I'm a US company called (let's say) Example. I have www.facebook.com/example. A European company just set up under www.facebook.com/theexample and they're showing up prominently in searches for "example". Is there anything I can do?
mack
5:38 pm on Dec 14, 2012 (gmt 0)
Is "example" a generic word?
Do you have and legal protection for the name or brand?
Mack.
Tonearm
8:25 pm on Dec 15, 2012 (gmt 0)
It's more like this. Me:
WidgetShop.com
Them:
TheWidgetShop.com
I don't have legal protection for the name or brand, but I've been running my business under it for about 12 years. The real "Widget" word is about as generic as that.
lucy24
10:19 pm on Dec 15, 2012 (gmt 0)
Cold-blooded answer:
Does registering one domain name give you control over all similar domain names? There are people out there who make a tidy living simply by snapping up any name that's similar to an established domain name, and then selling it to you at an inflated price just so you can make sure nobody else gets it.
Your position is still weaker if your company name isn't a registered trademark. (In the US, "trademark" and "registered trademark" are very different animals. You can look it up at uspto dot gov.)
Tonearm
10:54 pm on Dec 15, 2012 (gmt 0)
Sounds like a "no". :)
buckworks
11:13 pm on Dec 15, 2012 (gmt 0)
You will have to "outwit, out-manoeuvre, outfight and outlast" them. (quoting Winston Churchill)
bdmarketing
10:47 am on Jan 8, 2013 (gmt 0)
TheExample may be more popular and has more people in their circle as the search criteria is based on link-popularity. (eg. when you search for "Obama" "Barack Obama" comes first) So try to get more people in your circle and update useful information on your page so that audience could remain active on your post. Your audience can discuss your topic among their friends and follower and these are the white way to increase popularity. And the chance are you will be showed up first in search.
