Judge lets SEO sabotage lawsuit over toxic backlinks move forward
The case could test whether businesses can use false advertising law to challenge harmful backlink campaigns.
Topic: Trademark
How competitors target your branded traffic with Google Ads
Learn how dynamic keyword insertion, comparison pages, and brand modifier keywords influence branded searches, and how to defend against them.
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.
How to optimize for keywords you can’t use
When legal, brand, or perception limits block key terms, use related keywords, anchor text, and title tags to capture demand anyway.
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.
Meta adds Brand Rights Protection to combat trademark, counterfeit, copyright infringement
The additional capabilities are designed to help brands prevent scams, improve trust, and report intellectual property infringement.
How to follow Google Business Profile guidelines
Here's why understanding Google's guidelines is vital for your Business Profile's success and how to avoid suspension.
Google Ads is changing how it processes trademark complaints
Google will only accept trademark complaints against specific advertisers and/or ads. It goes into effect worldwide on July 24
How to manage search terms in the new match type world
A look by Brad Geddes at the impact of close variants updates and the analysis and workflow necessary to maintain control and conversions.
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.
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 […]
SearchCap: Google Timeline Knowledge Graph, AdWords Click Fraud Service & Google Axing Features
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: How To Conduct A Winning Local Search Audit Every week, our support team at BrightLocal fields numerous questions from our customers about how best to conduct a local search audit. The […]
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 […]
Google Keyword Planner Now Shows Trademarked Terms
At some point recently, Google started to indicate terms that are trademarked in the Keyword Planner with the TM mark. Dan Shure of Evolving SEO tweeted about the new feature, noting that McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” tagline is not marked as trademarked while Staples’ “The Easy Button” is marked as such. (Burger King’s “Have It […]
Bing Really Doesn’t Want You To Search Google
Go to Bing.com and search for [google], you may see Bing get a bit upset. In fact, when I search for Google at Bing, I get a big black box in the search box that says, “In blind tests, people preferred Bing to Google for the web’s top searches. See for yourself.” Here is a […]
Google Gets Trademark Reprieve In Sweden Over Definition Of ‘Ungoogleable’
“Ungoogleable” won’t become an official word in Sweden … at least, not this year. As Sveriges Radio reports (found via The Verge), the Language Council of Sweden won’t be adding ogooglebar, which translates to “ungoogleable,” to its official list of new words for 2012. The Council’s planned definition for the word, based on common use […]
Google Streamlines AdWords Rules On Using Trademark Keywords
Google has announced an update to its AdWords trademark policy that streamlines the rules on using third-party trademark keywords in campaigns. With the update, Google now has a consistent global policy that allows advertisers to bid on competitor third-party trademark keywords. The update states: “Starting on 23 April 2013, keywords that were restricted as a result […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 14, 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: Smartphone Bot Case Study: The Google Smartphone Bot On Holiday In Australia While Google’s new smartphone bot has been announced, it does not appear to be widely deployed yet; at least […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 11, 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: Google Pitches Google+ Hangout With Full Page New York Times Ad How do you spread the word about your awesome new social media network? If you’re Google, apparently you turn to […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 23, 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: Dear Bing & Yahoo: Pushing Deck Chairs Around Isn’t A Good Plan I swear, it’s like watching the Titanic having run into that iceberg, as Bing and Yahoo try to figure […]
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 […]
In Antitrust “Complaint Du Jour” French Daily Deals Company Files Claim Against Google
