Christine! It's absolutely absurd! I'm sorry you've had to deal with this. I love your site---and I'm in Atlanta! ;)

you have every right to be upset. pay per click search engine advertising (which is what they are doing here) works on a highest bidder basis, and they are being unethical here...and deceiving to visitors of their website. If you type in bostonmamas.com, you are looking for something else. Good news is that studies show that many people skip the the pay per click results (in yellow like they have) and go straight for the organic results (your listing)...but someone made a bad call there puchasing that word (bostonmamas.com). They are not always socially responsible to the point where my husband and I and many friends refuse to view boston.com. There was a very off color comment about people with intellectual disabilities on their site once (from them, not a visitor comment...) and had several people send in letters in call. They did remove it and apologize - but I am still struck with how they let that particular comment up there in the first place....poor editing and guidance - just like this. GOOD LUCK!!

Yes, I think you have every right to be upset by this. At least most people (I hope) know that the shaded links are paid ad links, but still, that isn't cool.

I am really sorry to hear about this. It's extremely disturbing and unprofessional. I realize, however, that in a strange way, that it's remarkable that a fairly major newspaper went to such efforts to emulate you and your work. I looked at that jpeg image--shame on the decision-maker who went this route.

You are absolutely not overreacting! We use Adwords as well and I can't imagine finding a competing entity actually paying to get their site above ours, especially if someone types in our organization's name. This is just sleazy!!

One might receive this type of ugly behavior as a compliment - or one might make as much noise as possible and fight it! I vote fight. Clearly their site can't be doing that well if they can't figure out how to market on their own! We're behind you!

I was schooled in the importance of brand recognition when I worked in the ad world many many moons ago. This is a blatant infringement on your brand, and as a fellow small business owner I know that continuity of your brand is VITAL to managing your slice of the marketplace.

I don't have a very high opinion of The Globe in general, but this is horrendous. Good for you for calling them to task on it. Please keep us all posted!

Dear Christine,

I'm disappointed to learn of this situation. It sounds like there could be legal action taken to protect your creativity and success. I hope you can get this situation corrected.

You have created a wonderful site for people.

all best,

fh

Shame on Boston.com for this irresponsible and undignified approach. I have always been a Boston.com reader, as well as a BostonMamas.com reader. This is the type of behavior that will result in Boston.com losing devoted readers - like me. I would think they would know better....

If I could swear and use bad language, I would. Let's just say how I feel would follow "He/they killed Kenny!", "You _____s!" THIS IS APPALLING! Shame on you, Boston.com!

This is SO wrong, and diminishes my feeling about the Boston.com brand and the Globe in general. If they want to leverage the success and high quality of BostonMamas.com, they should make you an outright offer to buy your site and hire you as a staff blogger. The route they've chosen is very sneaky and I'm wondering if the people at GoogleAds who let them do it should even have allowed it - couldn't they get sued for this kind of thing?

Christine, as a marketer I would never pull a stunt like this. It's not only sleazy, but it has the potential to damage my own reputation because blog posts like this will bring the sleaziness to light. I definitely agree that they are poaching your identity and, honest mistake or not, they should retract the ad AND write an apology on their blog, along with a big fat link to the real bostonmamas.com.

Disgusting. Don't let this one go...

So frustrating. But assuming you have trademarked your company name you can stop them from putting it in the ad copy. You need to contact Google to set that up. They can still buy the keywords, but the ad can't have your company name in it.

Lazy, cheating thieves, about sums it up for me! I'm sorry that you are dealing with this, know my feelings are relected in all the other posts.

i am sorry for boston.com that they are in a position to do something so disgraceful. of course, we stand behind you...and unite to support a creative, strong, amazing boston mama.

As a reader of BostonMamas.com I am, of course, appalled by this stunt.

Perhaps more importantly, as a former online marketing analyst, I am really disappointed in the Globe's decision. I think other readers have used the term "sleazy" and they are correct - it IS a sleazy and unprofessional marketing ploy. It also smacks of desperation and lack of quality content on their part, but that's beside the point.

While I did not hold the Globe in high regard before this incident, now I certainly will stop reading the Globe altogether. I just don't need that kind of "journalism".

The Globe should, as other readers have pointed out, apologize publicly to you and print a retraction directing people to your site. If they are unwilling to do this, I suggest you have your attorney contact them directly.

