In my experience, the most troubling ethical conduct issue in SEO/SEM is gray hat tactics. Like a lie of omission, it breaks the rules without creating the usual telltale evidence. An example of a gray hat tactic is competitor PPC campaigns.
A competitor PPC campaign is when you run ads to capture paid traffic that would typically go to your competitor. An example is running an ad that says, “Looking for an ALL-PRO carpentry company?”. Your company name is Greg’s Woodwork, and your competitor is named “All-Pro carpentry,”
Companies use these sorts of tactics all the time. If you don’t run a competitor campaign for your client’s PPC on the search network, most people consider it neglectful. These industry-standard marketing tactics make it hard to resist taking things a step further. If you can bid on your competitor’s company name as a keyword, why not make a landing page on your site that is titled with their company name? Why not buy another URL with their company name and redirect it to their site?
For many who make a living by performing SEO or SEM services or affiliate marketers, doing the right thing can be challenging. Whenever we/google/humans make doing the right thing means you lose a lot of money, you set people up with too much temptation.
