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AndyLaw

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2012
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I have a free hosting website, which is one of the many free hosting providers ofcouse, but this is not the case...

I am writing reviews about other free hosting providers on my page and posting them. Then when you open any other company review (a good one, like how good that company is and so on) you can read basic information about that company and see a big SIGN UP button at the end of the page. BUT this link leads to my hosting company page.

Also, if you look google for some of my reviewed companies, my review will be on the second place in google, so if someone is looking for that company, most likely he will end up on my page and then sign up with me.

So, would you consider this legal or illegal? I know I am stealing traffic, but this is how I do SEO.
 
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And how long do you expect to keep your customers if they're ignorant enough to miss all your branding prior to signing up? I know the first thing I'd do once I noticed is assume you can't be trusted and look elsewhere. Weather it's legal or not is pretty irrelevant.
 
This isn't illegal, but Unethical technique. You could show up a link to register at the website you are showing review of and alongside with it, add a link seperated from the review content to register on your website. Something like what you see on sites like download.cnet/softonic etc.. to make user download their tool
 
It's a dick move, basically. No legal authorities would care one bit about this. It just shows how low you need to go to get people to sign up - by tricking them. Usually the sign of a shitty host that can't get signups on the basis of providing a decent service, asking for referrals, advertising, ect.
 
That would be a tricky scheme. Some hosting provides seasonal promos to have users sign up on them instead and in turn let them experience the service a hosting company can provdie, thus making a long-term customer-provider relationship.

The tricky scheme does the opposite I think, instead of investing some to make a profit in the long run, it just makes a short-term period profit then drives away the customer. And it would be bad on your side if in time your hosting service would be infamous to be avoided and many communities/reviews goes against you.
 
This is not illegal, but it's not really a good way of doing business. People will see it, and will think they are being tricked. Atleast, that's what I would think.
 
Its not illegal its just a form of false advertisement.

imo if i was on a site like that and then got directed to a hosting site. I would not purchase anything from it tbh
 
Not illegal, smart, but Jesse is right... Pretty lame if you have to trick people to register. Your taking away there free will in a way.
 
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