Christine-let me first say that I support your thoughts and feelings on this. You've put a lot of hard work into this site and I would be irked as well. However-and I'm sure no one wants to hear this-this is what PR people are paid to do. There are few rules when it comes to the WWW. I'm surprised at other readers stating that this is not something that is typically done. I've worked as a designer in advertising in Boston and it's one of the main reasons I left the advertising field. It's a dog eat dog world out there. It's competitive and can get downright nasty. You need pretty thick skin. Does it make it right? Absolutely not. Is it worth a fight or legal battle or losing sleep over? Probably not. I think the thing you can and should take away from this is that it's a testament to how well done your sight is and how well it's doing. Also-have more faith in your readers. The Boston.com website has a completely different look and feel (yours is better) and that is in part what a "brand" is. I think your readers are smarter than that and upon clicking the link would realize the site is not correct-even if they've never been to your site before. I mean if they also called their site Boston Mamas..or listed that on the site someplace-that would be a different story. Bottom line-yeah-what they are doing is unethical (welcome to advertising)not illegal. Kudos to you for addressing it though and for taking the high road.

If Boston.com wants to pay you the fair market value for use of your site, then they ought do the legally and socially responsible thing and ante up big, and then like any owner, give you the chance to decide whether your content is for sale. Until then, they should cease and desist this underhanded nonsense. This is just the kind of legerdemain we would expect a "reputable" news outlet to rise above. But apparently not. As for YOU Boston Mama Supreme, you keep doing what you are doing oh so very well!!!! :)

Christine
There is a difference between a company being shrewd business people and being unethical. It appears the line has been crossed. It will be interesting to see how boston.com responds. Keep us posted.

Heather

A sign of a news organization in distress, if ever I saw one. Having been in PR, I'm sad to see that this is a disgusting stunt that the news media is supposed to report on, not execute.

You rock, Christine...and you KNOW you've built something different than that OTHER organization...an actual community!

Wow, that is pretty low. Your site is a great one and I have been extremely disappointed with the BoMoms - the layout stinks, it does not make quick browsing easy (who has time for more) and I rarely see anything of value on it. There definitely is room in the marketplace for two good sites, but I find BoMoms often isn't even worth the stop. Kudos on your site.

This is really outrageous! Doesn't this violate some sort of unfair competition law, or trademark violation?

Totally skeezy of the Globe to try to steal your good idea, Christine.

You should call someone at the Phoenix, WBUR, WBZ and Boston Magazine to have them cover this.

Shame on the Globe for trying to capitalize on the popularity and name of your blog!

This makes me so sad to read- I do hope they will do the right thing- no matter how big or small you are.

Steph

There is desperation in this attempt to ride your coattails and divert your readership. It seems that it is difficult for institutions, especially newspapers and newssites to realize, that they can form collaborations...they could have worked with you to support your site and have your loyal readers click on to their sites. There are certainly enough stories and resources to be covered.
"Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." "Blogging well is the best revenge."
I won't boycott their site and I am a Globe subscriber but I will raise my voice in protest. Keep us posted.

This is REALLY horrible of them and it's definitely not accidental. This is outrageous and a blatant attempt to steal your readers and blur the lines between brands.

I'm surprised that a highly profitable news organization such as this would stoop so low. It really bothers me when I see corporations trying to take over or duplicate what we have worked so hard on.

I'm wishing you the best!

Wow, that would really upset me also! You definitely have a reason to be upset.

This is unbelievable behavior from a newspaper, who would think wanted to be seen as a respected source of information. I agree with Allen - you should try to have all of THEIR competitors to cover the story. Boston Globe wants recognition for their BoMoms - maybe you could deliver it by telling everyone how they are using your brand...
BTW, I am going to tell all my 8500 Twitter followers about this, and asking them to re-tweet it for all of their followers.

Christine - I've always been impressed by your professionalism and this blog only emphasizes your dedication to your many fans. I hope you are able to resolve this injustice quickly.

Anything we can do to help re contacting Boston.com?

You most certainly did not overreact. That's quite sneaky and underhanded. I didn't hold the Globe in high regard before this but now my opinion of them has slipped even further.

I hope this gets resolved amicably and soon!

Fear not! The Boston Globe will be out of business soon.

Sleazy move, even by my standards.

Enough of the high road. It's time for revenge. Raise money on your site from your dedicated readers to buy retaliatory Google Adwords where typing "boston.com" takes you to some...um...undesirable locations. Creative retaliation strongly encouraged!

