Whenever we pull up our favorite go-to search engines to find out that all-important information we just need to know, it comes with the expectation that the site will deliver accurate and helpful results in an instant. Whether it’s Google, Bing, or our good pal Jeeves at Ask.com, we have developed a certain mindset as searchers of the great wide web that we should always be able to find just what we need. As more and more web surfers begin to learn about paid placement and paid inclusion, internet users are beginning to doubt the validity of search results.

In the never ending saga and criticism that surround BP’s handling of the recent Gulf Coast oil spill, a recent headline sent web searchers into a tizzy – “BP buys first place in Google results.”

                                

BP is allegedly spending $10,000 a day to have Google, Bing and Yahoo! users searching for “oil spill” related stories redirected to the company’s main web site. Although paid search listings on these sites are distinguishable from other results listing, the question remains whether or not BP is making yet another wrong move in what is becoming a public relations nightmare. One of most well-received PR tools throughout this whole ordeal does not even come from within company headquarters. Instead, it’s a fake BP Public Relations Twitter account. @BPGlobalPR began with a tweet on May 19 (“We regretfully admit that something has happened off of the Gulf Coast. More to come.”) and continues with tweets daily, including these samples:

 “We will not honor any claims or complaints unless they are submitted as delicate, yet robust haikus. Go ahead, try.” – June 16

“I used to have to kick a sandcastle to ruin a child’s day. Now I just throw a match at it. That’s progress. ^Tony” – June 17 (Note: ^Tony is supposed to represent the “views” of BP CEO Tony Hayward).

The account now has over 173,000 followers, which is over 11 times more than the 15,000+ followers of the real BP Twitter account being used to send updates (@BP_America)

                                      

Even when BP tries to make a right PR move, it backfires. When BP recently aired a national television commercial featuring CEO Tony Hayward stating that the company would make things right, President Obama stated that he thought the millions of dollars spent on the ad would have been better served cleaning up the spill and reimbursing fisherman and business owners in the region.

Unfortunately for BP, it appears as though one of the company’s biggest mistakes was never having a realistic plan in place for dealing with this oil spill. Whether or not the company could have had an effective plan in place may never be known. In hindsight, what we do know is that BP could – and should – have at least had a better plan in place for its public relations department. With that, I would like to recommend that BP take some time for a lesson on dealing with crisis communication.