In what is becoming a steady parade of antitrust claims against Google in Europe, another complaint has been filed by a French company. This latest (10th) antitrust complaint was filed with the European Commission by a French daily deals site called “Deal du Jour.” The company claims “Google illegally removed its site from its web […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 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: Study: Insurance, Loan-Related Keywords Are Google’s Cash Cows Insurance-related keywords are the source of 24% of Google’s AdWords revenue, with the highest CPC coming in at a whopping $54.91, according to […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 15, 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: Google, Twitter Flaunt Social Stats … It’s Like 2003 All Over Again Whether on purpose or not, Google and Twitter are having a little back-and-forth this week about the size of […]
Italians Issue Another Dubious Anti-Search Decision
Earlier this year the Italian Communications Authority decided that YouTube was effectively a TV broadcaster and imposed the same rules and restrictions that apply to TV in Italy — and potential penalties for their violation — on Google. It said that Google is now legally responsible for any content appearing on YouTube. Now an Italian […]
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 […]
Bing & Yahoo Align With Google’s Trademark Rules For Search Ads
Bring on the trademarked keywords in the U.S. and Canada, says Microsoft AdCenter. A policy change, which takes effect March 3, means ads appearing on Bing and Yahoo will soon able to be triggered by trademarked keywords, though only authorized users can include trademarks in the text of their ads. The shift brings Microsoft AdCenter […]
SMX East 2010 Slide Video: Double Serving, Trademarks & Other Tricky Issues
Double Serving, Trademarks & Other Tricky Issues Presentations from SMX East, October 2010 The rules are clear: advertisers may only occupy one position on any given search result page. But it’s also clear that some advertisers are bending the rules, with two or more of their ads being served at once. So, is this a […]
Google Protects Its Trademark Against Aussie Alcohol Search Engine
Guess which one of these company names is Google approved? An alcohol price comparison search engine based in Australia has been forced to change its name after a six-month trademark battle with Google. Originally called “Groggle,” the web site is now known as Drinkle. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Groggle owner Cameron Collie received […]
Google Approves Anti-Google Ad Despite AdWords Trademark Issue
Almost all Google AdWords advertisers know that bidding on some keywords are off limits. One of those keywords is [google] and typically you won’t see any ads for a search containing the word [google], unless the ad is from Google. However, recently Google has allowed an anti-Google ad to be shown. CNet reports the consumer […]
Google To Allow Trademarks To Be Used In AdWords Copy In Canada, the UK and Ireland
Google announced starting on September 14th, UK, Canadian and Ireland advertisers can use trademarked keywords in their ad text. This is a policy that was adopted in the U.S. on May 14, 2009 and is now being adopted in the UK, Canadian and Ireland. In addition, advertisers on September 14th can now select trademarks as […]
SMX East 2009 Video: Trademarks & Paid Search
Trademarks & Paid Search Google’s shifted its policy recently to be more liberal about using trademarks in search ads. Meanwhile, new lawsuits and concerns have also been emerging. This session revisits the trademark landscape to see what’s allowed, what’s changed and what might come. [flv:https://searchengineland.com/video_assets/east09/trademarks_and_paid_search.flv 364 200] Moderator: Matt Van Wagner, President & Founder, Find […]
Google, US Patent Office Partner To Offer Bulk Data Downloads
From search to download. That’s what Google and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have done with Wednesday’s announcement that bulk data on patents and trademarks are now available for free. Google is hosting hundreds of downloadable ZIP files at google.com/googlebooks/uspto.html; the patent office estimates that nearly ten terabytes of information is available. Google and […]
Nexus One Comes To AT&T, Rogers But Runs Into Trademark Trouble
Google announced today that the Nexus One handset is now compatible with the 3G networks of AT&T in the US and Rogers Wireless in Canada. A CDMA version (for Verizon) is coming soon. However the phones are unsubsidized (no contract) so you’ll pay full price — unless buying from original Nexus One carrier T-mobile. The […]
Meet The 25-Year-Old Who Saved “SEO” From Being Trademarked
After two years and nearly $20,000 of her own money, Rhea Drysdale forced the USPTO to reject an attempt to trademark the term.
Google May Offer Buzz Independently From Gmail
Google says it may allow people to participate in Google Buzz without having it integrated within Gmail, in addition to offering a combined Gmail service. That may be a welcome move for users of both products, especially in light of the substantial privacy concerns voiced this week about Google Buzz. “It’s clear that interest in […]