Careful, PMP will trash you after the fact...

ComplaintsInternet ScamsPerformance Media Placement

Complaint

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Karla Coar
Country: United States
Performance Media Placement, dba premiumlocallisting.com, sold our company "First Page Google" marketing.  After tracking NO calls and our listing was NOT on Google's first page, we simply cancelled.  Shame on us for buying in.  However, someone at PMP is now bashing our company at complaintsboard.com.  This is libel but we are too small to fight this larger company.  We had no complaints before severing ties with PMP.  The fake complaint came the day after we cancelled. Be very careful.  They know how to hurt your company online!
Karla Coar, Super Tree, Inc.  Cell: 574-532-0647
Owner and Certified Arborist, Niles, Michigan

Comments

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  • 0
    Performance Media Placement Complaint
    Please read  the difference between the certifications Google offers as well as "What kinds of companies or claims should I avoid when considering Google AdWords?" http://www.google.com/intl/en/adwords/reseller/faq.html#difference

    As you can see again and again PMP makes "guarantees" that Google clearly states to AVOID!

    Find "Google Authorized Resellers" here:
    http://www.google.com/intl/en/adwords/reseller/directory.html
  • 0
    Does Performance Media Placement Lie?
    Why does your company have the time and money to have someone post a reply stating your company is aware of the changes made in Google yet still have errors on your website? To this day, the information still reads "...must spend $100,000...". Lets think about this, you are aware of the changes, have time to post a reply and even lookup information backing this up, yet cannot take the time to delete ONE ZERO from a page trying to show off your legitimacy and trustworthiness. There are several other errors like using the old term "Adwords Qualified Company" and the issue with the dead links, but those are unimportant compared to the possibility of misleading potential customers with false data.

    Imagine if it takes 4 (and possibly more) days to update ONE NUMBER on their company website, how long it possibly takes to update wrong information on a clients page and/or ad.

    Please, at least have the courtesy to update the information on your website BEFORE posting replies that have the potential to embarrass your company.
  • 0
    Who's Legit?
    6 days and counting. I guess "reputation management" is more important than providing accurate information to potential clients.
  • 0
    doublecheeseoneggsandwhich.
    I too, have worked for PMP for about a year and qutit for personal reasons If it weren't for these personal reasons I would definitely still be there; I like the atmosphere. I can honestly say that this company does get your ad on page one of a Googgle search. The clicks are unlimited and through research they use the most relavant search words/phrases that are currently being used to find the business or service using Google search - this is what they do.  Carl and his staff work diligently to keep your ad on the first page. It's not rocket science. It is a PAID PLACEMENT; PMP pays for the spot, the clicksand the search terms!!! Their pricing program determines the average # of clicks a particular type of business will get in any area (city or group of cities) and marks it up automatically. Sometimes PMP loses money due to the amount of clicks (usually early in the campaign)!!! But it uaually does average out over time. Most of these complaints on complaint boards are sour grapes types of issues. In an ideal world everyone would be happy, businesses would be making a ton of revenue, employees would be continuosly ecstatic, there would be peace in the middle east & afghanistan, and world hunger would be abolished. This company helps small to medium sized businesses get more leads & phone calls. Now quit complaining & get back to work!
  • 0
    Slow website updates
    Only 18 days to update information describing how PMP is "legit". Website updates must be very difficult for such a high tech company.
  • 0
    Cancelled by PMP
    I am a former client that believed the many lies told by these a$#holes! I was told "unlimited clicks and keywords" but after a couple months I got a call saying I was getting too much traffic aand it is costing the company money. I was told I had to pay more money or they would cancel my account. This is bull$#!t! How can these guys get away with selling me one thing then turn around and pretty much blackmail me into giving more money for something I already paid for? I have no more money! this was supposed to make me money to pay for more advertisig and now im left with nothing!!!!
  • 0
    Chargeback
    Get your money back with a chargeback! Claim fraud or an unauthorized charge with your credit card company.
  • 0
    MyBestLocalSearch
    I was actually looking into Performance Media Placement for a potential client of mine and stumbled over this blog. The bottom line is this. There are a number of companies out there who provide a service to small and medium sized businesses to get their information on the first page of Google. They ALL charge for this service. The good companies monitor their client's campaigns daily to maximize quality and quantity of click throughs. This is a time consuming service and well worth the expense. I know of numerous companies who have attempted their own adword campaigns and discovered that it's a heck of a lot of work. Google has recently established a 100% transparency policy for all Google adword resellers. This policy requires the reseller to divulge to the client exactly how much of the client's money is spent on their online media budget and how much is spent on commissions, administration, etc.. The standard for most companies has been 20-30% towards adwords, 70-80% on commissions and admin. Google recently did a mailing of hundreds, if not thousands of coupons for $100.00 in free adwords if a business would sign up and do an adwords campaign directly with Google. My understanding is that this campaign was less than successful. The reason? Most business owners do not have the time or the inclination to set up and then monitor and manage such a campaign. Google changes it's algorhythms on a regular basis and this needs to be accounted for, monitored and then managed. My company does all of these things for our clients. We guarantee in writing that the client will have his business featured on the first page of Google, on a rotational basis, in a geographically appropriate area. We place our clients on the Google content network,( 195 other websites), Bing, Yahoo, AOL, contextual advertising on Facebook and over 90 search directories,(yellow pages etc). Also included are Google Maps, Yahoo Maps and all GPS manufacturers. We are a Google Adwords Certified Partner. My clients have the option to run a "Competitive", an "Agressive" or a "Market Leader" campaign and our rates are between $400.00 and $1,000.00 per month. We provide analytics so that the client can see exactly how many page views, impressions and driving directions they received each month. We also show what average position that client occupied on the first page of Google.

