Are You Sending Traffic To Your Competitors?

How many hours have you spent building up your web site content and traffic?

How would you feel if that traffic was being siphoned off and someone was using your content to make money?

Both could be happening right now and you wouldn't even know it!

Cyber pirates are roaming the net, is your site protected?

There are two threats every webmaster needs to know about right now!

Begin with the latest Microsoft hype, their new Smart Tag technology.

I was able to meet the new Smart tag technology at a local Microsoft seminar and while it has the potential to dramatically improve small business operation when used properly it becomes a devilish device when added to a browser.

**What Are Smart Tags?**

You can see how they were originally planned in relation to Microsoft browsers here.

Microsoft have pulled that page from their site and have removed Smart tags from Explorer 6.0 after a public outcry.

Basically Smart tags are a way Microsoft can use your web site as an advertising tool creating hyperlinks whenever and wherever they want!

**How Does This Affect You?**

Even though the tags may not come as standard in the browser anymore (that can still change) the smart tag add-on is apparently still available as a separate download here.

And of course Office XP still supports smart tags.

Time to start wondering where your traffic going!

**How Can You Protect Yourself?**

Fortunately there may be a cure to avoid turning your web site into a giant hyperlink sending your traffic away as fast as it comes in:

Microsoft claim adding the following Meta tag to your site will turn off the Smart tag feature:

<meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="TRUE">

Of course those of you with thousands of web pages don't relish the thought.

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Wait, It Gets Worse!
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The Microsoft problem is limited as few people have IE 6 and with their current legal battles they will likely be wanting to avoid additional negative publicity. While webmasters will need to monitor the situation a more pressing threat already exists:

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Right now someone is modifying your web site, stealing your
visitors and getting paid to do it!
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Kazaa the software company have packaged up a small plugin that is being distributed freely through the Internet as part of a file sharing/napster replacement package called eZula/Toptext.

Somewhat like Smart tags this plugin modifies your browser and underlines keywords (bid on by other companies) on web sites and turns them into links to other sites. They are making from $0.30-$1 per click off your web site!

Anyone using IE 4.0 or higher who has installed the software will see your site as Ezula intends, not as you created it. You can see it in action here.

Imagine your main competitor bidding on words that appear on your page and all of a sudden you are linking to their site without even knowing it!

To give you an idea of the seriousness of this problem CNet the popular download site have already distributed over 8 million copies of this program as it is one of their top five PC downloads!

What most people don't realize is that this file sharing software also modifies their browser turning it into an advertising tool for someone else!

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What to do about it?
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Ezula claim if you send a detailed e-mail to:

support@ezula.com

They will block your site from being affected.

SearchKing offer an alterative, they claim if you add this code to your pages:

<SCRIPT language="JavaScript" src="http://www.searchking.com/servlet/ezulafix"></SCRIPT>

it will shut off the Ezula feature.

Either way this is likely just the beginning as technology continues to develop.

As online advertising becomes more competitive it becomes more and more important to stay on top of the market and protect yourself, otherwise you just end up making someone else money!

Please forward this article to every webmaster you know, so they can protect themselves as well!

Happy Marketing!

Questions?
Send me an email: mike@surf22.com

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