There seems to be a lot of confusion about this question on the internet. I was unable to find a decent website that deals with bidding on trademarked terms on Google adwords and it’s pretty well hidden in their TOS, so here goes.
Oh yeah. Now’s also a good time to say that everything on my blog reflects MY opinions and and views, and not those of my employers (current, past, or future.)
So can you advertise on trademarked terms?
Yes - if you don’t include that term in your ad title, text, or url. In other words, I can bid on the word “Kleenex” as long as my ad doesn’t say “Kleenex” Instead, I’d have to use a generic term like “facial tissue” in my ad.
To quote the adwords TOS: (for the US, UK, Ireland, and Canada) “When we receive a complaint from a trademark owner, we only investigate the use of the trademark in ad text. If the advertiser is using the trademark in ad text, we will require the advertiser to remove the trademark and prevent them from using it in the future. Please note that we will not disable keywords in response to a trademark complaint.”
That last sentence is particularly useful. Google doesn’t care what you bid on, they care about what’s in your ad.
So should you bid on trademarked terms?
Absolutely! Especially if it’s a case of Kleenex, Chap Stick, Q-Tips, or any other trademark that has now become synonymous with the product. Even if you’re not selling a product, it can be helpful to bid on the name of your competitors. If you sell blue widgets for a price lower than company X, then by all means you should be biding on the term “company X” with an ad like “Blue Widgets - 10% cheaper than the competition” or something.
What do I do if somebody is outbidding me for my trademark?
You have a few options here. #1 is to simply outbid them. If somebody is searching for your trademark, it’s probably a very good lead and you can pay more for it. #2 is simply let them. It’s your trademark, they’re looking for it by name already, chance are they’re going to click your ad. #3 is to work on your organic SEO. If you’re not showing up in the #1 organic spot for your name, you need to be. This is really simple to do for trademarked terms.
OK great, but what do I do if somebody is using my trademark in their ad?
If you own the trademark and somebody else is using it in their ad, you should report it to Google. You can do that using this form.
If they’re simply bidding on your keyword there isn’t much you can do. It’s perfectly legal. The famous American Blinds case showed us this. Of course, chances are that American Blinds already knew this before they tried to sue, since they were even doing it themselves.
If somebody is bidding on your trademark though, you may want to check out their website to make sure that they’re not using it there. Chance are they aren’t, but it can’t hurt to check.
I hope this clears up advertising on trademarks. It can be a very profitable advertising strategy if done right.
April 15th, 2008
According to The Smoking Gun, yet another couple is suing Google for showing images of their house on the Google Streetview.
For those unfamiliar, StreetView is where Google drives trucks down the streets and takes pictures of everything. While it has provided us with some pretty amusing images, it’s hardly a violation of privacy.
See, there’s no reasonable expectation of privacy in your front yard. Let me say that again:
Anything in plain sight from a public place cannot have an expectation of privacy.
The issue here is that they claim they had a “private road” sign. But does a small sign put up by the homeowner make it a private road? Their street exists on a public map, and they list that street as their address - thus the mailbox is on that road too.
They claim that Google is lowering their home value by having pictures of it on the internet. OF course, the county assessor also has pictures of the house on the internet.
In a classic use of the Striesand sydrome, the lawsuit only drew more attention to their house - causing many to comment that they’d be better served spending their lawyer money on a lawn.
Perhaps the next couple should just ask Google to remove the image instead of drawing more attention to themselves.
April 14th, 2008
Slashdot reported something interesting today. Basically, some neat language in the Network Solutions TOS.
It says:
“You also agree that any domain name directory, sub-directory, file name or path (e.g.) that does not resolve to an active web page on your Web site being hosted by Network Solutions, may be used by Network Solutions to place a “parking” page, “under construction” page, or other temporary page that may include promotions and advertisements for, and links to, Network Solutions’ Web site…’”
Basically, whenever somebody follows a broken link or goes to a 404 page, Network Solutions will put up a page with ads instead. This is underhanded and shady, and I hope that they at least leave the URL in the address bar of the browser.
It’s similar to what Comcast and WOW (and probably other cable providers) are doing by redirecting all 404 traffic to their own ad filled page. This practice annoys me on 2 levels. First there’s the ads, and then they replaced what I typed so I can’t see if I spelled it wrong and have to re-type the whole thing over again.
I’m not one for regulation of the internet, but when all of my provider choices seem to be doing the same unfair practice, what other option is left?
April 11th, 2008
Quick. You want to put in a sprinkler system in your yard. Who do you call?
I’ve been asking that question for a while now. There doesn’t seem to be a major company that does this. Sears, Home Depot, and Lowes don’t seem to offer the service, and they won’t recommend any good companies.
Looking at the industry as a whole, there doesn’t appear to be anybody actually marketing the service.
