I don't know if this is the appropriate place for this, but everyone who is selling needs to know this.
I just did a keyword search on Yahoo using my own business name to make sure my new front page shows correctly.
To my absolute shock, the first return that came up was this "Splendor In The Glass Beads".
So why was this shocking ?? Because it had nothing to do with me !!
Another business used my name as a keyword and as a heading for their ad in order to divert my potential customers to their site.
Can you believe these people ?! To make matters worse, I've done business with them and have recommended them to others.
I'm contacting Yahoo to tell them about this deception.
I suggest that you all check your own business names to make sure that these thieves aren't stealing your customers as well.
I'm so angry, I'll be posting this elsewhere, so you'll probably see it again.
Ellen
Splendor In The Glass
www.splendorintheglass.net

You said "Because it had nothing to do with me !!
Another business used my name as a keyword and as a heading for their ad in order to divert my potential customers to their site."

and that's sort of what I see when I go there.  It's a selling site and the member that is coming up is named Splendor in the glass beads"  They have one item for sale right now.  They could have either seen your name and liked it or come up with it on their own.  If you could come up with it, then so possibly could anyone else.  When I began being known as violetbead on the net back in the late 90's my sweetie reserved violetbead.com.  I didn't have an aspirations to a site of my own at that time.  He knew to save my name as early as possible so that if i DID end up using it, and I do, I could.  So when new beading sites come up, I often reserve my name asap, so that I can use it if I ever want to. 

So Splendor in the glass is the business name of the member on that site that you are pulling up. 

The contact info is your info:

Company Name: Splendor In The Glass 
Street Address:  904 Paddington Terrace 
City:  Heathrow 
Province/State:  Florida 
Country/Region:  United States 
Zip: 32746 

So you might be able to contact the host web site and get it removed

I do find violetbead taken often and I have another name I use.  It's a first come first snagged with user names on web sites.  Not a bunch I think we can do.

Pamy

 

 

Hi Pamela,
I'm the Paddington Terrace "Splendor In The Glass". My website is www.splendorintheglass.net.
The one hijacking my name is a well known jewelry supply company.
If you do a Yahoo search for "Splendor In The Glass" , their ad comes up saying "Splendor In The Glass Beads" but then at the bottom of the ad is their business name.
The search result below that is for me; the real Splendor In The Glass.
So, in other words, they're obviously hoping that anyone looking for my business will see their ad and think that's me. The deceiptful creeps !
Anyone with a business should be aware that these people could do the same thing to them.
Ellen

Hi Ellen,

I'm still not positive how all the keywords work.  And I could be totally wrong in this case.  However, it was explained to me by a search engine ranking geek that keywords can tie in together.  I'll see if I can explain it....

When you go to google, for instance, and begin to type in the word Splendor, you'll see a drop down list of the most commonly searched for terms beginning with that word.  The more of your business name you type in, the closer it gets to your actual name.  However, you'll notice it doesn't just stop at Splendor in the Glass, it also adds the word beads.

As a company, if you hire an outside company to promote you on the Internet, they look for certain rankings.  Those of us selling beads, of course, all want the word "beads" in our keyword list.  Those who can spend the most bucks will get first ranking for that keyword.

In addition to paying for a ranking, you can also pay for ads under search terms.  In Google it is easy to see which actual keyword an ad has paid for as it highlights the word.  For instance, look at this link:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=splendor+in+the+glass+beads&aq=0&oq=splendor+in+the+glass&aqi=g2

Notice the two paid for ads on the right?  The top one has the words Glass Beads highlighted.  Those are they keywords they paid for.  The second company has the words Splendor and Glass Beads highlighted.  The search engine has filled in the words "in the" to match my search term for Splendor in the Glass, (it gave me a drop down of Splendor in the Glass Beads which is what I selected).

If I type in the term Glass Beads, look at the companies with those words hightlighted... http://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0oGk0H32t1K4hEBGeNXNyoA?p=glass+beads&fr2=sb-top&fr=yfp-t-155&sao=1

Again, I could be wrong in this case and the company you are referring to has actually gone out of their way to place an ad with your business name in it to snag some of your customers.  I think the only way to find out would be to ask them.  ??

Sadly, there are a lot of unethical peeps out there who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage like that.  Knowing for sure which is which might be helpful.

While I've never met the owners of that company in person, I've only ever heard good things about them, so maybe they are unaware??

This can be  a real pain - I think Beki has explained it properly.
Have you ever noticed when you are searching/Googling for something -- let's say for example "Swarovski briolette" - and Google presents you with a list of possibilities. Among them you might see stores you know DARN WELL don't come close -- like Target or WalMart -- and it even might say, "See our large selection of Swarovski briolettes at Target" - and if you are foolish enough (or just don't know the store) to waste your time and go there you'll find a garden chair or something totally unrelated.

Advertising agencies teach their clients to brand their name and products, so that they come up quickly in any search -- resort and hospitality sites are very good at this.

It would be in your best interests to write to the other person and ask them politely -- some people think they have invented something great and might be totally stunned to find it's already in use. Over 30 years ago when I became a gemmologist, I thought I was 'brilliant' when I chose the name "Sparkle Plenty" -- until I did a search. I still think it's a great name.  Today I registered a fictitious name for a small business in FL - I searched it long and hard and had to make several changes.

Good luck! I always loved your name too!

Carol