Google Trademark Process, Shifting Burden to Brand Owners
ADOTAS — Last week, Google announced it would allow limited use of trademarks in the text of some search ads, even if the trademark owner objects.
Here’s a brief rundown of what the decision means for search marketers.
What is the change?
· The prior process allowed brand owners to specify to Google which retailers or affiliates were able to reference their trademarked brand name in their ad text. Now, any advertiser who sells a brand on its website can use that brand name in the text of their Google ads.
What does it mean to brand owners?
· Brand owners will need to be extra vigilant when it comes to policing and restricting the use of their trademarked terms by unauthorized websites – or risk having their paid search advertising costs driven up.
However, the trademark protection process will become more streamlined, since brand owners do not need to maintain and communicate a “white-list” of companies allowed to use their brand name to Google. Brand owners that have been depending exclusively on Google to enforce their trademarks will be most impacted by this change.
What does it mean to retailers and affiliates?
· Authorized retailers and affiliates can use the same powerful ad text they’ve used all along, but now they don’t have to go through the cumbersome white-listing process with the brand owner to receive authorization from Google to do so.
The new trademark rule for ad text is more efficient, and will allow authorized resellers and affiliates to spend less time managing trademark usage and more time optimizing their SEM programs for maximum effectiveness. What’s more, the change could save affiliates and authorized resellers money, as they won’t have to bid on expensive brand keywords, but can instead use the trademarked brand in the ad text.
Why does it matter?
· Using brand terms in targeting, i.e. the keywords themselves, has been widely available to affiliates and authorized resellers for a long time – but, until now, they have not been able to use trademarked brand names in the ad text.
When brands are in your ad text, visitors are more likely to click. Ads with brand names in the ad text cost less than those with brand keywords in the headline, and get more traffic than text with no brand names in it. That means affiliates and authorized resellers can compete more effectively with the brand owner’s own ads.
For up-to-date developments on the Google trademark change ramifications, please follow us on twitter/marinsoftware.
Reader Comments.
This raises once again the frequently heard question of “who really owns a brand anyway?”. Increasingly it’s not the company that holds the copyright, but the customer, the consumer, and now their reseller partners…
Leave a Comment
Article Sponsor
More News
-
Loading ...
Latest News
- Hulu’s Bringing Its “A” Game But… March 19th 2010 ADOTAS – Hulu’s sales team is actively subverting the ad [...] more »
- Yelp! A class-action suit? March 19th 2010 ADOTAS – One of three civil suits against Yelp filed [...] more »
- Viacom Accuses Google; Testing Digital Millennium Copyright Act March 19th 2010 Viacom has accused Google of turning a blind eye to [...] more »
- Google to Leave China April 10th? March 19th 2010 ADOTAS – According to the China Business News, Google Inc [...] more »
- [x+1] Creates The Smartest Tagging System Around March 18th 2010 ADOTAS – Today, if you happen to be at the [...] more »
- IAB’s Video Standards Tackled By ADTECH March 18th 2010 ADOTAS – ADTECH, a part of AOL Advertising and an [...] more »
- Google Search and Mobile and….TV? Oh My! March 18th 2010 ADOTAS – Google wants to dominate your screens…. Not just [...] more »
Features
- Semantics Go Mainstream March 22nd 2010
- Growing Pains March 19th 2010
- For Better or For Worse? March 18th 2010
- Yahoo! Wants to Get More Personal March 17th 2010
- Creative Considerations for the iPad March 16th 2010
Spotlight
AdBidCentral’s CEO, Vivek Veeraraghavan Talks Openly*What was the inspiration to start AdBidCentral? The conditions that inspired AdBidCentral came from a variety of factors in my personal [...] more...
Reader Favorites
Classifieds
- ATT Senior Product Marketing Manager- Atlanta, GA
- Lead Online Marketing Manager eCommerce
- ATT Senior Marketing Manager, Healthcare, Bedminis
- Communications Fellow
- Sr Director, Marketing Services
Recent Comments
- Abby: Hi, It's great and useful stuff for affiliate marketing here, thanks for sharing. I also
- Durk Price: This is one early adoption I would do!
- Rolv Heggenhougen: Companies invest a great deal in their website which in many cases is their only
- docreiss: I find it interesting that the author ("Bob") indicates the reader may have the "patients"