Hi, Christine. I am running an Adwords campaign for a client of mine and I’m afraid to tell you that what they’re doing is probably NOT illegal, or a violation of Google’s AdWords Terms and Conditions, or even unethical.

If they used the term bostonmamas.com in the actual text of their ad, you’d probably have a case (assuming you have bostonmamas.com trademarked). But using your domain name as a keyword strikes me as fair game, frankly. They want to reach people who are interested in your blog and the topics you write about. That’s just good business.

You could counter their actions by running your own PPC campaign and outbidding them for bostonmamas.com. (They're probably only paying a few cents per click.) Your ad could say "don't be fooled, come see the ORIGINAL BostonMamas.com." Yeah, you'd have to pay some money, and yeah, it's not nice for a huge media conglomerate to compete with a SOHO business, but that's capitalism.

Christine! You have every right to be upset. If this happened to me, I'd feel VIOLATED!!!SHAME on Boston.com!!! I am appalled that they would stoop to sleazy marketing ploys - this behaviour is not only unprofessional, but insulting! I'm prepared to fight this with you... I'll do anything!

Shame on them! I have many lawyer referrals if you don't already have one.

You have *every* right to be upset.

Deceptive and dirty. I get David's point about seeking out your audience, but their strategy is one that will turn off those very readers they want to attract.

Hi everyone – I’m leaving this update in bold so it stands out. First, thank you so much for your support. It’s really helpful for me to hear from both those who are as outraged as I am, and also those with an alternative marketing perspective. I understand the corporate reality, but I still don’t agree with it.

Second, I received a message from Alex (who kindly responded while on vacation). She agrees that this is a problem, and updated that she’s actually no longer involved with BoMoms. Alex plans on seeing my message forward when she returns to the office on Monday. Thank you, Alex.

Meanwhile, Michelle Geffken asked about ways to contact the site. If you feel so inclined, you are welcome to do so by emailing bomoms@boston.com (BoMoms), beard@globe.com (David Beard, Editor of Boston.com), and/or you could submit a letter to letter@globe.com (The Boston Globe letters section).

Thank you everyone! I’ll continue to provide updates in bold as they occur!

Dirty pool, Boston Globe. You've lost another reader.

Good luck, Christine!

I used to work in marketing for a medium-sized company who was the market leader in our field, and this kind of thing happened all the time. I agree with Ruth and David: it's par for the course, and not surprising at all.

SO sleazy. Several years ago, a competitor popped up on the edge of my company's consulting niche as ___ Associates rather than ___ Consortium (our company). We didn't pursue action because we saw them as a peripheral competitor & not worth the effort. But then they started doing just what you describe through Google Adwords. Talk about sleaze on top of sleaze.

(I have to admit to clicking through on their ad as many times as I saw it... might as well cost them some money if they were trying to steal my customers!) Apparently it didn't pay off, because their ads stopped appearing when I searched for my company. But it was just. so. sleazy. Though it's not illegal, it still speaks volumes about their ethics.

I'm new to your site, but wanted to chime in that I am APPALLED. Hang in there!!

This may be the nature of capitalism, as some commenting have pointed out, but it is absolutely unethical and sleazy. Way to poach from the little guy, Boston Globe.

Sorry to hear about that. It's awful when others infringe on your brand!

Howdy, I clicked here from the Parenthacks Twitter, and wanted to add my 2cents. I understand why you are upset, and I would be, too, but I think I have a couple of pieces of good news for you. FWIW, the way *I* use Google, I nearly always disregard whatever is in the "sponsored link" bar at the top of the page unless there is nothing in the first 5 (or so) search results that looks like what I want. Secondly, when I typed "bostonmamas" (just now) into my search bar and clicked enter, my browser used Google to find the best match and brought up your site, not the sponsored site. I also went to Google's main search page and typed in "boston mamas" and clicked "I'm feeling lucky" and your page came up again. So, you're still #1, baby! :)

Wow, how underhanded and sneaky! I would think that as the paper goes the way of the dodo the Globe would be doing everything in their power to ATTRACT digi-savvy consumers, not REPEL them. Go Christine!!!

OMG, Christine... That is absolutely AWFUL! I have been a reader of your site since Sept of 2006... been with you and loved your content and niche. Finally meeting you was the icing on the cake - an intelligent, savvy woman who took her entrepreneurial skills and created an inviting and beautiful and engaging site. I canot believe that tactics like this were given the green light. Anything I can do, please let me know. We're all in this together - and there's power in numbers in this "Mom Social Media World"... not to mention the Boston area!
I'm so glad you blogged about this!
HUgs to you,
Audrey

From the looks of previous posts, it seems that all the things that need to be said have been. I just want to congratulate you on your success with your site and encourage you to know, as others have, that this stunt (and your high road, balanced response) will only serve to improve your community and strengthen your work. Keep fighting the fight, but I think you've already won.

