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Protecting Brands from Bogus Sponsored Links

Check out the Alliance Against Bait & Click Web site, which tackles a topic near and dear to our hearts at WebWatch, bogus sponsored links and ads. There's a great video on the home page that should help get the point across to consumers.

We think the Web site could be a little clearer, though, that the "alliance" is, so far, largely industry. The campaign's press materials are upfront about it, but on the site itself (which is where consumers will go, over time, to read about the campaign) you have to click on linked text on the right hand side of the page to launch a pop-up window. Then you get a list -- Intercontinental Hotels Group, Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Northwest Airlines, Rosetta Stone and others. (Ben Edelman is part of the alliance as well). These are all respected, credible brands, and they are not a disadvantage to Alliance Against Bait & Click's cause. So it's probably a good idea to make sure consumers are aware of them sooner rather than later.

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