I need sprinklers and a new front lawn. I’ve got the money in my hand and will pay for it today - yet I can’t find anybody willing to come take this money out of my hand. As a marketing professional, that spells epic FAIL.
Searching Google shows up a few vague companies who don’t have websites. I called a couple, but none of them answered (and most were just cell phones)
A got a flyer on my door about it a few days ago, and called, but it said “sorry, the voicemail box belonging to Mario is full” That’s right, he put his cell phone number on the flyer and didn’t even list the company name on the voicemail. I’m going to assume from the full voicemail box that his flyer worked pretty well for him.
So there’s companies out there doing this, and they probably do pretty well by word of mouth and random door to door flyers - but that’s it. There’s so much potential here and nobody seems willing to step up to the plate.
If you own a lawn care / property maintenance company there’s no reason you shouldn’t have a website. There’s also no reason you shouldn’t be running local ads on all of the search engines. If you’re in the Detroit area, it will probably be very successful because you currently don’t have any advertising competition.
If you’re a product manager at Lowes, Sears, or Home Depot, you should think about offering this service. I think it could be very profitable.
April 7th, 2008
The Tigers (arguably one of the best teams in the league on paper) have lost 6 straight. Everybody panic right? No, not really.
At the game the other day, I couldn’t help but notice all the boos anytime the team was losing. Lately, it’s been every walk, every allowed hit, and every error. It’s disgusting and it’s not going to help the team win. I don’t want this to turn into a “Leave the Tigers Alone” screaming post, but I’m really starting to get annoyed by all the fair weather fans out there.
It’s baseball, and it’s a long season. there’s really no difference between going 0-6 to start, or 6-6 to start. The line becomes even blurrier when you realize that you can start 6-0 or 0-6 and still end up 20-15 in a few weeks.
The Tigers will pull out of the slump and they will have a fine season. Getting some middle relief help (or Zumaya and Rodney off of the DL) wouldn’t hurt much either, but that’s not going to happen. In today’s baseball market, every team is currently looking for middle relief help.
Oh, and to all the fair weather fans: Stop going. If you’re going to go boo, why pay for a ticket? It’ll make it much easier for me to park, and maybe give me some elbow room when I’m there.
April 7th, 2008
The other day I ran into an old classmate from high school. It was a person I never really talked to before (in fact, I didn’t remember her name until she introduced herself.) We said hello, and continued on our way. That night when I got home, I had a MySpace request from that person. I ignored it. In fact, I get friend requests from tons of people that I barely know. Old classmates, people at the bar, friends of friends, and random strangers who just want to see my photos. I don’t approve any of them.
That doesn’t even cover the people who think the friend count is a contest and add as many people as possible just so they can say they’re more popular.
When I first made accounts on social networks I made one rule: If I wouldn’t invite you to a house party, you don’t get put on my friends list. See, when it said “friends” I took it to mean “friends” - not “anybody.”
This doesn’t sit well with many people. Some people actually get offended when you won’t add them as a friend. I fail to understand that.
You’re probably asking “what’s the big deal? Just add them and you won’t have to listen to them bitch.” But that right there is the problem with social networks. Once your friend list gets deluded, the service loses its value. Let me explain.
When you first sign up, it’s you and your actual friends. You post bulletins with inside jokes and humor at others expense. You post pictures of the party you went to last weekend, and you just basically let yourself be yourself. You can be the person everybody sees on Friday night. Everything is cool.
Then, you start adding “friends.” Your mom, your boss, the neighbor’s kid, your cousin’s kid, a few bands, some local businesses that you go to, and all the guys from work. Now, all of a sudden you’ve got a problem.
You can’t have your boss seeing the picture of you drinking out of a bottle of Makers Mark with a straw, and you need to hide those party pictures from mom. You know the ones I’m talking about.
You can’t blog about the prank you pulled at work anymore, or about how little you actually do in the office, or about the 700 Bic pens you took out of there last week because the guys from work now read it.
In a matter of weeks your social network has turned into a business card. It’s boring and bland, and not you anymore.
And that’s why people move social networks. It started with Friendster, moved to Myspace, and now it’s on Facebook. It’s an eventual cycle that really has no end.
Will some other social network come in and be #1? You can count on it - especially if your mom doesn’t have a profile there yet.
March 27th, 2008
Looking at my RSS reader this morning, I couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed like all of the headlines were things that most of us already assumed for years.
Things like:
ABC study finds that all candidates embellish themselves. (duh!)
pentagon report shows no iraqi plan to assassinate Bush Sr.
McCain misses over 1/2 of senate votes (there’s a guy who truly cares about America - not himself)
Am I the only one who is saying “why is this news now?” Seems like it’s been news for the last 8 years.
March 25th, 2008
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