Keywords you can't use?

Apparently 'crown' is not allowed without requesting an exception....

[tenerifejim]

I got a message for the first time the other day telling me a word I could not use in an advert. It was 'crown'.

Apparently I have to request an exception. I can't even think of a company that has a 'crown' as a trade mark (apart from a UK paint company).

How long before other pretty standard words become exceptions? What other words have been flagged for exceptions? How long does the exception request take (I couldn't be bother to find out)? Can I request a word to become an exception?

I think 'aff' should be an exception word (think about it!)

BTW- The oddest thing was the advert was in Dutch.....

[tenerifejim]

C'mon people. There must be some other 'odd' words down for exception...

[jim_w]

Isn't there a Crown that makes audio equipment?

[buckworks]

An exception is required to use the word "look" in your ad.

Approval came within a few hours, and I could add new ad groups within the same campaign without requesting a new exception. For a new campaign the system wanted a new exception request, though (which again was approved within a few hours).

[androidtech]

Crown Royal? The liquor?

Thanks.

[PeteM]

"vi" (I was using it in the context of 6) was the strangest I've encountered.

[martinibuster]

If you have a business or product name that is a compound of two words, then it will trigger an exception. An example of a compound name is: WidgetDepot.

A major PITA.

[anallawalla]

It is likely (albeit remote) that Google might be trying respect British law (or Dutch equivalent?). At one stage, in many Commonwealth countries you could not name a *company* as "Royal something" or "Crown something" unless there was some royal approval. This is usually in the Companies Act, or similar.

However, I haven't seen this restriction applied to product names - as per "Crown Lager" in Australia .

As for the "greenwidget" situation, I think Google should display it as a warning that you have to click through, and not an exception request. I have a couple of words in my niche that fell into this category (but were approved).

For initial cap conjoint words, e.g. "GreenWidget", they should be allowed, as they are more likely to be brands than a spacing error.

[justshelley]

I've seen some interesting ones. "Tips" (the message said something about gambling but the ad was not about gambling and given an exception). "Promise" (the company actually had "promise" in their name so that ended up being okay). "Click" (part of the name of the company and the key phrase). Google has been great about making exceptions within 24 hours. Just give them a detailed explanation.

[PeteM]

I agree. In fact my ads always run immediately, that is prior to the exception being approved. Perhaps they have other certain exceptions that are withheld until approval.