• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, May 5, 2010

Dear BP, I hope you're paying attention to the chatter across the Web about your misstep. Several online marketing experts weighed in with suggestions on how to better manage your reputation through paid search, also known as pay-per-click (PPC) ads, search engine optimization (SEO), Facebook ads and YouTube videos, as you not only try to clean up the oil in the ocean and shoreline, but the foul sentiment you're leaving behind online.

Online marketers say it's important for you to tie together a variety of marketing strategies and campaigns. David Szetela, Clix Marketing founder, suggests two ways to get started. First, place paid search ads at the top of the search engine results page (SERP) in response to any searches on the topic. Second, place ads on the Google Content Network on-site pages that mention the oil spill problem. Companies can reach most media sites this way, including regional TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.

The strategy could help improve BP's image. "We ran a very successful campaign similar to this for a major food company who had a salmonella-related recall," Szetela says. "We received more than 30 million target impressions over two weeks, and total ad spend was under $10,000."

Marketers notice BP's SERPs are a mess, but SEO and PPC can offer immediate results. As expected, "oil spill"-related keywords have sky-rocketed. It's all about managing reputation through informing the public. David Goldman, senior search specialist at MRM Worldwide, suggests becoming more transparent through paid search or sponsored ads that lead people to a landing page detailing events.

Landing pages or a microsite should explains what's being done to fix the problem, who's footing the bill, and ways to prevent this from happening in the future. It may not be enough for people to know that BP owns-up to the responsibility, but it can't hurt the company to become more transparent in the methods it uses to clean up the mess, or to make a charitable $1 million donation to the Save Turtles Foundation, Goldman says.

There are many small businesses and relief groups already benefiting from oil-spill-related search queries that generate donations, leads and additional Web site traffic, Goldman adds. "The CEO should write a memo to the world addressing these concerns," he says. "Being proactive shows they took responsibility. It can help turn a bad situation somewhat better."

Aside from traditional paid search and SEO, Marty Weintraub, aimClear founder, says BP should place text ads throughout Google's DoubleClick and other contextual networks, on major news stories covering the oil spill. Objectives can include warding off predatory attorneys who are setting the table for class-action lawsuits; branding; and providing additional information.

"Think about it," Weintraub says. "How powerful would it be for BP to consistently place their benevolent, humble text ad to serve the public's need each day the New York Times or the Washington Post runs an article about the spill," he says. "We'd use negative calls to action offering care, condolences, and outline the action to keep clicks and cost down. All the same legal caveats apply."

Don't forget Facebook ads. Weintraub also "consider a journey to the belly of the beast" where BP can target millions of Facebook members who have interests like ecology, sailing, recycling, salt-water fishing, etc. "These folks can be served the same types of ads as in search PPC, in interest-specific wrappers," he says.

For instance, BP should direct Louisiana residents, fanatic about birds, to resources where they can volunteer. There are many opportunities to preserve the BP brand for these types of micro-demographics, Weintraub explains. "We also suggest a Facebook-wide buy for branding," he says. "There are over 400 million users who hang out on Facebook. Effectual CPMs, even in the CPC model, are often dirt-cheap compared to Google's DoubleClick. We'd tell BP to be all over it."

Then there's the problem of real-time feeds from Twitter being dumped into Google search results. These negative posts are being shared with help from Digg, ShareThis or Like buttons throughout social sites. Uploading videos to YouTube and promoting them on search engines could trigger enough positive buzz in real-time search results to offset the negative sentiment in search results, according to Terry Van Horne, from the SEO Training Dojo at HuoMah. Van Horne had to try and control his anger at BP as he explained that it will be as difficult for the company to clean up its reputation as it will be to clean up the oil.