Pay Per Click Search Engine Reviews :: Increase your ROI!

In this article I discuss seven illegal, or almost illegal, search engine optimization and related techniques.1. Trademarked Keywords In Domain

Names

If you’re thinking of registering a domain name that

includes a trademarked keyword, think again.

Using someone else’s trademark to attract customers is

illegal. It violates federal trademark law, which prohibits

the use of someone else’s trademark, if it causes a

“likelihood of confusion” among consumers.

Take Yahoo for example. They objected to 37 registered

domains, including AtlantaYahoo.com, DCYahoo.com, Jahu.com and

Yhu.com. Read the
href=”http://www.computeruser.com/news/00/04/28/news4.html”>full

story.

2. Trademarked Keywords In META Tags

It’s not necessarily illegal to use trademarked keywords in

your META tags. But you could get sued, and people have.

It all depends on why and how you are using the trademarked

keywords. If you used the keywords in what is deemed a

deceptive manner, then you’re likely to lose your case.

However, there has been one instance of a defendant who

proved to the judge that she had a legitimate reason to use

the trademarked keyword. Read the
href=”http://www.searchenginewatch.com/resources/metasuits.html”>full

story.

Here’s a short story to illustrate the seriousness of using

trademarked keywords in META tags.

I had a client who included the trademarked brand name of a

competing product in one of his web pages.

One day, he received a letter from the lawyer acting on

behalf of the trademark owner in question.

The letter stated:

“Use of [trademarked term] constitutes

federal false advertising, trademark infringements, state

unfair competition and is deliberately designed to trade on

[trademarked term] reputation and goodwill. Placing the

term, [trademarked term], in the keywords and META tags of

your site inappropriately and unlawfully draws Internet

users to your site.”

They threatened to sue, unless my client removed the

trademarked terms from the META tags. Naturally, we obliged!

;o)

What was surprising was that we could use the trademarked

terms in the visible page body. So we kept the trademarked

keywords in the page body.

3. Pagejacking

Pagejacking is copying someone else’s web page and

submitting it to the search engines as your own, in hopes of

getting high rankings. Quite often pagejacking also involves


href=”http://www.mikes-marketing-tools.com/marketing-tips/advanced-optimization.html#cloaking”>page

cloaking.

Pagejacking is no more than stealing copyrighted content.

It beats me why people would be so dumb as to try this

technique. Don’t try it. You will be caught sooner or

later.

4. Deep Linking

Deep linking is the practice of providing a link directly

to specific content on a web site’s sub-page, instead of

linking to its home page.

On July 5, 2002, the Bailiff’s Court of Copenhagen ruled in

favor of the Danish Newspaper Publishers Association, which

claimed that Danish company Newsbooster violated copyright

laws by “deep linking” to newspaper articles on some Danish

newspapers’ web sites.

The argument is that in bypassing the newspapers’ home

pages, Newsbooster links deprive them of advertising revenue.

Further, they asserted that Newsbooster is in direct

competition with newspapers. Read the
href=”http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,53697,00.html”>full

story.

7. Deep Linking Without Permission

If a site you are linking to has stated that linking is

prohibited, or requires permission first, then don’t link to

them. If you do, you’re asking for trouble.

6. Trademarked Keyword Advertising

Thinking of bidding for competing trademarked keywords in

search engines? Think again!

In January 1999, Estee Lauder sued iBeauty and Excite@Home,

saying its trademarks were violated when iBeauty’s ads were

presented during searches for Estee Lauder trademarked

keywords.

When a person searched Excite@Home’s search engine for

“Clinique,” they were presented with a banner ad for iBeauty.

In addition, the search returned a list of related web sites,

including iBeauty.com.

In August, 2000, iBeauty decided to voluntarily remove the

trademarked keywords from its list. Reach the
href=”http://news.com.com/2100-1017-244217.html?legacy=cnet”>full

story.

7. Deep Linking Within A Frame

If you link to another site’s content by displaying it

within a FRAME on your site, and your ad in another FRAME,

you’re walking on thin ice.

What you’re basically doing is “stealing” other people’s

content to generate advertising revenue. I would recommend

staying clear of this practice.

Conclusion

Take care with the marketing techniques you use. If you

think a technique can be construed as illegal, search the

internet for possible legal cases on the technique. If you

can’t find any, then it’s a good chance that the technique in

question is worth pursuing.