I work for an IT spare parts supplier, and as you can imagine, we've come up against one or two trademark issues with Adwords. Especially Dell.
Now, we sell Dell spare parts, however, the word Dell cannot be used in either the Ad Text or the keyword list for the Ad. (We have a brief success with a dynamic ad, but that only lasted 5 days!)
I'd really like to get my ads to show whenever somebody types "dell spare parts". Is there a way that I can spin a broad search to pick up on the "spare parts" section of the customer's search phrase and trigger our ad? I have "spare parts" as a keyword but it never seems to show when I type "dell spare parts".
It seems that the inclusion of the word "dell" somehow excludes any computer spares ads from showing!
Apologies if this issue has been covered elsewhere, but I'd really appreciate some advice on this.
Many thanks,
Damian
The only caveat is that it doesn't bold the word when it's searched. This could decrease CTR a bit, but it's probably better than getting no impressions (you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, yadda yadda).
For this reason it's best to simply ask AdWords support, as they have the information at hand to help you navigate your particular situation. You may even discover that it is just fine to use the trademarked term in your keyword list.
On this basic subject (and just as a general comment not directed to this query), I should probably add that if an advertiser continually tries to work around the trademark policy - particularly if they're disapproved for it again and again - it can end up not being a good thing.
AWA
Thanks
Is what BriGuy20 said true? Can you add a trademark symbol next to the word to make it ok? Or would this be considered trying to work around the policy?
venrooy, thanks for asking. The short story is that using the trademark symbol is not acceptable (meaning that it doesn't serve to cancel out the trademark owners instructions), and such ads will still get disapproved.
If such ads are disapproved again and again and re-submitted each time with the TM symbol then, yes, that would be considered as an attempt to circumvent the policy.
AWA
I suppose that there are further implications for Dell, if they allowed 3rd parties to use their brand name as a keyword... Namely cost! For the brief few days that I ran an ad with Dell as a keyword, I got lots of nice cheap click throughs, 17pence per click I think. I wonder how much this pushed Dell's price per click up? I was literally the only other advertiser alongside Dell on the page. (It was good while it lasted!)
Worryingly, the same seems to be happening for keywords such as HP & Compaq!
Surely the trademark infringement rules were put in place to prevent defamatory ads from being shown, not to prevent traders from selling products?
On another note.... My boss called me yesterday afternoon (I had the day off) and he asked me to turn adwords off! He said that they couldn't cope with the number of telephone calls & e-mail requests that the office was receiving! After a brief conversation, I suggested that rather than turn the ads off completely, I'd get rid of a few "non-core" ads and turn the ads off & evenings & weekends. Spoke to the boss this morning, and he sounds a lot less fraught that he did yesterday! He's a victim of my success :-)
I got a response from Google, and here are the highlights...
1. Dell asked Google not to allow advertisers to use their trademarks
in ad text or as keywords without their express permission.
2. So Google wants me to provide explicit written authorization, on
Dell's letterhead, including my email address and Adwords login,
for me to use the trademark in Adwords.
So, it would appear that Dell have a captive (and cheap!) market as far as Adwords is concerned.
Does anybody have any ideas on how to improve my Dell campaign. I already include keywords for all the models that Dell manufacture, but it would appear that the magic word for Dell products is.... "Dell"! Rather unsurprisingly!
Let me know your thoughts.
Thanks,
Damian
[edited by: tedster at 7:03 pm (utc) on Nov. 25, 2005]
[edit reason] paraphrase email (see TOS) [/edit]
Delll
dall
Doll
ell
...
? just a thought.
btw I don't think you're allowed to post email transcipts mate :)
it can end up not being a good thing.
Don't get me started on trademarks. As I mentioned in another thread, I've been disputing this with them for weeks and am getting nonsense answers from a "Senior Intellectual Property Specialist."
I tried using some trademarks about a year ago, and my ads were disapproved. No problem--no one else could use them either, except the merchant.
Couple of months ago, someone else starts using them. I ask Google what's up--they say the other guy has permission from the owner.
These are affiliate links--we're both affiliates of the same merchant, same affiliate network. I ask the account manager at the network if the merchant gives permission to use their trademarks--answer is an unequivocal no.
I go back to Google. Support bumps it to the Trademark Team. Trademark Team bumps it to the Senior Intellectual Property Specialist--who's rather chilly, addressing me as "Mr. _______." She says the ads I was seeing are a result of broad matching.
[Insert incredulity here.] I point out that I use broad matching too, and my ads don't show with the trademarks in them. I point out that the advertiser had to set up the ads with the trademarks in them, and *someone* at Google had to approve them for them to run.
I point out that it might make some sense if she were talking about dynamic insertion--but that's not what was happening, because the identical ad was appearing for two different keywords.
Two weeks go by--no reply. I notice more ads with the trademark. I set up some of my own. They run. Fine, I think. Couple of days later, my trademarked ads are disapproved--and so are everyone else's. Again, no problem if they're treating everyone the same.
Then the other guy's ads appear again. In response to a query, another nonsensical reply from the Senior Intellectual Property Specialist: they can't process some of the trademarks in their system.
OK--if they can't process them in their system, how come they can disapprove mine but not the other guy's?
The Senior Intellectual Property Specialist also informed me rather snippily that they deal only with the trademark owner (i.e., not with the likes of me) and she would not be replying to any further messages.
So first they say the other advertiser has permission. Then they say his ads are appearing because of broad matching. Then they say they can't process some marks in their system--and the other guy has permission.
Just what the hell is going on here?
Only thing I can figure--I did a WHOIS lookup for the other advertiser a while back, and I recall that he was in the Northwest. So maybe the site is owned by a Google employee or relative. (He's now got a private registration--maybe tipped off by Google.)
Anyway, I'm thoroughly fed up with Google and their so-called trademark policy.
However, I do include a few misspellings, but they don't attract any traffic. It would seem that the great unwashed are too well edumacated to misspel things like wot i do! ;-)
Damn those trademarks, damn them!
Thanks for everybody's input on the subject.
Damian
However, the cut section contained one snippet of info that was quite important. Dell have requested that any searches containing the word "Dell" are blocked too. So "Dell Computer" would not show my advert, even if I had "computer" as a broad matched keyword. The only ads that show, belong to you-know-who.
It's great for them, really, really bad for us!
Damian
Lots of ads show up under "dell computer". I get about 10 ads for that search. Is th US treated that differently then the UK?
Hi Toddb,
There must be different legal issues affecting the UK & US. However, I noticed that Overture doesn't have the same restrictions on the Dell keyword as google, so guess what. Dell campaign now up & running via overture!
Regards,
Damian
