How to find who’s using your brand in paid search
A step-by-step guide for spotting competitors, affiliates and misleading advertisers in your branded search queries.
Topic: Trademark infringement
Why CPC keeps rising – and what to do
CPC is on the rise across most industries. Here's what's driving the trend and how you can protect your margins.
Brand protection in PPC: How to protect your brand and prevent risks
Read this PPC protection guide to learn how to build a strong brand-protection strategy in paid search – and how to stop brand bidding and prevent ad hijacking.
Best strategies to fight trademark abuse in paid search
Trademark abuse hits your numbers and steals your money. Learn how to counter this with advanced automated monitoring tools.
Brand Protection: The complete guide
Discover essential tactics to catch click theft, protect brand integrity and maximize ROI.
What is ad hijacking and how do you protect your brand from it?
In this guide, you'll learn how ad hijacking works, how to spot it and tips for PPC brand protection.
4 simple ways to put an end to unprotected paid search
The imperative of brand protection in search marketing.
Guard your most valuable asset against pesky competitors
Learn to map and monitor all competitive and partner activity around your brand terms.
Warby Parker dodges 1-800 Contacts lawsuit over search results, website
Warby Parker, 1-800 Contacts don't see eye to eye on branded keyword search results and federal courts ruling.
Microsoft took down 3 billion ads in 2021
Fake celebrity-endorsed ads, account takeover attempts increased, according to Microsoft's ad safety year in review.
Google vs. Edible Arrangements: Court rejects ‘theft’ claim
Edible Arrangements was seeking damages from Google for selling its name via search ads. The court didn’t bite.
Microsoft Advertising blocks 1.6 billion ads while dealing with the pandemic, says annual ad quality review
Microsoft says it is committed to keeping the ads in Microsoft Bing fair and in compliance with its ad policies.
Google to allow removal of counterfeit goods from search results
You can now submit a form to request Google to review and take down counterfeit goods from Google search.
The Tiger King used illicit SEO tactics to mislead searchers
Joe Exotic renamed his traveling tiger show to imitate his biggest competitor — it didn’t end well for him.
Keyword infringement: Edible Arrangements files $209M trademark suit against Google
While use of trademarked keywords has been allowed by courts, this case may be more complicated than it seems on the surface.
SearchCap: Search trademark issues & search pictures
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Initial Interest Confusion rears its ugly head once more in trademark infringement caseMay 26, 2017 by Chris Silver Smith Columnist Chris Silver Smith details recent trademark infringement cases in which site […]
Bing Bad Ads Report: 250 million ads rejected, 150K advertisers banned in 2015
Tech support scams remain at the top of the list of bad actors that search engines have to keep fighting.
Trademark Court’s Impossible Order: Uber Told To Change Google Search Results
Judge tries to strike a balance but fails to understand the inherent problem at the heart of order -- controlling search outcomes.
PPC Trademark Bidding In Q1 Fell Sharply After The Holidays; Highest In Home Services Industry
Study finds rates of brand bidding highest on Bing desktop/tablet, but lowest on Bing Mobile.
Canadian Appeals Court Orders Google To Censor Globally
Ruling comes in same week that France demands that Google institute worldwide censorship.
Report: Brands May Lose 10K to 60K Visitors Per Month To PPC Trademark Bidding
BrandVerity's Q4 study looks at trademark usage in paid search across 10 industry verticals.
Search Arbitrage Accounts For Largest Percentage Of Ads Competing On Brand Trademarks
Brands are often struggling with other advertisers encroaching on their trademark terms in search ads. Sometimes brand trademarks are used by “friendly” advertisers such as resellers, but a study released today from BrandVerity shows that search arbitrage accounts for the majority of branded search competition. The study analyzed how core brand terms of more than […]
Despite Crackdowns, Tech Support Ads In Search Are Still Cause For Consumer Confusion
Just last month, six international tech support scam operators were ordered to pay more than $5.1 million as a result of charges filed by the Federal Trade Commission in 2012. The scammers typically posed as representatives of major technology companies, convinced consumers that their computers were loaded with viruses and got them to fork over […]
AdWords Click Fraud Service Found Using Google’s Trademark, Promoting Itself On YouTube
How’s this for brazen? For at least two years, a Russian hacker has been running a cheekily-named click fraud service called GoodGoogle, promoting it in videos on Google’s YouTube and using Gmail accounts to correspond with customers. Online security expert, Brian Krebs, recently brought the scam to light. The service enables advertisers to quickly run […]
Why You Don’t See “World Cup” Ads On Google
Google is on the cusp of a search volume siege from soccer (aka football) fans as the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ nears. A look at Google Trends data shows we’re on the upswing what Google can expect when the tournament starts on June 12, based on the volumes the last two times the World Cup was […]
BrandVerity Offers Feedback From Google, Bing On Paid Search Trademark Complaints
Brands aiming to protect themselves from trademark infringement in paid search are often met with white noise after they submit complaints to the search engines. They typically aren’t told if any action was taken — and even more frustrating, if no action was taken and/or why. To help solve this problem, BrandVerity has added a […]
