Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : SEO / SEM Discussions : google adwords: competitors company name keywords

[streetmedia]

hey

quick question froma client of mine.

will we get kicked off adwords for using a competitor company name in our keyword search on adwords?

eg, if we were adidas, and we had "nike" or "reebok" in our keywords so our ad came up top - are we gonna get nuked for it?

it rang alarm bells with me but i thought i'd get an opinion on it. we did it lots in my previous position but wasn't even sure then how allowed it was.

thanks for any advice.

[incrediblehelp]

Well when trying to add the keyword in the ad copy didnt you get a message saying you can use the keyword because of trademark infringement or did you not use it in the ad copy?

[streetmedia]

i've not tried the terms yet, im just after opinions if anyone's had experience of it.

[Feydakin]

The short answer is yes..

[createsurvey]

Unless this is a well-known name, you have a chance to pass through. Further it depends on your competitor whether he will send a complain to Google.

[inway]

No. You can use the brand names or company names. They are your competitors. It is not a right way to get targeted traffic, since if a user searches for Nike, he is in search of Nike and not Adidas.

[Melnel]

Originally Posted by inway

No. You can use the brand names or company names. They are your competitors. It is not a right way to get targeted traffic, since if a user searches for Nike, he is in search of Nike and not Adidas.

I believe you may mean cannot.

If you want to know more about Googles thoughts on copyright or trademark infringments you can take a look at http://www.google.com/dmca.html.

[Lewcy]

It is an interesting area and quite complex to explain in a single message. The short answer is yes you can use trademarks but no you cant pass yourself off as a competitor.

For example. If you were a clothes shop then you might sell nike and addidas trainers. It would be perfectly ok to use nike and/or addidas in your keywords.

Dont quote me on what im about to say about the other as this may be out of date or just completely wrong!

There have been several court rulings on this, you will have to search to find the most current.

Basicaly the rules as i belive them or at least how they were in the begining was that you could use competitors words in your keywords as long as your advert didnt make reference to them or you could use them in your ad if they were used to make a competitive claim that was backed up by the landing page.

TBH you are best avoiding the latter as it seems to change quickly and often. Or get an expert in. I mean a real expert, not someone who is 'adwords qualified' as this doesnt always mean they know their stuff. It may even be worth speaking to a legal someone to find out the current court rulings on such matters.

On a final note you should get a warning from google before being kicked off if you are doing anything wrong. Also competitors have to give notice of trademark infringement so you have time to remove the affending words before they can take you to court.

[inway]

Originally Posted by inway

No. You can use the brand names or company names. They are your competitors. It is not a right way to get targeted traffic, since if a user searches for Nike, he is in search of Nike and not Adidas.

Oops ..typo changes things! Thanks for letting me know Melnel.
"It was can't." Sorry guys.

Actual Sentence:
You can't use the brand names or company names.