Rob Kerry, a contributing author to Search Engine Roundtable, has recently written an article on Search Engine Watch about black hat PPC tactics. He shares information about how by circumventing the human moderation filter, advertisers can display a different URL than is actually clicked through on the ad. Furthermore, if you set up multiple "phantom companies" all with unassociated bank accounts, you can flood the ad space for particular terms and push competitors out of the sponsored listings. Finally, Rob says that you can outbid your competitor and display an identical ad with a different click-through URL, giving yourself a clear advantage.
These are dirty tactics indeed, and Rob says that if you utilize them, you should do so with caution.
Have you ever tried this? Have they helped you? What are your thoughts?
Forum discussion continues at Search Engine Watch Forums.
