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Hey ADM Community - Need advice in regards to a PPC Ad using our company name.......

Hey Adm`ers need your insight on this one............

Ok here`s the situation;

We are a Volkswagen Dealer; Douglas VW.

Now when you Google Douglas VW you see a competitor running a Pay-Per-Click ad right on top of our name in the organic section of this search.

Now it`s not like they are using Summit VW(as the town) they are literally using our name and Douglas VW is the first thing that you see in the ppc ad.

When you click the ad, you go right to their website..............

Very misleading if someone is searching for Douglas VW....... obviously.

When contacted the Tier-10 Marketing who handles Volkswagen`s advertising, they stated that this is legal to do............

I don`t see how you can legally(forget morally) use another company`s name when indeed that company also sells the same product as you!~

A few years back I haunted an old dealership that I use to work for utilizing my videos, landing pages & micro-sites by tagging everything appropriately so my digital creations would show up on the first six pages when you Googled their company name.

However I never actually used Bernardsville VW(The old company I worked for) in any of my creations. Just by utilizing various versions of tags & the town(Bernardsville) in my titles, I caused quite a stir with VW.

So the irony to me is that now this other VW Dealer is doing this via PPC and Volkswagen, as of right now, doesn't really have a definitive answer as to whether this is right or wrong..................

I`d like to hear from all of you especially if you have ever experienced something like this.

Was it legal??????? In my mind the answer is no..............

Thanks,

Ken Beam

Tags: Adwords, Google, Keyword, PPC, PPC Bid, SEM, Search Engine Marketing

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InfluencerPermalink Reply by Britt Hoffmann on June 9, 2014 at 9:16am

...and I'm agreeing. I never said otherwise.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Beam on June 9, 2014 at 9:16am

THAT is the question/issue!

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Permalink Reply by Ken Beam on June 9, 2014 at 8:17am

@ Bryan - So where/what do you recommend that I do from this point??????

Thanks a lot!

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InfluencerPermalink Reply by Britt Hoffmann on June 9, 2014 at 8:27am

Here's the policy on Implied Affiliation:

Implied affiliation

What's the policy?

Google AdWords doesn't allow ads that imply an affiliation, partnership, or any special relationship with Google without explicit authorization from Google. Additionally, ads can't imply an affiliation, partnership, or any special relationship with any unrelated third party.

Ads and sites can't contain language that's likely to cause confusion about the association between your services and another company's services. Implying affiliation with another company may include using their trademark or logo in your ad text or on your landing page. Additionally, Google doesn't allow the use of unrelated registered business names in your ad title.

Right now, you don't have to do anything as I have already made the complaint for you by reaching out to my Google contact my company works with on a frequent basis. If she confirms this is a case of implied affiliation then she has to report it and they will remove Open Road's ads that include "Douglas, Linden, Redel, Koeppel, etc.". I'll follow up with her reply when I hear from her.

Regarding broad VW and Volkswagen matches, if you are not present in SEM, dealers will continue to show up in ads above you by default until you create an AdWords campaign with a solid strategy. I'm glad to assist you if you like.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Beam on June 9, 2014 at 8:37am

Thanks a lot Britt!

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Brooks on June 9, 2014 at 8:34am

I'll e-mail!

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Permalink Reply by Ken Beam on June 9, 2014 at 8:36am

Thanks much Bryan!

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InfluencerPermalink Reply by Britt Hoffmann on June 9, 2014 at 8:41am

You're welcome. Here's the and details on how to file and the link if you want to file a complaint on your own:

About our complaint process:

The business name owner doesn't need to be a Google AdWords advertiser in order to send a complaint.

The investigation will only affect the title, or first line, of ads served on or by Google.

This policy doesn't apply to search results. Our investigations only apply to the title, or first line, of sponsored links. For concerns about websites that appear in Google search results, the business name owner should contact the site owner directly.

Because Google isn't a third-party arbiter, we encourage business name owners to resolve their disputes directly with the advertiser, particularly because the advertiser may also have similar ads running on other advertising programs.

To submit a complaint about the deceptive use of a business name in an ad title, please fill out our complaint form.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Beam on June 9, 2014 at 8:02am

Hi Bryan! Ok ok........ Who should I put in a complaint with at Google then??? Can you help me???

And no....... Douglas VW is not a trademark....... because VW/Volkswagen is the trademark.

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InfluencerPermalink Reply by Britt Hoffmann on June 9, 2014 at 8:07am

Ken, if there is no trademark, that policy does not apply. However, there is the issue of implied affiliation. I sent multiple screenshots to my contact that included usage of other dealers as well which will ultimately result in disapproval and the admin on the account will receive communication to remove the names from their campaigns.

My next question is, are yoou currently running an SEM campaign? Because, as I stated earlier, dealers will continue to show up in ads above you by simply having "VW" or "Volkswagen" in their ad groups.

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Permalink Reply by Ken Beam on June 9, 2014 at 7:39am

*** OK OK ----

**This has been a very insightful thread & I thank ALL of you very much for your input....... NOW....

I need a definitive answer to this question;

I realize anyone can buy anyone else`s name.......... but that gives you the right to use that company`s name then too in the actual title of the ad?????

If that`s true, then so be it & the gloves are coming off asap and I`m off of my leash!

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InfluencerPermalink Reply by Larry Bruce on June 16, 2014 at 8:55am

Yes Ken they can use your name in the title of the ad if you haven't trademarked your name. its about $600 to do this and well worth the money.

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