Durban florist Roxane Gordon goes viral by exposing Google Ads' customer misdirection

If you thought supporting local was as simple as typing a business name into Google and clicking the first link, Roxane Gordon’s story is here to humble all of us.

The Durban florist, who runs Flowers on Kensington in Durban North with her mother, went viral after posting a tearful TikTok ahead of Valentine’s Day. And it wasn’t just the emotion that hit people; it was the reason behind it.

Gordon claimed that when customers searched for her florist online, they were being redirected to NetFlorist, meaning her Valentine’s Day orders were allegedly being swallowed up by a bigger company before they even reached her inbox.

Now here’s the scary part: customers weren’t necessarily choosing NetFlorist. They were being guided there.

Welcome to the world of algorithms and paid advertising, where you can do everything right as a small business, and still get played by the internet.

This is what many people don’t understand. Google doesn’t always show you the “best” or “most relevant” option first. It shows you who paid the most to be seen. Those sponsored links at the top aren’t there because they’re the most trusted; they’re there because money talked.

And in a country where small businesses are already fighting for survival, this kind of online sabotage is not just unfair but can be devastating.

Especially during high-stakes seasons like Valentine’s Day, when florists depend on that rush to carry them through quieter months. For many local florists, February isn’t just cute bouquets and love notes. It’s rent money. Staff salaries. Supplier payments.

Fuel for deliveries. It’s the kind of week that can literally decide whether a business survives the year or shuts its doors.

So imagine working around the clock, pushing content, prepping orders, buying stock, only to realise the customers who think they’re supporting you are unknowingly placing orders elsewhere. Yoh.

Most customers don’t even realise they’re being misled. They see a name they recognise, click the first option, and assume it’s correct. Because why wouldn’t it be?

That’s how we’ve been trained to use the internet: quickly, easily and trustingly. But this situation is proof that the internet is not neutral. It’s a marketplace, and small businesses are often the ones getting pushed to the back.

NetFlorist, according to reports, responded by saying it is not best practice to use another company’s brand name in ads and that it was working with Google to address the issue by adding “negative keywords” so that Flowers on Kensington wouldn’t trigger its ads.

There's a positive side to this story, though, and that is often when things go viral, the community will stand in support of you, particularly when you've been treated unfairly.

Gordon shared a video thanking everyone who had supported her, saying, “It is absolutely incredible the extent that people have gone to help us.”

Marketing companies even reached out to offer assistance. This morning, she took it a step further, heading out into the community to spread the love by handing out flowers and showing her appreciation.