I just received the following email this morning – it has been cut and pasted with nothing added or removed.

He (or she) forgot to set up the form email so it would auto populate the fields. Maybe they are just getting lazy – or maybe this is done on purpose because unfortunately, I’m sure someone somewhere will still reply to them.

No one online knows your business exists...

What do I mean by that?

I did a quick Google search for [Name] in [City] and I noticed your business is not in the Google 3-pack.

The "3-pack" is the place on Google that shows 3 businesses in a specific area at the TOP of the search results.

If you aren't in the 3-pack that means your competitors ARE.

54% of your customers will do a Google search at least once per month to find a local business - although it's likely more.

Most business owners have no idea how to get into the 3-pack, but I've mastered the art of ranking there and I can help you...

If you'd like to know how it's done and maybe even have me just do it for you -- simply reply to this email.

I can only help 3 businesses per city since the Google 3-pack only lists 3 businesses...

I sent this same email to your competitors and I work on a first come first serve basis. Don't miss this opportunity!

Don't let your competition outsmart and outrank you.

Check out << Link >> or Call me now at 555-555-5555 or reply to this email and I look forward to helping you get more clients in the door.

Best,
NAME
NUMBER
COMPANY (optional)

Well Mr. Coe, and that’s probably not your real name to begin with, I think what you need to worry about is your fellow email spam competitors outsmarting you.

You would never hire a plumber or auto mechanic that contacted you out of the blue, so when you get an email like this – just delete it!

We can fairly quickly promote your website to the top of search rankings with no long term contracts!

How many times have you seen this email? We all get them, and I get a ton of them.

For example:

Hello,

My name is jenny Smith and I am a Digital Marketing Specialists for a Creative Agency.

I was doing some industry benchmarking for a client of mine when I came across your website.

I noticed a few technical errors which correspond with a drop of website traffic over the last 6-8 months which I thought I would bring to your attention.

After closer inspection it appears your site is lacking in 4 key criteria.

1- Website Speed
2- Link Diversity
3- Domain Authority
4- Competition Comparison

I can send you over the report which shows all of the above and so much more which will help you at least improve your site, its rankings and traffic.

I would love the chance to help as well however; this report will at least give you a gauge on the quality of what I do. If you are interested then please share your requirement and contact details.

Is this the best email to send it to?

Sincerely,
Jenny Smith
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Jenny is a liar! She never actually took the time to review your website. This is a form letter sent out in the hopes that someone will email them back.

SEO scams like these typically start to pile up in your inbox once your site has moved to the top results of search engines.

So, Jenny works for a Creative Agency, why does she not say which one? And if it’s a legitimate Creative Agency – why do they not have a website or an email address with the domain name for the agency? And where is the physical address and phone number?

Jenny isn’t her name at all, and if you were to respond to her email chances are you would get a response containing a document that when opened would infect your computer with a virus.

Other ways to tell an email is just spam:

1. The email has no specific info about your company or website – it’s all very vague like a horoscope – it can apply to just about everyone.
2. The correspondence is unsolicited.
3. The message is in broken English.
4. You get the same exact message from different people.