“Annual website search engine listing … £47.50” … what a steal! Internet Listing Service Corp wrote to me today asking me to send them a cheque or credit card details for their service. It looks like an invoice (it talks about money after all) and it even looks like a domain name registration invoice. They even ask for the money within 15 days to “ensure all listings are final”.
But it’s just some scam where they post my domain name plus some tags to “20 major search engines”. On page 2 it finally says “this is not a bill, this is a solicitation.” Well that’s clear then.
Their website, ilscorpc.co.uk (I’m not linking to them deliberately), tells me:
1. Why should I go with Internet Listing Services Corporation?
Over 80% of referrals come from search engines. To be successful, your site must be listed in many search engines. Search engine referrals are by far the most inexpensive way to drive traffic to your site. Many times, search engines do not list you or drop your site after a period of time, without informing you. Search engine submission does not just mean going to the top several web sites and submitting your URL. URL submission is a critical part of any site maintenance plan. You must submit and resubmit to search engines to ensure that you will get listed and maintain your listing. With so many search engines out there, this is a process that should be automated.
Ummm, nope, that’s a reason I should make sure I’m represented on search engines, not a reason why I should use ilscorp to do it. Plainly people do accept this deal, otherwise they wouldn’t send the stuff out. But why, oh why?
They didn’t even include a reply paid envelope.
One more for the shredder.
It appears this company is hitting up people everywhere. I received the same thing (in US Dollars, of course, since I\’m in Washington State) and was smart enough to check on the company before sending any money. I\’m sure this \”ListingCorp\” is making a killing collecting small amounts of money from several businesses and domain owners and giving NOTHING in return.