Dog Ear Publishing Google Adwords Marketing Tactics

Internet Marketing Ethics: How Far is Too Far?

 

The PCG Digital Marketing represent companies for all areas of the business community and recently we added Tate Publishing to our client list.  Tate Publishing is located in Mustang Oklahoma and provides book publishing and audio book services to authors. 

As part of our review of their Internet marketing strategies I came across a company called "Dog Ear Publishing" who is a competing book publisher. This company was easy to spot  because of their Adwords marketing techniques.  We've worked on hundreds of Internet Marketing campaigns as part of our consulting practice and never have  we seen such an aggressive negative attack from one business to another using Google Adwords. 

On January 17, 2009 we took a screen snapshot of a Google search for "Tate Publishing" and the second paid listing, boxed in red, is one that is running from Dog Ear Publishing. (see graphic below).  I wrote this commentary not because Tate Publishing is our client. I thought it would be a great case study on Internet marketing ethics. Since Internet marketing is like the "Wild Wild West"  with explosive growth and little constraints on marketing approaches, it was time to speak up.

As a business owner and Internet marketing consultant I would not encourage any client  to use negative press to put down competitors. Negative smear tactics is not a method for success on the Internet; if you live in a glass house don't throw stones.   Every business has satisfied customers and dissatisfied customers.  The Internet is the great equalizer for consumers to share their experiences. Companies should stay out of direct B to B attacks, to us it looks childish.

There are many SEO companies that make outrageous claims and leave business owners high and dry.  We would never setup a Google Adwords campaign, using another SEO company's name, and bad mouth them in Adwords.  For us, that would be unethical and it would be in poor taste.

 

I was always coached that you should build your business on the positive merits of your own work and not to bath mouth your competitors.  Websites like Consumer Reports have a much more balanced view of reviewing competing brands, services or products and are respected for that editorial content.  When a company buys a competitors name in Adwords just to divert potential customers, I start to question the marketing ethics of that company.

It is not uncommon for a company to buy the names of their competitors in Google Adwords.  That's not what makes this case study interesting.  The uniqueness is that the ad that was created, was designed to attack the competitor and not just display their company name. It  appears to directly attempt to divert interest in Tate Publishing to their business website. That's very bold.

Is Dog Ear Publishing doing anything illegal?    I don't know that answer. We can let the two companies battle that out.  While this continues in the public eye , it is an important situation to review for Internet marketing consultants.

I would advise companies not to engage in this type of marketing.  To me, this gives the impression that Dog Ear Publishing is both threatened and desperate. They took the low road to Internet advertising.  Would Tiffany's take out an add under Harry Winston Jewelers and say "Don't Buy Diamonds from Harry Winston..until you check out our selection"?  Never.

The Internet gives companies like Dog Ear Publishing and opportunity to write about the merits of their business model.  Those articles can be indexed and used to attract new authors to use their services.  Using Google Adwords to further a diversionary marketing campaign against a competitor is in bad taste.