Staying ahead of AdWords competition can be tough. And when you want to use a company or product name in your ad, it gets even more complicated.

Here’s what you should know about trademarked and branded terms so you can play the PPC game by Google’s rules and protect your own brand name from competitors.

How to safely use a branded term you don’t own

Targeting a branded keyword can help draw more qualified clicks to your website, increase your brand’s reach, and even show customers that a competitor isn’t the only option.

But in order to stay right in Google’s eyes, you have to obey a few rules.

Bidding on a company name doesn’t necessarily violate the rules, but if the name is trademarked or you’re trying to target a keyword of a trademarked product, tread carefully.

The biggest rule to follow is: Bid on a trademarked term, but don’t put that term in the ad copy unless you have the company’s approval.

For example, let’s say you have a business based on teaching people how to use Photoshop. Obviously, the software itself is a huge part of your business.

If you wanted to direct an AdWords ad to your website, you could bid on “Photoshop” as a keyword. However, be sure to write the ad copy using only generic wording, like “Learn how to be a graphic designer with the latest photo editing software.”

This approach will allow your ad to show when people use “Photoshop” in their search query, without running the risk of your campaign being shut down for using the trademarked term in the ad.

Protect your branded terms

You may not care about bidding on other companys’ branded terms, but one day, you may realize that a competitor is using your business name in their ads.

Are they allowed to do that?

Possibly. As long as your trademarked term isn’t in the actual ad copy, Google isn’t going to take action. Your competitor can even use your trademarked term in their URL, just not in the ad copy.

What if your trademarked term IS in the ad copy?

If your brand name is a registered trademark, and someone is using that brand term in their AdWords ads without your consent, you can file a complaint to Google using this form. It may take a while, but Google should eventually shut down their campaign.

However, your complaint may not be resolved if your brand name is a generic industry term. For example, if your trademark is “The Arizona Plumbing Company,” and someone creates an ad that says, “We’re the best Arizona plumbing company,” Google will likely ignore it because they’re using the term descriptively. A business name that uses industry terms is hard to protect.

What if your branded term isn’t trademarked?

If your term is not trademarked, you have three options:

• Reach out to the company, and ask them to stop. They don’t have to comply, but it’s worth a shot.
• Try to get your brand name trademarked, and let Google know. This may take a while for Google to sort out, but spending a little time upfront will help protect your brand and avoid losses in the future.
• Take defensive action, and bid on those same terms to push their ads to the bottom. This approach may increase your costs a bit and isn’t guaranteed to work, but it can be a very effective technique, especially if you’re working with an experienced Google AdWords management team.

Using your own branded term

You’d assume that since you own your business, you can use your branded term in Google AdWords, right?

Technically, the answer is yes. However, if your brand is trademarked, you may need to let Google know first by submitting an Authorization Form. This tells Google that your account is sanctioned to use the trademark terms. Otherwise, Google may disapprove your ads.

Using a partner company’s trademarked term

Do you sell products from a partner company? You can use their trademarked keyword as long as they give you permission.

First, reach out to the product owner’s marketing team. They may be able to help you get whitelisted as a vendor in AdWords, allowing you to use their trademarked term in your PPC ads. If they don’t run Google ads themselves, you may need to contact Google directly through the same Authorization Form.

Are you struggling to outrun your AdWords competition?

Let us help you push ahead. We’ll take a look at your competitors and give you a free behind-the-scenes analysis of how you could improve your campaigns to perform better than theirs. There’s no obligation, and the full report is yours to keep. Find out more.

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