Ethics in the Search Marketing World

…and How to Keep Your Nose Clean

The search marketing world creates interesting situations where ethical lines can get stretched quite a bit. For instance, in the search marketing world information is public. Yet unscrupulous actions can be taken anonymously — a scenario too tempting for many a desperate competitor. We run into many clients who have been unethically pursued by a competitor. Unfortunately, there are no comprehensive policing capabilities out there, and complaints about suspected competition fraud are frequently ignored.  Still there are things you can do to protect yourself and you should never stoop to the level of an unethical competitor to retaliate — in the long run, there are always consequences for unethical behavior.

First, let’s look at some all-too-common non-ethical examples. These just don’t pass the red-face test:

Competitors clicking on your pay-per-click ads.

First,…

Significant Shifts in Consumer Behavior Seen

Report by WPP Global Retail Practice Shows Recovery

Every business around the world, whether big or small, knows exactly what happened in the Great Recession: consumers became (understandably) spooked by the global collapse of once-solid financial institutions and stopped spending.

A new report by Yield Software investor WPP, the world’s largest communications services group, concludes that, despite widespread hardship over the last 18 months, the sky did not fall.  And better yet: consumers know it.  Playbook 2: The Sky Did Not Fall, the second report in a series developed by WPP’s global retail practice The Store, concludes “wallets are open.”

“But only a crack,” said David Roth, CEO of The Store for Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia.  “Consumers are purchasing primarily to fill basic needs.  They’re tentative about the state of the economy and are ready to…

Sizing-up Your Competitor’s Mojo

Competitive Analysis for Web Marketing

There are a growing number of excellent tools and services – most of which are free for the basic versions – that can help you to determine how you stack up relative to your competition.  This includes everything from PPC campaign intelligence, to SEO, to social media attention.

Knowledge is power.  Take some time to understand where you stand relative to your competition; consider everything that you’ve learned; and then set out an action plan overcome any deficits you may discover.  Our Yield Web Marketing Suite can help you take action toward this end, including optimizing keyword lists and bids relative to what you’ve discovered your competition may be doing.

What follows is a list (which is by no means complete) of Web-based services that can help you understand the Web marketing mojo…