I have a review of VPS.net, the hosting provider I use, which I wrote several months ago. It’s given me a chance to observe an interesting occurrence. Despite my positive review of the service, a disproportionate number of comments are decidedly negative in tone. I know plenty of bloggers who are at least as happy as I am with the service, so this struck me as odd.

I decided to examine the incoming search keywords for the page. The top ones, predictably, are variations of “vps.net review,” with the interesting addition of “vps.net sucks.” Surely enough, my post ranks well for the terms.

This raises an interesting question: why are so many people who think the service “sucks” searching for reviews of the company? Are they looking for a way to vent their frustration, and spite the hosting provider simultaneously?

Maybe I’m cynical, but could some of the commenters be astroturfing for rival companies? I’ve noticed that the same sort of behavior occurs with reviews of other hosts, on other websites.

Are former customers searching for places t0 malign companies they had unpleasant experiences with, or is there something more devious going on?