When deciding which pay per click management company to work with, its common to base the decision on numbers. Conversion rates, cost-per-click, and keyword values are all important numbers to know. But the decision of what pay per click optimization firm to hire should not be based purely on numbers. One pay per click optimization firm could have better numbers than another for the wrong reason.

Remember, the privacy policy of a potential pay per click management partner matters as well.

Pay Per Click Privacy Policies: Read Along

Once it has been established via metrics that a pay per click management firm has achieved results in the past, it is time to make sure that those results were achieved in a way that is consistent with respect for privacy. There are many technologies that track the actions and behavior of Internet surfers, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that. Studies have shown that 99 percent of Internet users operate with cookies enabled.

However, that doesnt mean that anything goes. Selling customer information to third parties, for instance, is a perennial hot button issue for Internet marketers. As a pay per click optimization client, being associated with a company that uses clicks to obtain names and then passes those names on to the highest bidder (or a variety of low bidders) can mean exposure to bad press or even lawsuits.

The giant social networking site Facebook recently ran into trouble of this nature, when it announced that even if users canceled their accounts, the content generated would still be kept and used by Facebook. At the same time, pay per click management firms wouldnt be doing their job if they didnt try to offer a meaningful relationship with customers, and collecting information is a part of that goal.

Perhaps the best way to navigate these muddy waters is to read the privacy policy of the pay per click optimization firm being considered for hire. If they have a well-written, clear privacy policy, they are most likely acting professionally.

What Is the Right Privacy Policy for Pay Per Click Management Firms?

The answer may be the infamous it depends. It depends on the needs of the client, the product being marketed, maybe even the group of customers being marketed to. Nevertheless, pay per click marketing firms who do things the right way often look much the same, in terms of their privacy policies. Common privacy-related principles of such firms include:

• Know the law and stay on the right side of it at all times
• Make publicly available a clear and accurate privacy policy
• Concentrate on connecting with customers who care, rather than spamming anyone and everyone all the time
• Make ethics a part of the business discussion

Pay per click optimization firms that are as comfortable talking about those seemingly nebulous concepts as talking up the conversion rates on their latest campaign can be trusted to steer clear of bad press or lawsuits.

Two things that seem so far off and unreal...until suddenly they appear.

Sources

LATimes.com

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse