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How to Leverage Google’s Trademarked Term Bidding PoliciesPosted by Andrew on May 14, 2009 in Keyword Research |
With recent news breaking that Google will be opening up keyword bidding policies on trademarked terms, it is time to reconsider whether this is a valid and cost-effective tactic to consider.
On its face, bidding on a competitor’s name or key product seems to be a money-losing proposition. After all, in pay-per-click advertising, we seek relevant traffic that is likely to convert into customers or leads. Someone looking for a direct competitor would seem to be the exact opposite of a likely customer – they are in fact searching, specifically, for your competitor.
But when you reconsider, you realize that a user searching on a competitor’s brand name is clearly in the market for your competitor’s product or service, and, further, that you provide the same or a similar product or service. What’s the situation then? Here’s a searcher, a potential customer, somebody probably nearing the end of the decision cycle, and you’re effectively ignoring them.
With that in mind, here are some keys to successful advertising on a competitor’s branded name:
Don’t misrepresent yourself. Don’t pose as the competitor. This tactic will leave your first-time customer disillusioned, and it is the only tactic that might result in legally enforceable repercussions. From either perspective, it’s not worth the risk. Stand behind your company’s name, and be confident in bidding for your competitor’s customers.
Emphasize what makes your company special, unique, and better. In a competitive marketplace, your brand must stand for something different from and better than your competitor. Bid on your competitor’s name, and then use your 140 characters of ad text to make these differences clear. Examples could include superior customer service, the best prices in the marketplace, or longstanding experience online or in-store beyond what your competitors have. (If you don’t have something special, unique, or better, it is time to reconsider whether you should be in business at all…)
Consider responding to your competitor’s claims. Look at what your competitors are claiming, either through their ad text or through their general online messaging, and attack it. Presumably, a user searching on a specific competitor’s name is attracted to these claims, and by emphasizing your superiority in their area of strength, you are more likely to draw clicks and potential purchases from these new users.
Prepare for an increase in cost-per-click. In my experience, the only downside to bidding on a competitor’s name is the cost-per-click. But make sure to get past the sticker shock, and analyze whether the keywords are working. Monitor the cost-per-acquisition or ROI on these new keywords, and let the raw numbers determine whether they are effective keywords. I suspect that they will be. (If you are with a PPC agency, arm yourself with the numbers to support this tactic to your clients.)
Now, whether you think it is a bad policy or a good one, it is time to adjust your strategies to reflect it. If anything, this adjustment will bring in more bidders on your company name.
With that in mind, if you have not been bidding on your own company name and your own trademarked terms, stop reading, open up your AdWords accounts, and add these keywords right now. These are, have been, and always will be your cheapest and best-converting keywords.
With more competitors drawn in due to the new policy, it is likely that you will see a more competitive landscape. Prepare to stand behind the strength of your brand, and reap the benefits.
- Why Trademarked Names Are Allowed in Google Display URL
- PPC News Roundup for May 15, 2009
- Our Greatest Hits for December!
- Our Greatest Hits for January!
- What You Need to Know About Google’s Decision to End Preferred Cost Bidding
May 15th, 2009 at 10:50 am
I can’t tell you how many clients question bidding on their own name and even argue against it vehemently. Perhaps with this new policy this will provide them with the answer!
May 15th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
Google has always let US advertisers bid on trademarked terms as long as you didn’t use a trademarked term in your ad copy (though even this was often circumvented with dynamic keyword insertion or putting it in the display URL). The revised policy will allow you to now use trademarked terms in ad copy, but only when it meets Google’s exceptionally vague rules. I have clients that have been bidding on competitor’s terms for a long time and this will only give them another option to test.
May 18th, 2009 at 10:57 am
[...] How to Leverage Google’s Trademarked Term Bidding Policies [...]
May 18th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Thanks for your comments!
Elizabeth – I know exactly what you mean. There were some clients that just wouldn’t budge on bidding on their own name. Hopefully, more and more clients will come around on why it is a valuable and important tactic.
PPC Wizard – You’re absolutely correct. The new policy allows a bit more latitude. Google also will no longer pursue any investigations on usage of trademarked keywords, as it had previously. The full list of countries in which Google does not investigate such claims is here.
May 28th, 2009 at 3:18 am
This is absolute rubbish! Its best practice to bid on your competitors names because they are often synonymous with the product you’re clients are offering. So when someone searches for the competitor name, its not uncommon to convert well.