Herman Cain Fights Allegations with Paid Search Results

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: PC Magazine

Republican presidential contender Herman Cain isn't running around the social media world with the most fans or followers, but with a significant amount of momentum compared to his polling peers.

However, new allegations of sexual harassment have forced the Cain campaign to put a little more activity into a different social realm on the Web: Paid search results. According to the New York Times, the Cain campaign has taken to purchasing Google keywords related to both the candidate and those involved in said allegations.

This practice ensures that the first link users see when searching for phrases like, "Sharon Bialek," one of Cain's accusers, isn't a news story or some other account of the allegations. Rather, it's Cain's own website: caintruth.com, otherwise titled, "Truth About Herman Cain – Get Past the Allegations and Lies."

"Unfortunately, the media-driven process by which one must seek this opportunity is fundamentally unserious. I have touched on this before – the emphasis on 'gaffes,' gotcha questions and time devoted to trivial nonsense – and everyone knows the process only became further detached from relevance this week as the media published anonymous, ancient, vague personal allegations against me," wrote Cain on the site.

Read more: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2396326,00.asp#fbid=5Dk9B-ialED

[truthisfreedom]

1. The best truth money can buy!

Cain, it ain't gonna work. Someone else will just come forward, and then someone else, and then someone else, and then someone else.

[PoliticAverse]

2. People look at the paid/ad results ?... n/t

[Amerigo Vespucci]

5. Believe it or not...

...some of my clients don't understand how that works.

They'll enter a search term and when the first page comes up, they move the cursor to the paid results.

Once I explain what's going on, they stop doing it.

:-)

[Atman]

7. That was my first thought. LOL!

I immediately skip over any paid search result. And if I noticed a link to my question about Bialek was to a CAIN web site, I'd absolutely avoid it. This guy is supposed to be some brilliant marketer? What next? Sending kids door-to-door with coupons for a free 2-liter bottle of coke with every vote? Dude is bonkers.

[freshwest]

3. Yes, the brother from another mother following daddy's advice, and probably bankrolling it.

[hughee99]

4. I miss the good old days where you'd create a campaign team

to smear, intimidate, or bribe anyone who had dirt on your candidate.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

6. It will be interesting to see how President Obama handles it if this dirtbag gets the nomination

Actually, any of the dust-ups will be interesting.

My gut is telling me it is going to be Romney, no matter how much Republicans may hate his ass, and Obama will slay him in the debates.

[hughee99]

15. Cain is a convenient distraction to keep people from paying

too much attention to the other candidates. He'll NEVER get the nomination.

[red dog 1]

8. "Ancient, Vague Personal Allegations Against Me"?.....I Don't Think So, Herman!

[Cirque du So-What]

9. I've been googling for so long

that the paid search results don't even register in my peripheral vision. It's as though they don't even exist. I imagine lots of people pay them no mind whatsoever either.

[beac]

10. Psssst, Herman....

Stop wasting your money...you've already got the stupid and gullible vote locked up!

[SidDithers]

11. I just googled Sharon Bialek and caintruth.com didn't come up on the first page of results...

Edit: I'm not seeing any paid results. Maybe Adblock Plus eliminates them.

Sid

[ThoughtCriminal]

12. So, does he have to "Pay per click"? - nm

[Amerigo Vespucci]

13. Yep, that's exactly how it works...

...first, he has to "bid" on the keyword. The "per click" price depends on its popularity...could be pennies, could be dollars per word. But EVERY time someone clicks on the ad, he pays. EVERY time.

[City Lights]

14. He gets more pathetic every day.

You're a sad joke, UnAbel.