Can throwing big bucks at search engine marketing smooth over a corporate crisis? BP thinks so. A quick “oil spill” search puts the embattled oil giant’s tailored messages above organic search results on Google, Bing and Yahoo.
BP’s PR strategy for the bad press is no shocker. One study showed that nearly 30 percent of people will click a sponsored link before genuine search results.
Google’s AdWords program lets companies purchase sponsored links that appear above normal search results depending on the company’s budget.
Terms that also trigger BP’s response website include “oil spill claims,” “oil spill disaster” and “oil spill cleanup.” BP may be paying $10,000 daily to stay at the top of search results, according to ABC News.
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