    Like any other line of business, there are pushy salespeople and pleasant salespeople. Trust your gut and work with a company that explains their program, divulges how they spend your money, (it is YOUR money after all), and doesn't leave you with the feeling that you have just showered in used cooking oil. I would be happy to discuss an online campaign with anyone who has an interest. Just drop me an email at MyBestLocalSearch@gmail.com and I will give you ALL of the details. Thanks for reading and good luck. It's the Wild West out there and you deserve a decent frontier trailblazer.
  • 0
    Google Warns about Third Party Con Jobs
    Google has published and official warning (Guide) about working with "Third Party Resellers" of their Adwords Product.  Here is the guide:

    http://www.google.com/adwords/thirdpartypartners/

    Note that Google states the following warning in this Guide:

    "Many third parties have earned our trust by representing the best interests of their advertisers. There are some third parties that are not acting in this way. Here are some activities to watch out for and let us know about:

    Not sharing the cost and performance of AdWords campaigns: You have a right to know, at a minimum, the number of clicks, impressions, and cost of your AdWords advertising.

    Guaranteeing ad placement, either on a specific advertising channel or in a specific position: It’s not possible to guarantee a specific ad position on Google.com search results pages. AdWords ad position is determined by an auction and changes dynamically with every new search. Some third parties may only charge you if they achieve your desired ad placement, but those that guarantee a specific position (i.e. the top position every time a user searches for your keyword) are misrepresenting how AdWords works."

    It is well known that PBH LLC, doing business as Performance Media Placement(or whatever new name they operate under now) conceals the actual cost of the Adwords clicks that they resell to small business owners.  

    Google has now caught up to the Third Party Resellers like PBH/Performance Media Placement who have diluted the value of Google PPC campaigns to the point that Google was compelled to warn small business owners. By marking up the cost of Google clicks for huge profit margins, third parties diminish the real return on investment Google can deliver. It's likely Google no longer wants their service to be misrepresented in this way.

    This may be why PBH LLC/Performance Media Placement no longer has the link to Google from their site from the Google Reseller badge issued to authorized or qualified resellers.  They appear to be intentionally misleading prospective customers by publishing Google's "Certified Partner" badge with no validation link to Google.

    If you have been taken by PBH, or one of its many company names, or spammed  by this company, take a minute and complain to Google directly at this link:

    http://adwords.google.com/support/aw/bin/requ ... e=gap_complaint

    Google wants to clean up the industry and keep companies who are reselling their clicks honest.  According to the many posts in this forum, this company is one of the worst offenders.  You can help by filing your complaint about their misuse of Google's badge on their site and their lack of cost transparency in their campaigns.