Shame on you BoMoms.

Good luck Christine, hopefully they will do the right thing.

I'm here thanks to a retweet by ParentHacks and I am appalled. I'm on the other coast so not a Boston Globe subscriber, but they would be losing my subscription if I was. Completely horrendous behavior, even if it is "legal" and now the world is hearing about it, not just mamas in Boston. Here's hoping that they are shamed and that other newspapers don't try the same dirty tricks.

I also wanted to let you know that I have been using a "select right-click" search for awhile now. Maybe it's a Chrome thing, but it's very easy for me to highlight a term, even a URL, and then Google it instead of copying & pasting the URL into a new window. That behavior results in a search for the domain name and would give the result that those sleezeballs were hoping for. Thank goodness I know how to steer clear of the ads and look at the actual search results, but I bet this is the type of searching that they were counting on.

Totally unacceptable and absolutely. Of course, I emailed the i-team at WBZ ...

That's appalling, Christine. So sleazy.

This REEKS! And you better believe Boston.com is going to hear about it from THIS mama!

I'm neither a Bostonite or a mom, but I find this appalling on the part of Boston's lead periodicals. Instead of duplicitious, sneaky acts, print outlets (especially in these precarious economic times) should find meaningful ways in which to collaborate with pioneers in the onlyne space instead of cannibalization.

From the very articulate and passionate responses, anything I would dare to add would be inferior, but you have my utmost respect and support!

I just saw a link to your plight from Twitter, and had to check it out. I'm so sorry for the challenge this brings to you, but I also commend you for the courage to speak out against it, and to take the initiative to contact those that may be responsible, or those willing to assist (like your friend from Bomoms) to correct this misbehavior. Although techniques like this may be effective at getting traffic, it does not justify the damage they can do to other blogs and businesses. This is clearly the wrong way for any business or website to advertise, no matter the benefits. Educating other mom bloggers to keep a look out for this kind of deception is an excellent way to impact the blogosphere. Thank you, and blessings to your blog.

Sleazy, lazy ..no wonder print journalism is on the way out.

This behavior is far too common these days, by unscrupulous people! Some are even bragging about it, and not even hiding their intention to steal traffic and commit fraud.

I'm horrified, as it has happened to one website that I collaborate on, as well.

Surely they will be exposed as less creative and ethical. We can hope...

Although I agree that there is little that is surprising about this, I do not at all agree that it's not unethical. Just because something is common practice doesn't mean it is ethically sound. For a large newspaper to try to steal page views from a smaller website is a bit pathetic. Luckily, we all know the real thing when we see it. Perhaps you could write a letter-to-the-editor about it. Maybe you'll get some free advertising yourself! Anyway, keep us posted on how we can support you. I'm local and will happily send a letter, write a blog, tweet, etc.

Hello, BostonMamas community -- I'm head of community publishing at Boston.com, and a few of you wrote to the BoMoms crew to alert us to this Google ad. We've spoken to our marketing folks, and they're acting quickly to fix this and get that ad removed.

This is horrifying--I am so sorry to hear it. I hope that the boston.com folks do the right thing.

Hi everyone - afternoon update:

1. This story has been picked up by Universal Hub, an amazing aggregator of Boston blog information. Thanks for your support Universal Hub!

2. The news also is propogating across the Twitter-sphere (thanks Universal Hub for Twitter Search idea). If you want to come find me I’m @bostonmamas

3. I just learned from a blog friend – who did a Google search on her domain - that similar poaching is occurring for her site via Boston.com. Just waiting on confirmation from her before I release that info.

I guess imitation is the highest form of flattery....you must be doing something right Christine! Keep up the good fight and be the David to their Goliath.

Just after I posted my last update, a comment came in from Boston.com (there's a characteristic delay between comment submission and when it comes in via email). It's a few comments above this one and reads:

"Hello, BostonMamas community -- I'm head of community publishing at Boston.com, and a few of you wrote to the BoMoms crew to alert us to this Google ad. We've spoken to our marketing folks, and they're acting quickly to fix this and get that ad removed."

Thank you, thank you, thank you for commenting here, writing in, tweeting, and posting about this situation. I am hugely grateful to this community and will keep you posted on further developments!

