Because pay per click (PPC) is an aggressive and effective marketing tool, “black-hat” PPC methods will always be available. These unethical tactics can help a business secure keywords for its website without having to pay a high bid price. Black-hat PPC is risky business, though, and should be avoided. An experienced PPC campaign management company can work around these dirty tactics.
Here are three popular black-hat PPC practices to avoid.
Non-compliant ads
Due to a lack of pre-moderation in the Google AdWords system, changes that meet automated rules can be made to an ad instantly, at any time of the day or night. Because Google’s human moderators don’t work 24×7, non-compliant ads can go undetected for a while, especially on weekends.
The non-compliant ad’s display URL will not be the actual URL the visitor reaches after clicking through. The black-hat ad has exploited the brand recognition built by a larger, more established site. The purpose of this unethical practice is to increase click-through rates for the less well-known site.
Same-keyword multiple ads
PPC networks are restricted from running multiple ads from one company displayed for the same keyword. Getting around this restriction requires setting up a new PPC account for each additional ad to be displayed.
Black-hat PPC strategists try to sidestep this rule by setting up phantom companies with unique bank accounts, credit card numbers, and addresses. Once these fake companies are established, the bidding begins. Another black-hat trick is to flood the search results of competitor’s non-trademarked brand terms. This causes them not to have a single brand name PPC listing.
Copying competitor’s ads
Another black-hat tactic is copying a competitor’s ad and running it with a different click-through URL. Since Google AdWords doesn’t allow duplicate ads, the competitor will be removed from the paid-search listings. If the black-hat company’s bid is more than the competitor’s maximum bid, the black-hat ad will replace that of the competitor.
Since users expect to land on the competitor’s site when they click through, another black-hat trick is to create a landing page that mentions the competitor but in the form of a negative customer review.
Because every black-hat trick in the book has been used, abused, and exhausted, Google, Yahoo! and other key search engines implement effective counter strategies.
No matter how attractive the short-term gain may be, it’s not wise to try black-hat tricks. Doing so can cost you a PPC account and destroy your chances of any pay per click revenue.