A client has a horrible idea - how can I persuade him?

[flnazrael]

I'm doing SEO for "Site A". The client has approx. 7,000 parked domains that he has now linked to "Site A".

I've tried to explain that this is a bad idea, because Google seeing 7,000 links from parked domains to a brand new site that only shows 66 in its first month is probably going to trigger a spam penalty. Worse yet, the software he uses could only make the anchor text of the link "contact us" - so they're not even targeted links.

He seems undeterred. Am I crazy, or are we headed for trouble with this idea?

[AussieWebmaster]

how much was he making from the parked domains? better using the monthly income to build links.... and definitely avoid the Google wrath for the move

[flnazrael]

Not sure about the income. We're doing link building now. He just made this change tonight, I'm trying to talk him out of it before the crawlers go back to any of the 7,000 parked domains.

[Louis J Sheehan]

Quintuple your fees to do it?

[JeremyWeb[b]]

If he really won't reconsider, put your concerns into an email, and make a prediction about what will happen. (Dramatic drop in traffic.)

Monitor traffic, and then say I told you so! This retains your integrity, and enhances your credibility.

Jeremy.

[onlineseo]

If all of your parked domains are high-quality and rich in content, then it could help your new website.

However one should never use same anchor text anywhere. You should make sure to use seperate anchor text for best results.

Moreover, if those 7000 websites are poor in quality and more like a scrapper sites, then using this technique would be similar to performing HARA-KIRI on the new website.

[tharmon]

Jeremy is right. I work in-house for someone very stubborn and you can't convince them that one of their own ideas is going to fail unless you let him do it and fail. Kinda like the kid that insists on touching a hot stove. Fortunately, after he gets burned, he probably won't do it again.
Simply put, you are the consultant, and he is the owner of the site. He is going to do what he wants, but eventually after he gets burned a few more times, he will begin to trust your opinion.
My advice is to just let this run it's course.

[MattUK]

How about you reach a compromise and make the links nofollow?

[AussieWebmaster]

I let my daughter burn herself on the stove - it had been off for a while but knew was still hot... took a lot to not stop her... but she never went near burners again

[geeurbie]

We avoid these clients like the plague. We like to sleep well at night, and tossing and turning over a difficult client just isn't worth it.

I also know that walking away from good income is not easy to do. I would recommend going with your gut on this one. If you can afford it, remove this person from your customer base. You will likely be better off in the long run.