AdWords PPC Trademark Policy Debate

Courtesy of Search Engine Roundtable

In case you haven’t heard… Google is now allowing the use of Trademarked terms in Sponsored Search ads, and as keywords. (Official Google Release) Campaigns are able to be built now, and will go live on June 15th.

Red flags went up for some merchants who have worked hard to establish their brands, and protect them from poachers. But, affiliates celebrated the lifted restrictions on many key branded terms that will allow them to bring more qualified traffic to merchant sites.

One thing that is left to be determined is how this will affect Search Marketing Terms & Conditions for many merchants. Over the coming months we most likely will see expanded T&C that will specific exactly what is and is not allowed, and/or commissionable. Without Google to prevent trademark bids, many of these brands will now need to police their affiliate partners a bit more to ensure no infringement is occurring. It will also likely result in a more stringent approval process.

On the other side of things, affiliates will be able to take full advantage of brand recognition. Even if the merchant doesn’t allow trademark bidding, there may be some leniency on utilizing the trademark name in ads. This should allow the affiliates to drive higher quality traffic, making them more efficient, and merchants more profitable.

Now, don’t get me wrong,… there have been mixed reviews all over the place. Some affiliates know merchants are going to go all the way to the right to protect their brand names. And, some merchants will inevitably let their affiliates run wild. So, there will definitely be an adjustment period.

One interesting thing I stumbled upon was this study that Search Engine Roundtable conducted. It seems that the new US AdWords policy was well-received by SEM managers. I must admit that I’m a bit surprised by the results… here’s the brief article.