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, it must be stated that most often
we find that this one is mostly paranoia. And it can be tough to
prove. However, if you are sure this is happening to you, there are
some proactive measures you can take. For example, you can exclude
specific geographies or even IP addresses from your pay-per-click
campaign to prevent competitor from viewing your ads. Just be careful
not to lose out on new leads due to worries about competitors.
Competitors writing false negative reviews.
This one is always heart-breaking for us
to hear, but desperate competitors have been known to do this quite
aggressively. What can you do? Comment back. Try to address the issues
as if they are real to see if they stop. If not, try reaching out to
the site where they are being posted. Some sites will work with you on
removing false reviews. Also, try to get your customer base
incentivized to post positive reviews about you, so that good and real
customer feedback is much more prominent than your unethical
competitor’s words. Customer loyalty will always overwhelm unethical
competitive behavior.
Competitors using your trademark in their ad copy.
You don’t want your competitor using
your product or company name in their ads – particularly in a negative
context. This one requires you to protect your trademarks. Monitor for
improper or illegal usage of your trademarks and file complaints of any
violations the search engines. Ads that infringe on your trademarks
will be disallowed from appearing by the search engines.
Next, let’s look at some examples of ethical competitive maneuvering, but which can also be abused:
Tools focused on “spying†on your competitors.
The word “spying†makes you think you
might be doing something unethical. However, most of these tools focus
on providing information that is publicly available, but also often
difficult to aggregate for an individual. One other aspect to consider
here is how the spy-tool company is gathering data – so make sure this
is an approved method for data collection. For the most part, this is
an okay strategy for supplementing your online competitive knowledge;
however, much of the data should be taken with a grain of salt. We
haven’t yet come across a tool that has spot-on accurate data, or data
that isn’t very stale. Still, many can tools can provide general
information that can help you develop robust sets of competitive
keywords.
Attending competitor’s webinars, downloading white papers, taking free trials, and subscribing to feeds.
These are examples of information
companies make available to the public — including their competitors.
However, if you are attending an online event or downloading
information using a false name or false credentials, then this crosses
the ethical line. However, if you access this information, and are
honest about who you are, there isn’t any problem with taking advantage
of information being supplied by your competitors. In fact, in this
world of blogs and data sharing and Twitter streams, there are plenty
of ethical ways you should be maintaining knowledge of your competitors
— believe me: they’re staying abreast of all your activity.
Advertise on your competitor’s brand name.
Add in your competitor’s brand name and
products names as keywords in your Google PPC campaigns, and have your
ads show for those. This helps to make sure that potential customers
give you a peak as they consider your competitor. Just be sure NOT to
use your competitor’s brands in your own ad copy — that would be
unethical.
Review your competitor’s ad copy.
Check out your competitor’s ad copy.
This is a great way to stay on top of their offerings and what they
think their competitive advantages are. Keep up here to make sure that
your offer is unique and your offers are truly competitive. However,
never copy a competitor’s ads verbatim. Focus on your own unique
points of differentiation in ad copy that’s all your own.
Review your competitor’s website (including view source).
Keep tabs on your competitor’s websites.
Extensive reviews here can provide you with a wealth of information
about their offerings, their clients, their management, their value
proposition, etc. If you want to know what keywords they are targeting
to rank highest for on natural search, click to “view source†of their
webpage. Many people have their keywords listed right in their meta
keywords tag. But if the keywords aren’t there, check out frequently
used words in their page title tags, H1 tags, meta descriptions and
content to get a feel for where they are focusing. You might choose to
go head-to-head with them, or you might choose to branch out into
different words to capture searches they are missing out on.
Read your competitor’s reviews.
What are people saying about your
competitors? What do they like? What don’t they like? Make sure to keep
tabs on feedback trends so you can improve your own standards in areas
where you don’t think you align. For instance, if your competitor is
consistently praised in reviews for excellent customer service, and
you’re not, well… you know what you need to do!
It’s okay to be a fierce competitor and to maintain tabs on what
your key competition is doing. Refrain from crossing ethical lines,
and you’ll always be engaged in a good, clean fight. And when you
encounter a competitor whose ethics cross the line, use established
channels to put a halt to it.
