having recently confronted a band of cretins from Ask.com handing out anti-google badges and leaflets in my shop doorway, Ask.com have started to run an adword campaign which states
So they are now paying Google through adwords to tell people to search for our business in Ask.com and not search for it through Google. Using the internet in this way to conduct a search engine war to me is as acceptable forum, however employing heavy handed thugs to stop customers coming into shop is taking the fight out of the ring and onto the streets. Luckily we are more than capable of looking after ourselves and the thugs fled with a few bruises however not every shop has our weaponry and this tactic of using brutal physical force to promote a search engine is reminiscent of Hitler using force to burn all the books etc. So for anyone taken in by the Ask campaign think twice about the shopkeepers or the cafe owners who are targeted by these roaming gangs of thugs.
That's just crazy. Are you sure Ask is running those Adwords? Have you complained to Google/Adwords? It isn't even in English...
(looking around a bit)
I think I know what it is ... someone is scraping the web for long tail keywords to use for Ask's partner program:
"It's simple. You place a link to Ask.com on your website and Ask.com pays you commission when a bona fide user clicks on any Ask.com Search Box or Ask.com Link and reaches a reply page." -- http://sp.uk.ask.com/en/docs/about/partners.shtml
If you can trace that back to the site in question, you'll know who's been doing it. If you search for that number, you'll find quite a lote of referrers with it. The person behind it is getting money for each time someone accesses one of those links. If he's bidding on your name, he's likely earning more per click than he's bidding.
I couldn't sign up with the partner-program (it wouldn't accept any password I chose :-)). Maybe you have more luck - or better yet, maybe you can contact Ask and get them to drop that partner/affiliate.
Thanks once again John. Found this link http://www.information-revolution.org/?p=42#comments To me it seems too much of a coincidence that this ad has started to run at the same time as their aggressive marketing appears in our doorways. I have requested ask.com to explain both the adwords and the aggressive intimidation. I'll let you know the outcome. Asks.com know that the shop in question is the first retail doorway outside a university with 25,000+ students. We have a long history of fighting off fly posters and illegal street traders however we whilst would expect aggravation from dodgy night-clubs and rave organisers we do not expect this level of aggression from a company the size of ask.com.
I managed to sign up -- I'll let you know what I get (should I get anything; I do have a site that ranks in the top 10 for all sorts of "ask jeeves" variations :-)).
I have a feeling that the Adwords campaign and the link-spamming taking place are mostly from that affiliate / partner and not directly from ask.com. However, I feel that by allowing affiliated links like that, they're indirectly accepting that things like this will happen :- (.
www.Ask.com are using our company name on www.Google.com in an ad that directs to www.Ask.com. When this ad is clicked on, it goes to the www.Ask.com search engine where searches for the keyword 'silverstall' appear. The adword was evidently taken out by their affiliate marketing company which is behind the recent 'information revolution' corporate advertising masquerading as a social movement. In our area it has totally backfired with the local students union, who witnessed yesterdays fracas, warning students not to use 'ask'. We have warned Ask that we will publish the security videos of yesterdays harrassment on the net and i've a feeling that we will be left alone from now on. Thanks for your support John.
This morning one male and one female entered one of the shops, caused a distraction whilst another male outside the shop daubed red paint over the glass. We have good CCTV footage which the police will not let us publish yet - although we are allowed to show this image http://www.silverstall.com/images/nonstockphotos/vandalism.jpg
'heavy handed thugs' maybe this description was a bit off the mark as they are more the anarchist type.
I still cannot believe a search engine would sink this low in order to promote their campaign. There were hundreds of witnesses, who all now associate the name ask.com with jackboot marketing. Whatever their agenda it has failed. My agenda its simply to protect staff, customers and property. Negative publicity of this nature is not a good thing for any business - even when your the innocent party.
I don't know about anyone else, but that painted window certainly screams 'heavy handed' at me...
A whole new can of worms in the search engine wars. What's next? The Yahoo kidnappings? MSN Drivebys?
Search engines aside for a moment though, from a shop owner's point of view, they don't even need to be heavies to affect customer traffic to your shop. When I was in the computer centre back in the 90s, it didn't matter whether they were BNP, the Salvation Army or a bunch of kids... if they hung round the doorway, people got discouraged from coming in.
> This morning one male and one female entered one of the shops, caused > a distraction whilst another male outside the shop daubed red paint > over the glass. We have good CCTV footage which the police will not > let us publish yet - although we are allowed to show this imagehttp://www.silverstall.com/images/nonstockphotos/vandalism.jpg
> 'heavy handed thugs' maybe this description was a bit off the mark as > they are more the anarchist type.
> I still cannot believe a search engine would sink this low in order to > promote their campaign. There were hundreds of witnesses, who all now > associate the name ask.com with jackboot marketing. Whatever their > agenda it has failed. > My agenda its simply to protect staff, customers and property. > Negative publicity of this nature is not a good thing for any business > - even when your the innocent party.
Ask .com's statement:- "Everyone knows that: A) you have to try a feature to really understand it, and most people have been brainwashed that they don't need to try another search engine's features and B) advertising doesn't work anymore!! That's why we had to go underground."
The control of information using violent and physical oppression is essentially the hallmarks of a fascist regime. Ask.com continue to fly- post and illegally trash our streets, shops and cafes in a Hitler style attempt to control the rights of internet users. The slick lawyers are shunning liability away from Ask.com onto the poor idiots taken in by their sick propaganda. Ask.com are inciting violence and vandalism as a means of promoting their corporate image. They have tarnished the image of not only themselves but the whole search engine industry.
> I don't know about anyone else, but that painted window certainly > screams 'heavy handed' at me...
Criminal behavior is a local matter for the police.
Telling lies about one of Google's competitors is actionable. And, that other search engine has every right to put that shop out of business for publicly defaming their character.
> I don't know about anyone else, but that painted window certainly > screams 'heavy handed' at me...
Criminal behavior is a local matter for the police.
Telling lies about one of Google's competitors is actionable. And, that other search engine has every right to put that shop out of business for publicly defaming their character.