Sorry you have to go through this, Christine. I'm thinking the Boston Globe will pay attention (and hopefully change their ad!) after today --- Twitter is abuzz with your story!

The good side of this is that it's bringing to light this problem and hopefully will scare future "big guys" from trying to stomp on us "littles" in the future. We do have the power of social media on our side, after all!

Good for you Christine!! Standing up for yourself is sometimes difficult. One of my favorite sayings is - Speak your truth even if your voice shakes while you say it!
Shame on the Globe, and well done to you!

If someone did that to my blog or site, I'd go CRRAAAAAAZY! Not exactly what I would expect from The Boston Globe. I knew that they were having $$ problems but the Globe must be in even more desperate shape if they'd go for a stunt like this.

Bad, Boston Globe! BAD!

Hi Christine and all,

Glad to see Boston.com is going to fix this… a few thoughts, though...

I’m in no way defending Boston.com (don’t know anyone there), but this could simply be an unintentional consequence of a search engine marketer making a classic mistake using Google AdWords:

First, Google uses "expanded broad match", which means Boston.com can buy "boston mom" & Google matches that to someone typing in "boston mama" (and perhaps variations which might include matching to someone typing “bostonmama.com”). The other, but mostly undocumented, thing that Google does is that they track your prior behavior and serve matches based on your past searches. I imagine you’ve searched for a lot of boston mom related keywords, so Google probably tries to serve you relevant ads, even if you didn’t type in the exact search terms. For example, if I search for “boston dentist” from here in California, and then type in “Irvine Dentist,” sure enough I might still get ads for Boston dentists just because of my prior searches, even though I clearly want an Irvine dentist.

Second, Boston.com is using Google’s “keyword insertion” in their ads. Which means if I type in “boston mom” I see those keywords in their ad copy.

When you combine expanded broad match with keyword insertion, it’s a dangerous combination. The classic example is “used underwear” or “used socks” or “used diapers” (sorry). Just type those into Google and you can see ads from eBay and elsewhere with those words in the ads.

Interestingly enough, when I type in “bostonmoms.com” (I don’t think you own this?) I see an ad from you for bostonmammas.com. You are not using keyword insertion here, but, if you were, “bostonmoms.com” would show up right in your ad. (you might consider adding this keyword to a "negative match" list in AdWords if it's not your site).

More info:

http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6100&topic=10975

http://adwords.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=74992

While this may be totally unintentional, it’s still true that you might have had some recourse as it’s still not OK with Google (and possibly trademark law, but I’m not a lawyer) to use trademarked terms in ad copy. I see that they are going to fix, so hopefully don’t have to resort to registering a complaint with Google.

Boston.com can easily fix this by using "phrase match" and/or adding "negative keywords" in their Google Ad campaign and/or turning off the “keyword insertion” feature.

Best!
Brad

Christine, as we've talked about this before, it just totally sucks. A huge corporation stooping to this level - it just shows what some people are made of. You are amazing and will absolutely prevail, but good for you for standing up for yourself, for what you believe in and for what you've built. xoxo

It's tough being a smart woman in Business and it becomes even more difficult when people try to steal your work and ideas. It goes to show you that what ever is left at the Globe in terms of staff is empty and looks to others for content that they feel they can steal and get and pass off as their own. There are many people who work there that I have had the misfortune of dealing with. Sadly these were women who I hoped would be respectful and kind to me and they treated me horribly. I understand your passion for your hard work and the effort that you put into creating your website. You did the right thing by standing up for yourself. Whom ever was responsible for stealing your work is a hacker and a has been. Continued success with the great brain and talent of yours!

Not cool, Boston Globe. Don't be a bully.

I can totally absolutely see how you are upset at the thought of someone using your name whether they intentionally did it or not. I have a similar problem with my blog name: I'm Manic Mommy, and to my knowledge, I was the first to use it on the 'net and have been Manic Mommy since Dec. '04. Imagine my shock to discover The Manic Mommies who do the podcasts (I think they are in Boston as a matter of fact) were going to be trademarked. I immediately found a lawyer to trademark my name since I came up with the name first. I don't know what will happen, but everyone SHOULD check with the internet FIRST before deciding what to name their blog or website to make sure they are not mistakenly taking someone else's name. There are also other bloggers who go by the name of Manic Mommy and it has caused confusion in the past. None of it has been done spitefully, I know, but this is why trademark laws are created, to protect the person who has come up with the name or identify first. You should really, really contact a lawyer about this. It might cost you, but if you really believe that it is rightfully your identity, they have NO right totake it from you. And a newspaper, who deals with laws and regulations all of the time, should be especially aware of things like this!

