Google's recent amendment to its U.S. trademark policy, in which qualified third-parties and resellers may now include trademarked brand terms in their ad copy effective June 15, has just about everyone in the industry -- from triumphant resellers to wary brand marketers -- abuzz about the potential revenue implications to their bottom line.
In today's complex, free-market economy, even the smallest policy change can generate a ripple effect capable of impacting companies both large and small. In the search economy -- the auction based, consumer-driven marketplace in which Google currently maintains nearly 70 percent of the U.S. market share -- Google is not unlike the Federal Reserve. Any single change it makes to the marketplace is bound to affect all players involved.
So it comes as no surprise that some brand marketers are concerned. With their trademarks now potentially appearing in dozens of paid search ads, there is an increased chance that users searching for their brands will now click on third-party ads as opposed to the official ad of the brand. This reduction in clickthrough-rate could both reduce the number of qualified clicks to the brand's website, while increasing the cost for each remaining click due to a reduction in quality score.
However, there is hope for the weary. By following a few simple guidelines, here's how brand marketers can minimize negative impact on their bottom line, while potentially increasing a return on their digital investment:
1. Defend your position
Controlling the prime real-estate in the center of the search results page may be the single most effective tool in the brand marketers' arsenal. Google's algorithm currently favors official brand sites for the No. 1 position on branded keywords in both paid and natural search, so why not take advantage of it? One of our clients saw a 35 percent lift in brand search click volume in a highly competitive market by bidding to the No. 1 position in paid search while already ranking first in natural search. Nearly 80 percent of these paid search clicks were incremental to what natural search drove alone. These clicks would otherwise have been lost to one of the many third parties, or to competitors also bidding on our client's brand keywords.
2. Leverage your assets
As owner of your brand's digital assets, you have a clear advantage in the search marketplace over all third parties, and certainly over your competitors. Continuing to build and optimize new, relevant content on your brand site will increase your natural search traffic, while keeping your users engaged, and from hitting the "Back" button.
3. Make it "official"
You are still the only advertiser able to claim your brand website as the official site for your brand. Take advantage of this. Including the words "official site" in search ad copy is already a well-established best practice, and will become an increasingly important differentiator in a de-regulated marketplace.
4. Crunch the numbers
It goes without saying that the impact to existing keyword performance should be monitored carefully. There are valuable consumer insights to be gained from analyzing which keywords are losing click-share to third parties. By gaining increased understanding of what drives response among branded searchers, you will be enabled to better refine your own search strategies.
5. Track the competition
While Google promises safeguards against un-qualified use of brand terms, the responsibility of defending your trademark is still up to you. Tools such as our proprietary Benchtools can be used to track every search ad containing your trademark, allowing you to bring direct competitors and unqualified third parties to Google's attention before they make an impact.
6. Cooperate with third parties
Your affiliates and third-parties are now enabled to bring in a significantly increased number of qualified leads for your brand. This isn't a bad thing. Keywords for which you are unable to drive positive ROI may now be left to the third parties, knowing that the corresponding business will still be available to you through your third-party relationships. At the same time, be sure to leverage your affiliate and third-party spend to protect your own search profit-centers where possible. Establish rules governing use of branded keywords when negotiating your affiliate and channel partner contracts. If you also invest in digital advertising on your third-parties' websites, use this investment as negotiation leverage when negotiating branded search ground-rules.
Given today's economic environment, maintaining a dominant presence on branded search keywords, both paid and natural, is essential. Following the above strategies will help ensure your branded keywords continue to be the top online driver of ROI.
Kevin Lange is VP, operations director for SMG Search.
