TopSEOs.com Banned in Google

Goodbye TopSEOs. I was on your list way back in the early 2000s (I think 2003). Back then, it was free to be listed, you just had to request it and then they would presumably check you out to see if you qualified. A short time after I was listed I received a phone call to tell me that it would cost in excess of $2,000 per month for me to retain my listing. I refused and was immediately downgraded to position 45; right near the bottom.

TopSEOs is/was a pay-to-play site. According to inside information they never, ever reviewed a single site on their system. If you signed up for their site and then refused to pay them the $1,000 – $2,000 per month they demanded, they would rank your site really low to look like you were a terrible company which could potentially hurt you if any fool believed their rankings.

This morning TopSEOs.com got nuked. It’s currently not possible to find their site in the Google listings. They deserve it. They are a big sponsor of this year’s Pubcon conference, and at 10am today they heard the news and packed up their booth and ran with their tail between their legs. I suppose I would too if my business went from shady-yet-successful to dead in the span of a few moments. I can empathize with the owners and staff, but they can’t possibly be surprised. If you run a paid link directory, especially a sleazy bait and switch one, you’re going to get banned.

**Update**
My friend Mark Jackson has deep information about the situation including a great timeline of events on his blog.  I encourage you to check it out here: TopSEOs Ban News.