Just read through the comments and WOW, they are taking care of this immediately-- the power of the Internet -- the power of the strength of the MOMS!

Awesome!

Well, folks, if you own a parenting blog of your own you might want to Google your domain.

After I canvassed my blog peeps this morning regarding this situation, I got an email from my friend Nataly Kogan of nationally known but locally based Work It, Mom! -- see what happened when she Google’d her domain. There’s no .com on it, but it seems close enough, no?

Christine,
I really salute you for all the hard work that you've been doing. To stand up for you, for Boston Mamas and other moms around the area for a blog worth reading is really a tribute to us - the mothers, your readers.
Please continue to stand up for us!
Thanks for all your hard work!

At present we are being bombarded with daily doses of compromised ethics by big business. This is just one more incident supporting the low that certain members of the business community have sunk to. The press is supposed to protect the citizens by pressuring members of the community, press, and big business to do the right thing. In this case, the Boston Globe has decided to use that freedom and ability to do the same sort of reprehensible behavior. Legalities aside (which is outside of my knowledge base) this is a clear violation of ethics. The Boston Globe must be truly pathetic and desperate to behave in such a way. I am appalled and have not only sent a letter to the editor of the Boston Globe but also to both the Chairman (Arthur Sulzberger Jr) and President and CEO (Janet Robinson) of the New York Times Company which owns the Boston Globe. What a sad day when a company that posted revenues of approximately 3.8 billion last year has to attack (and this is an attack) a small business. There is an old Italian phrase that says – when a fish stinks, it stinks from the head – the respective heads of the Boston Globe and New York Times Company need to demonstrate to the public that they are not as unethical as the rest of big business and that their ethics extend beyond firing journalists who falsify stories.

I am very disappointed by Boston Globe's behavior and they have lost a customer due to this. I remember hearing about when you started bostonmamas and the fact that you were a front runner in this field makes their action ever more despicable.

Christine, I've read the many comments of support for you and utter discontent for Boston.com and feel I have little else to add other than agreeing with what others have posted. As always, you have taken the high road. Your professionalism and creativity will see you through this. Please continue to keep us posted on developments.

So, I'm posting a bit late, but here's my take. Pure sleaze. Not only am I not a Bostonite, I'm not even from the US. BUT, Bostonmamas is an important enough site that as a Canadian and someone proud to call Christine my friend, I joined the team of awesome mama contributors soon after she launched the site. I feel that contributing to Bostonmamas is an honour and a privelege. I get nothing other than the opportunity to support my friend in an awesome cause and share info/tips, etc with moms (and even dads) worldwide.

I don't care if what they did was "par for the course". I don't care if it "happens all the time." It IS unethical. I'm glad it's getting fixed quickly. I'm hoping some coverage will change how this process works on Google.

The bottom line is that this site rocks because Christine rocks it! If she wasn't so on the ball, Boston.com might have gone blissfully onward benefiting from this "mistake."

Report this to Google. They have policies about this kind of thing. They don't want their ads to be used to cheat their viewers.

Hi everyone -- again, I am overwhelmed by your outpouring of support, and am so appreciative of the various balanced PR perspectives here. Thanks everyone for weighing in. I’m just sorry that I haven’t had a chance to personally email each and every one of you. I hope you know how grateful I am.

I just wanted to follow up on Brad Cooper’s comments re: Google Adwords. He clearly knows a lot more about how this all works than I do, and I wanted to address his comment: “Interestingly enough, when I type in “bostonmoms.com” (I don’t think you own this?) I see an ad from you for bostonmammas.com. You are not using keyword insertion here, but, if you were, “bostonmoms.com” would show up right in your ad.”

First, no, I do not own “bostonmoms.com” and second, there’s a little confusion about above so I want to clarify how and why I use Google Adwords. After BoMoms came on the scene last year, I learned that they were clearly going after my name terms (“boston mamas” etc.) so I set up a (menial) campaign because Boston Mamas wasn’t coming up as immediately in the organic search as it is now. So, for example, if someone said to a friend, “Hey, check out Boston Mamas” and the person Google’d it, I wanted them to at least have the option of seeing the real link on the first page of returns, even if it meant it was sponsored.

