I have one competitor who is variously running not one but 3,4,5 simultaenous ads (for redundant web sites selling the same item) using my tradename in the ads to describe their different product, and despite many calls and e-mails, Overture has not done anything. They send me generic forms to fill out but ultimately tell me to take it up with the adveriser and that they are just the "medium."
This despite the fact that I've been spending $20-30k a month with them.
-Why can't Overture enforce its policy of one ad per advertiser per keyword? I've pointed out to them that a simple WHOIS search shows it is the SAME advertiser! (Google will act on this, I know this from experience.)
-Why can't they see that this advertiser has modified their ads to describe their product using my tradename, ONLY UNDER MY TRADENAME KEYWORD, yet under ALL their other listings, they don't refer to their product in this way at all? Nor do their web sites use any of the same phrasing. In other words, trying to steal my traffic that I spent a fortune to drive via other expensive keywords! Overture claims it is ok to reference others' tradenames if presented as a "review" but they are not even doing that--just blatantly misdirecting the traffic! (I should note that my trademark is pending now so the legal route is not yet available.)
I relish the day when MS and others knock some of the wind out of them with new networks. Then they'll see that they should have been working on customer relationships when they could have--but it will be too late by that time.
Lastly, here is a new problem I've been seeing: some of these redundant advertisers are registering multiple web sites using proxy services that keep their identity anonymous. This makes it hard to prove that they are one and the same (unless Overture wants to go to the trouble of comparing credit card info/billing addresses, etc.). The sites are clearly operated by the same folks using different 800 numbers (but no address indicated). The only positive is that some customers will be suspicious of this and not buy from such blind sites.
Sorry for the rant but this has been going on for months and months. I am moving as much of my advertising to google and print as I can in the future.
Overture's service makes goverment bureaucracy look faster than the drive through window at McDonalds.
|