A company that has been granted a trademark on its name and associated phrases has legal protections. First is the keyword. Second is the ad copy. Usually, Google Ads will automatically block a trademarked term in ad copy.
If you do manage to skirt the algorithm, the competitive company holding the trademark will likely file a complaint and get your ads removed. Most advertisers reciprocate if a competitor is bidding on their name or phrases. An eye for an eye, so to speak. The second scenario is less common. In SEO, the process is also very similar.
Publish a piece of content on the subject matter, optimize it for the search term, and then build backlinks to the page so that it ranks well. For the most part, using such advertising tactics is OK provided you are not deceptive in your practices. This means that if you are intentionally trying to mislead searchers, you may find yourself in hot water.
And doing that well means representing specific reasons customers often prefer you over your competition. Anyone can sue anyone for any reason, so legal costs are a real consideration. Campaigns explicitly created to target competitor brand searches are expensive and typically produce low numbers of conversions. If this is happening to you, take solace in knowing that your competitor is spending some serious cash. But you still want to reclaim what is yours and reduce any adverse impacts on your brand.
This play typically yields high conversions at a low cost per conversion — and the more your brand is known and trusted, the more impressive the results. As you can see in the above example, Salesforce is running Google ads on its name, taking up the top ad position.
Searchers click on ads at the very top of a page more often than other positions. The idea here is simple. Imagine that you own the Apex Dental Clinic on 1st street and your competitor is the Acme Dental Clinic on 2nd street.
The screenshot below shows the keyword tags from a website back in the back pages of a Google search. If your company sells a generic replacement head for electric toothbrushes, for example, you could have pages for each of the major electric toothbrushes going into so much detail that those pages come up well in search.
The rules around company names and trademarks can be confusing. The basic answer is: yes. Often, bigger companies trademark their names. Per Google guidelines, no other brands can use that name in their ad copy. An exception to this rule is if the company using it is a legitimate reseller , such as Zappos creating an ad for Nike sneakers.
By using your brand name as a keyword, their ad could potentially show up on the SERP when someone is searching for your specific company. However, there are things you can do to remain competitive. You can also bid on their brand name — more on that below. They want to target those who are looking for a product or service like theirs. This leaves few options for keywords, so brands bid on their competitors.
Image via Rawpixel.
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