The Guardian apologised last week after it admitted buying the keywords Madeleine McCann from Google, but denied it was for better search engine placement.

It was all because of the company who buys keywords for the newspaper, who have now been told to be more careful.

Marc Sands, marketing director, told Journalism.co.uk that not all keyword purchases could be approved every day and search engine marketing and search engine optimisation were new areas for publishers.

"Everyone is working their way through and trying to remain true exactly to the principles of what they're doing, but also to ensure that they're getting read," he added.

Of course, nothing is more savoured in the newspaper world than taking down those with a 'holier-than-thou' approach, and Justin Williams, the Telegraph's assistant editor, was quick to attack on his blog.

The Guardian has been critical of coverage of the McCann case in the past, and the blog suggests a slight bit of hypocrisy on the part of the Guardian in using the case to increase website traffic.

Of course, both papers have seen their online presence grow this year, and the argument could just be seen as fighting over who's playing fairest.

But do companies have a moral obligation when it comes to buying keywords?

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