Many programmers and webmasters will create tools for fun, or as a form of linkbait. But have you ever considered that some of them have more nefarious reasons to let you use (for free on their own server load) the tool that they spent hours/days developing?
Is it possible that some of these tools are collecting data, storing it in a database, and using it to the webmaster’s advantage? I use Shoemoney’s SERP tool daily when I don’t have time to use something more robust like Web Position. I used to use Nichebot, but something just ain’t right there these days. But then something made me stop and think – Shoemoney is a smart guy and he’s into PPC. Why wouldn’t a smart fella like Shoe collect queries from his tool to develop a kick-a$$ list of keywords to bid on? Keep in mind, this is just an example. I’m not saying he does this. But it’s just a thought. My tinfoil hat is on today, and since I’ve used Shoemoney’s tool a lot today (why can’t I get that damn DVD ranking…?) it was on my mind.
That “something” that made me think was a post today by Mike The Internet Guy about how Instant Domain Search may have caused him to lose out on some domain purchases. After doing some domain research on availability, he went back to the client to discuss the options. He then found out that the #1 choice was already taken. Strange. So they went for the #2 choice and it was taken as well. As it turns out, all of the research he had done the night before was ‘hijacked’ and some company called Maltuzi LLC had set up squatting pages.
Now, how could they have known to register those domains? They weren’t single-word .coms or anything like that. I smell something fishy…
Anyway, just keep this lesson in mind. Few things in life are truly FREE. Especially if it involves ring-tones and domain names. 
{ 3 comments }
Everett, this is Beau. I wrote Instant Domain Search. The site is free because I make money from the affiliate links when people buy domains and hosting. I’m not stealing my customers’ domain names.
Beau,
Thank you for stopping by and for your comment. I did write “Instant Domain Search MAY HAVE” but I do understand how a few rumors can damage someone’s reputation, often undeservedly.
My message to readers is this: Nothing in life is free. You are paying for it by looking at ads, linking to the page, with hard cold cash or… sometimes in ways you don’t even know about.
IDS is a great tool with a great reputation. Personally, I don’t like the idea of running an irresponsible amount of queries, so it would not be often that I would use the tool unless I truly was trying to brainstorm. But that doesn’t change the fact that it’s a great tool, and something that I most certainly could not build myself.
Beau, again thank you for commenting. Feel free to share anything you want to share. I will approve it.
Regards,
Everett
heya
I do use user data on my ringtone sites to bid on terms. I have logged data from the serps tool mainly when i first made it for abuse. The data is all over the place but ya you should always think of ways to generate keywords.
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