SEO Research: Shield your trade name With SEO Research	Visited: 1622 3.5/5.0 (2 votes total) Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Prabhjot Kaur November 08, 2005

In the business world today and the aggressive environment, many advertisers route to using competitor trademark names as keywords in paid-search advertising.

In the Search Engines Results pages these trademark names appear for Google, Yahoo! and affiliates and partners when you buy Google AdWords or Overture Precision Match sponsored listings. Thus there are maximum chances that your competitors can drive the significant traffic to their websites by the virtue of your trademark name.

A very good example we can see which we have seen at the interviews.com article titled "Google Adwords Under Further Trademark Scrutiny," Google quoted that: "As stated in our Terms and Conditions, advertisers are responsible for the keywords and ad text that they choose to use. We encourage trademark owners to resolve their disputes directly with our advertisers, particularly because the advertisers may have similar advertisements on other sites." It is well known that in the beginning, Google AdWords did not sell trademarked keywords. However, it currently sells trademarked keywords in the U.S. and Canada (but not internationally) with the stipulation that the trademark name can't be used in the ad copy itself.

The Best resistance is a transgression

There can be some way to protect yourself from competitors raiding your trademark. The very first option is that we think to hire an SEO vendor to help identify your competitors and then research their search engine advertising activities. The company’s legal department can subsequently use the SEO research data to protect your trademark and reputation. This step will prove invaluable toward defending your future and ongoing business.

Maximum times, it will be the smaller or the struggling companies use your trademark terms as keywords in their advertising. So these companies avoid the threat of legal action the upon acknowledgment of a cease and desist letter. This will help in protecting your company as well as you are damaging the competitors that you don't want representing your firm.

Another benefit of mining this competitor data is to assist those whom you do want to benefit from using your trademark name. For instance, you may have affiliates, resellers, and a number of associates with whom you can negotiate on a recurring basis. These are the folks you trust with your trademark and reputation -- your friends and family marketing network. There's something in it for you when they profit from your success.

Knowing who is using your trademark in keyword search advertising or in the body text of their web site has a directly positive effect on managing your brand, your trademark, and your reputation. Make sure your SEO vendor covers this critical marketing aspect for your online success.

A statement of prudence

It goes without saying that you don't want to use trademark names other than your own in keyword phrases. Profiting from the use of another company's trademark or brand without relevance or permission is unacceptable and could even result in legal action against you.