#6 Negative Reviews Really Help: November, 2010
In the of 2010 the New York Times ran a lengthy expose of Vitaly Borker, who was sort of the Voldermort of SEO. Borker ran an online eyeglasses boutique called ForDecorMyEyes.com and was not an expert in customer service.
He had figured out that getting mentioned in a negative online review impacted his page rankings just as positively as a favorable review did. Not one to miss an opportunity, Borker gamed his rankings by providing some of the worst service in Internet history, including issuing death threats to customers.
The furor surrounding the article caused Google to readjust their algorithms to weigh positive and negative ranking differently.
Last month Borker was charged with 60 counts of possessing child pornography in an unrelated case.