Spotted: Stunning AdWords Policy Violations That Facebook & Google Shouldn’t Be Happy About
Behold a brilliant display of Google AdWords advertising policy violations: This ad was spotted by Luke Alley from Avalaunch Media. As it turns out, Alley unearthed a deep pit teeming with ad violations. Search for “facebook support” on Google, and you’ll quickly see the ads are crawling with AdWords policy violations. The ad above features “Symbols, numbers, and letters […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 22, 2013
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the Web. From Search Engine Land: DoubleClick Search Tools To Migrate To Enhanced Campaigns Now Out Of Beta The custom toolset Google designed to help DoubleClick search users migrate to enhanced campaigns has come out of beta. […]
Interflora Wins Five-Year Battle Over Google AdWords Trademark Infringement
The High Court of England and Wales ended a five year legal battle between Marks & Spencer and Interflora yesterday. The court ruled in favor of flower delivery network Interflora, concluding that retailer Marks & Spencer breached trademark infringement laws by bidding on the keyword “Interflora” in its Google AdWords campaigns. In the European Union, Google allows […]
Wisconsin State Court OKs Bidding On Trademarks In Paid Search
A Wisconsin appeals court this week affirmed a circuit court’s ruling that it’s OK to use trademarks as keywords to trigger the display of paid search ads. The court’s conclusions are in line with search engines’ policies with regard to trademark bidding and with a Federal case decided last year in California. The Wisconsin case, […]
Google And Rosetta Stone Agree To Settle Suit Over Trademarked Keywords
One of Google’s most well-funded and tenacious opponents in the legal arena, Rosetta Stone, has agreed to settle its trademark suit against the search giant. The language learning software company had contended that the use of its trademarks as “keyword triggers” infringed trademark law and confused consumers. Terms of the settlement agreement weren’t disclosed. The three-year-old case was […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 21, 2012
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Sued By Texas Attorney General To Turn Over Documents According to a report in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Google has been sued by the Texas Attorney General’s office. The […]
Question Of Whether It’s Legal To Use Trademarks As Keywords Revived On Appeal in Rosetta Stone/Google Case
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today revived part of Rosetta Stone’s trademark lawsuit against Google, meaning the search giant’s permitting the use of trademarked terms in AdWords is still legally questionable in the United States. It’s the first time an appellate court has ruled in a case of this kind. Previously, a […]
Valentine’s Day AdWords “War” Among Florists Highlights Another Google Challenge
Imagine searching on your own company’s name and finding a competitor’s ad that said you were “Sold Out” right on your business’ most important holiday. That’s what florists like the owner of Chez Bloom in Minnesota had happen, as originally reported by Brand Channel. Indeed, as the owner of Chez Bloom Laura Chase told BrandChannel, […]
In Interflora Case, EU OKs Bidding On Trademarks With Some Restrictions
The European Union’s Court of Justice has ruled in the long-running Interflora case against Marks & Spencer, which involves bidding on trademarked terms, and the decision is no clear victory for either party. Instead, it OKs trademark bidding so long as the resulting ad offers an alternative to the mark holder’s service and doesn’t cause […]
Australian Watchdog Loses Case Against Google Over Deceptive Ads
ACCC loses misleading ads case against Google via the Sydney Morning Herald reports the ACCC, Australian Competition and Consumers Commission, has lost their has in an Australian Federal court against Google. The watchdog group sued Google over deceptive ads back in 2007. The federal judge, Justice John Nicholas dismissed the case saying the Google was […]
Google Settles & Wins Lawsuit Against ‘Google Cash’ Scammers
Google has won a $1.6 million settlement against five defendants that it sued in December 2009 over the use of Google’s name in what the company called “a widespread Internet advertising scam.” Today’s decision involves five of the 50 defendants that Google originally sued: Bloosky, Just Think Media, Crush, Hyper Interactive, Search 4 Profit, and […]
Federal Appeals Court Allows Keyword Bidding On Competitor’s Names
paidContent reports a California federal court ruled that it is allowed to bid on a competitor’s name for search ads. The ruling was done in an appeals court in the case between Network Automation and Advanced Systems Concepts. Both companies sell scheduling and management software and Network Automation purchased the keyword “ActiveBatch,” a trademarked product […]
Court Reversal Brings Surprising Loss For Google In AdWords Trademark Case
A Federal judge in California has denied Google’s motion to dismiss a “false association” claim in Daniel Jurin’s case against it, surprisingly reversing his own previous rulings. Intellectual property attorney Eric Goldman reported the development in his Technology and Marketing Law Blog. Jurin has been waging a legal battle against Google for years, alleging that […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, February 18, 2011
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Social Meets Search At Search Engine Land’s SMX West Event Everything we program at Search Engine Land’s SMX: Search Marketing Expo events are always related to search. So why a post […]