're even considering reporting this person is because you want to start targeting the keywords they rank for. So in pondering weather you should do it or not, just try to figure out who the dick really is. You or him? Be impartial and try to see the world from both point of views and that should guide your actions.

I hope that answers the question.

Wow! What a great post. Thanks for taking time and write it.
This is first time someone actually answer the thread opener.

and Rest of you keep arguing and bash each other.
Come on guys stick to the original post.

[Randy Ray]

Huh? How much clearer an answer can you get than, "No, it isn't unethical to report a competitor for spamming."

This is first time someone actually answer the thread opener.

and Rest of you keep arguing and bash each other.
Come on guys stick to the original post.

[imteaz]

Huh? How much clearer an answer can you get than, "No, it isn't unethical to report a competitor for spamming."

Ops, i missed it! This is also good answer, straight to the point

[superiorword]

What's unethical in reporting unethical behavior to google?