More specifically, my Google Adwords campaign simply returns "Boston Mamas" as the click through link (+ URL + description) when people search relevant terms such as "boston moms" "boston parents" etc. -- common search terms for parents looking for local resources. And actually, I could very well just delete the campaign since Boston Mamas comes up on the first page anyway organically for those types of terms. Maybe I'll just go do that!

Anyhow, I feel that the BoMoms situation is fundamentally different because as you see in the screenshot, the returned click through link actually reads "Bostonmamas.com". Also, to clarify Brad's example, when I typed "bostonmoms.com" into Google, the click through link that returns is exactly as I described above ("Boston Mamas") -- meaning, if someone chooses to click on the link, it is being represented accurately as "Boston Mamas" not suggesting that the domain actually is "bostonmoms.com" (the way the BoMoms link had a click through link of “Bostonmamas.com”).

I would love to think that this was all accidental but two things suggest otherwise:

1. The Work It Mom example I posted about earlier appears hatched by similar minds.

2. I got word from a Globe insider that apparently some “idiot marketing folks” were responsible for this campaign and that this post – AND ALL OF YOU – wreaked havoc at Boston.com today. I think the phrase “freaking out” was the descriptor of the scene.

Again, thank you all for your support. And if you have any questions at all about above, I am happy to answer. As always, you get full transparency with me!

This is crazy. It really riles me that all your work and effort are being leached by the Globe. Whatever I can do to help, I am there for you. This doesn't just affect you, it affects the entire blogging community.

Sorry to hear about this. I'd be ticked too!

I kind of know what you're feeling, except on a smaller scale. We've had the name Thrifty Mommy for over 3 years now. Some one else came in and opened a blogger blog using The Thrifty Mommy. It really stinks!!!!

Christine, I too, live far away from Boston (currently in Germany) but enjoy your site for general tips for me and for gift ideas for friends and family back home.
I'm sorry I didn't see this in time to join in the tea party at the Globe, but am glad to see some resolution is being reached.
I'm surprized you say you don't own "Bostonmamas". Why not? I would think you would want to put a copyright on it, especially now that you've been shown very clearly how valuable that term has become. Even if they still bought an ad that came up when that term was searched for, I would think they'd have to stop using your name in their ad. Is there some reason you haven't or can't?
Good luck!

What a strange and unfortunate saga...although it seems resolved (or, at least resolving).

It is a really interesting situation and I think there's a real story to be told about GoogleAds and the big players coming onto a small, niche seen. The technology makes it easy to poach but the transparency provided by the Internet makes it hard to excuse and impossible to justify.

I'd write a letter to the editor for publication. See if they have the cohones...

Hi Jen - just to respond to your concern re: ownership. I do have a trademark application pending for Boston Mamas, and have had several folks in legal also tell me that in the meanwhile I have plenty to stand on re: common trademark usage (i.e.. the fact that I have been up and public with my name for so long).

It's apparently very common though for people to use your identity to try to pull readers. I've seen a lot of less than savory behavior on this front but you have to have a thick skin for the minor stuff (plus it is majorly time consuming to deal with). So I only take action when I see a serious problem -- such as the situation above (where the poaching was on the level of the specific "bostonmamas.com" domain), or in the last year, when I saw someone trying to launch a site with an almost identical name and spin.

Thanks for your concern!

Sorry to hear :(

As someone in internet marketing, several businesses do bid on competitors keywords but no matter what, I have NEVER found it to be moral and I do believe you CAN do cease and desist if they are bidding on something that is trademarked. Otherwise, you may be out of luck. Good luck either way! Great site!

I'm horrified and enraged for you. I hope this gets resolved, but you certainly have a case. And frankly, I think you have been MORE than kind. Id be steaming.

That's really horrible. I'm sorry that you're hard work is being undermined by them. Hopefully this gets their attention.

Dear Christine,
Your website is so vastly superior. It doesn't look like a newspaper. It's easy to read; it's personal; it's obviously organized by a mom who's going through the joys and pains of parenting, and it's filled with much more information, To me, it's just a more powerful and enjoyable website. Given the quality of your work, I want to say don't worry but do pursue any protections that are necessary.

As a psychotherapist living in NY, I love your site and recommend it to many of my clients who are moms and they all come back with rave reports. Believe me they are not going to someone else's website. Besides, outside of Boston, know one knows about the Boston Globe.
Keep up the great work :-)

How sad that someone at a major publication has to prey on a small independent person like that. I'm glad that you're being vocal about this and hopefully they will not only rectify their behavior, they will compensate you as well!