    If you've given them money for their services, contact your credit card company immediately and dispute the charges as this company is notorious for denying refunds to its victims according to former customers.
  • 0
    File a complaint:
    Report a complaint about this company directly to Google:

    https://adwords.google.com/professionals/prof ... 373984624&hl=en

    Link is at the bottom of the page.
  • 0
    PMP Complaint
    File a complaint about this company directly to Google if you have problems:

    http://support.google.com/adwords/bin/request ... e=gap_complaint

    The link is at the bottom of the page.
  • 0
    JJ
    After reading this I'm freaked out - They just called me. Now they are going to bash me because I hung up. oh - woh is me. PMP.. why did you call me? You're like a bad cult that wants me to buy your books.
  • 0
    PMP Woes in 2013
    | 1 reply
    My business partner took a call from PMP and decided to use their monthly service. It's been a few aggravating months trying to do business with them. Now it's my turn to deal with the mess and the first thing I did was google them. Brought me right here. I am not surprised by what I've read. How ironic that Marianne, an employee of PMP posted 2 years ago in their defense. If it's the same Marianne, she is now Vice President of Customer Relations! Too bad returning phone calls and taking care of her customers isn't a high priority. Doesn't know how to use a phone but lies like a pro in the one and only e-mail she managed to turn out.

    Avoid Performance Media Placement as if it were the plague!
    • 0
      Parl Cerkins replies to PMP Woes in 2013
      This company, in many cases, has refused to have customers read over the refund, general contract and legal agreements before they sign a customer up. The sales person, in these cases, fills out the online form that shows these agreements and never shows them to the client, until they wish to cancel.

      If you never saw a contract before signing up, never signed a contract and have a reasonable belief that you have been ripped off, just chargeback, explain the situation to your creditcard company and they will side with you. If the company failed to explain the refund/cancellation policy and/or you never saw a contract (because the salesperson filled the information out for you online {this is the information the company will send to the credit card company in their defense}) and you never signed a contract either physically or digitally, then you will win 100% of the time.

      They have been reported to the FTC and if you feel they fall within the guidelines the FTC provides for a scam, you could report them. Here is a link that explains what the FTC sees as a telemerketing scam.

      http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0076-telemarketing-scams

      If you feel like you have been taken advantage of by misleading sales tactics, you could inform your creditcard company and file a complaint with the FTC. http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0341-file-complaint-ftc
  • 0
    Performance Media
    Google is helping to protect businesses who buy Adwords marketing through third parties. They require all third parties to adhere to strict guidelines such as 100% transparency, not making false or misleading claims and the account setup requirements. What does this mean for the business owner using a third party for Adwords management?

    * Google requires these third parties to provide the Adwords customer ID to all business owners: "It's important for advertisers to have the ability to contact Google directly with concerns about a third-party partner. To allow Google to properly investigate and assist the advertiser, we require that you provide your customers with the customer IDs for their AdWords or AdWords Express accounts when requested."
    * Third parties "...must provide your customers with monthly performance reports that include data on costs, clicks, and impressions at the Google advertising account level. When sharing Google advertising cost data with customers, report the exact amount charged by Google, exclusive of any fees that you charge."
    * Management fees must be disclosed: "Third parties often charge a management fee for the valuable services they provide, and end-advertisers should know if they are going to be charged these fees. If you charge a management fee (separate from the cost of AdWords or AdWords Express), let customers know. At a minimum, inform new customers in writing before each first sale and disclose the existence of this fee on customer invoices."

    False claims are described by Google as:
    * claiming false affiliation with Google
    * guaranteeing top placement on Google
    * claiming that ads will appear in Google Search at all times
    * representing free Google products as pay-for-insertion products
    * making false statements about how AdWords costs are calculated
    * offering unlimited clicks

    Read about everything here:
    https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/6086450

    My opinion is every person NEEDS access to the google adwords account. Access to an account will show how much was actually spent on the advertising, the position of the ads and frequency of ads being shown. If the company does not want to provide report access to an account, request the "Adwords Customer ID" and contact Google directly, they will provide all the information you want.
  • 0
    PMP
    Did you know?

    Google requires ALL advertising companies to provide the:
    * Adwords customer ID to business owners.
    * Cost per click and total monthly spend on Adwords.
    * Management fees the company charges.
    * "Working with a third-party" disclosure notice with all of their customers.

    Google's prohibited practices include:
    * claiming false affiliation with Google
    * guaranteeing top placement on Google
    * claiming that ads will appear in Google Search at all times
    * representing free Google products as pay-for-insertion products
    * making false statements about how AdWords costs are calculated
    * offering unlimited clicks

    Read everything here:
    https://support.google.com/adwordspolicy/answer/6086450

    Contact Google if you wish to get the full picture about your advertising.
  • 0
    dp sawant
    For last three to four days the route no 145 is not coming in time to NDA which is scheduled at 1400hrs from pine station or breaks down midway.

    The toilet facility in line station depot is not satisfactory the passengers urinating in open because it opens late in the morning and also it is filthy & inhigenic.
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