It’s bad enough when you get spam emails trying to pitch dubious SEO services to you. It’s worse when the spammers visit the contact form on your Web site to make the pitch. I thought this was a legitimate request for my services. Instead, this spam came from a Gmail address with no company name attached, although “Melodie” listed her URL as google.com:

We would like to get your website on first page of Google.All of our processes use the most ethical “white hat” Search Engine Optimization techniques that will not get your website banned or penalized.Please reply and I would be happy to send you a proposal.In order for us to respond to your request for information, please include your company’s website address (mandatory) and or phone number.

Let’s pick this apart a piece at a time.

• The spammer listed her company URL as google.com, trying to falsely lead me to believe she works for Google.
• I run a quality copywriting company and you don’t put a space in between your sentences? Fail.
• My Web site is already on the first page of Google for my company name. I bet that’s how they planned to “get” me on the first page of Google. I also happen to be on the first page for “content creation services.” Maybe that’s why they targeted me – if I didn’t know that, they could claim they did it for me.
• I love how “white hat” is in quotation marks.
• Won’t get me banned or penalized? After sending me spam, I hardly believe that.
• Wait, they used the contact form on my website, and they need me to remind them of my URL?

File this one under spam. Sadly, even a Captcha field can’t guard against humans who opt for manual spamming techniques.