Its so sad that ppeople are trying to make money off of others hard work. I see this a loop hole in blogging and we are going to see more of it. You found this set up and maybe you can put a stop to it. I just wonder how many other blogs or web site this is being done to?
With so many people being laid off expect to see more scams .
I would be very upset and I don't blame you for being so.

I just returned from a brief holiday away from work and email. Sorry I didn't weigh in sooner. Katherine and I check your site regularly from Canada. We love it and we hate that this has happened to you. Congratulations on taking the high road - it looks like it's working!

Christine, this is absolutely despicable. I hope it gets resolved soon.

As a daily boston.com reader, I am grossed out by this kind of behavior. I know how desperate newspapers are for revenue and attention these days, but this only demeans what was once a major publication and diminishes my loyalty to boston.com. Keep up the good fight, Christine!

That's really surprising Christine. There's plenty of room in the Boston blogging community for more. Collaboration with leaders like (the real) BostonMamas is key to growing the community.

I'm hoping (and guessing) the editorial team at BoMoms and Boston.com has no idea, and that they take down the misleading link.

This is very interesting. I do hope that it works out for you as it looks like it will.

I guess that ethics online have a long way to go.

It is hard not to take something personal when you spend so much time working on it. Hope all works out in the end

Christine, you are definitely not overreacting. It is outrageous what they explicitly tried to do! Keep your head up and know that you have a wonderful community of hard-working moms out here that support and appreciate what you have poured your heart and soul into. Hopefully there's an innocent explanation for what was done or at least some action is taken to right that wrong.

I am livid for you. Shame on you Boston.com and also the world is too small and when you pull these tactics, word gets around.

I am so proud of you and your readers for rallying and getting this taken care of.

Christine,
This is infuriating! So sorry that you are facing this. I would expect more of them, and can't see why they would do something so short-sighted. It is no surprise you have so much support.

The saying "it takes a village", may be cliched, but it is so true. Your website has been and continues to be a wonderful site for all of us and it is a ridiculous that some people have tried to take advantage of your gift for writing and sharing. For those of us who blog, thank you for being an inspiration and I am sorry that you have had to spend your time, distracted from what you do so well.

Hi Christine, sorry it took me a few days (ugh, busy time with the kids), but as promised:

I think that you are right to be suspicious about the Boston.com Google ad campaign. They probably were not buying your specific domain as a keyword, they may just have been buying generic terms, like “boston moms”, “boston mommies” and, perhaps, “boston mamas”, which is still somewhat generic, but perhaps suspicious. Just as you are probably not buying “bostonmoms.com” even though your Google ad is still displaying to people searching for this term (you should really fix this?)

However, it looks like they may have been using the following syntax in their AdWords headline:

Headline: {Keyword}.com

Which means they were just tagging generic terms to the “.com” suffix, potentially displaying competitive (possibly trademarked) domain names every time this ad was displayed. Yes, pretty bad indeed. Keyword insertion is actually a very good technique (when done right) as it makes ads more relevant to the searcher. But here, it’s badly misused.

At best, it’s a lazy mistake. At worst, it’s a lazy way to put competitive domain names in their ad copy, which, as I said in my earlier post, is not allowed by Google if it is a “trademarked” term.

Seems like they’ve stopped the campaign, so nice work!

At the same time, you still should add “bostonmoms.com” to your “negative keywords” list so that your ads don’t show when someone types that domain into Google (as it does now).

Again, let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

Best to you and to your site!

Oh, Christine, I am so sorry to hear this. You have worked so hard to carve out your niche and have done a wonderful job. What they did was wrong - in the long run that's going to come back to bite them and you'll come out on top! But it sure does't make it any easier to swallow. Hang in there!

some say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery; in this case, i say it is thievery. you deserve all the credit for the time, committment and hard work youve devoted to bostonmamas. we stand behind you!

Well now. I happen to be an avid newspaper reader, but this really ticks me off. You are -- and always will be -- the ONE AND ONLY bostonmamas.com!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Behind you all the way, dear.

Your crusade is only fair. Bomoms should not be getting away with outright copycatting. Good luck in the battle.

thank you for providing Boston Mamas with YOUR site!

I'm a little late to this but just wanted to chime in that I find this kind of behavior really gross. I'm so not a fan of corporate attempts to undermine more organic community resources like Boston Mamas. Glad you're standing up to this, Christine.